-There are approximately 7 billion people on earth
-There are approx. 16,000 people groups on earth
(a people group consists of people who share the same language and culture. They can communicate effectively amongst themselves).
-About 6,800 of these people groups are considered "unreached" by the gospel. This means that there is either no church or not a strong enough church for evangelism to happen. There are over 2 billion people in this category!
-Among these unreached people groups, there are still 1,568 that are "unengaged." This means that there is no scripture, no church, no missionaries, and no known Christians in that group.
-632 of these unengaged groups consist of at least 50,000 people!
Here is a powerful 3-minute video about these people.
(disclaimer: we love short-term mission trips and have been very blessed by them!)
In Matthew 28:19, Jesus gives a command:
"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit"
(note: "nations" does not refer to a political state, but it is from the Greek word 'ethnos', which refers to people groups")
Over the past 6 years, God has been working in our hearts. Our role in this Great Commission has been to send others to the unreached. However, this past year God has directed us to actually go! Surprise! We still can't believe it:) We have spent this past year praying about it and feel certain this is the direction God wants for us. We are excited about it but at the same time we feel inadequate for this type of work. It has been hard at times, at least for me, with struggling with worry (about our kids, safety, etc)...but I am reminded that God is sovereign! No matter what happens, He is in charge, everything that He does is good and right, and I need to trust Him in this. All He is asking us to do is just trust Him and obey Him. If we can trust God to save us from our sins, we can certainly trust Him with the things of this life! Another thing that has helped us so much is to try and keep an eternal perspective. Thinking about all of the souls that are lost in darkness and headed for hell, and thinking about men refusing God the glory that He deserves. Jesus paid the price for their sins and He deserves their allegiance and worship!
So, for this kind of work lots of training is needed! We will start with 2 years of Bible training, followed by 2 years of Missionary training (to teach us to learn a new language, make a written alphabet, translate Scripture, install solar panels, etc). After that we will head to the mission field, which will probably be somewhere in the 10/40 window. The ultimate goal is to learn the people's language, translate Scripture, teach the Gospel, plant a church, raise up leadership, and send out evangelists to reach their own people. Altogether, this will probably take 25-30 years. We plan to start this August! Prayers are appreciated (and that is a huge understatement!!) More details to come (I will try to update this blog a little more often than what I have been!).
We love you all! To God be the glory!!
10 comments:
Every now and then Nick and I look at each other and say, "Did they really just tell us they are going to the jungle?" lol...
We are sooooo excited for you guys. We fully support you and can't wait to hear of the stories you will surely have to tell! Of course, we'll miss you too. But, for now, we'll just visit Michigan more frequently. :)
love you all,
Nick and Jess and family
rache, i don't think i've even talked to you about this yet! (i've been talking to jill!) i am so so excited about this new direction that God is leading you on and feel blessed to be able to pray and support you!
love you guys so much!
This has been a growing experience for us as well. A year ago I really didn't think I would be able to say I am thankful for this decision. But after alot of praying, reading, and research, I can now say we are thankful- thankful that we have kids that are willing to sacrifice so much for God. It has really opened our eyes that we need to do more as well. I'm not sure what that is exactly at this point, but God will reveal that in time.
Always praying for you, Grandpa Jim
There is one truth that I am constantly reminded of...our time on earth is just a blip on the screen when compared to eternity. Regardless of how long we are apart, it will only be until we are reunited in Heaven. Even though our hearts weep over our earthly separation, we also feel that it is imperative that the unengaged peoples of the world be reached. We love you and fully support you. May God continue to guide you.
love,
mom m
Thank you for sharing these facts. What an eye opener. We will be prayerful. We must daily strive to listen and follow God's commands for our lives. You have our full support on this journey! We love you and are excited!
We couldn't be more excited (and kind of scared:)) to go on this journey with you. What a blessing from God it will be to be with my sister even when we are overseas!!! We love you guys :)
Jill
I ECHO everyone's comments!
We are so excited you all are stepping out in faith to do something "scary" (in earthly terms). We feel HONORED to be a part of your ministry even if it's just through prayer.
Thanks for being an example to us all and making us think about the hard stuff.
We love you and will be supporting and praying for you!!
Klint, Sarah & Boys
We will miss you all, but yes, we are thankful. To God be all the glory:)And of course you know you have our love and support and prayers, prayers, prayers! And may we all follow as He leads:)
We love you!
gma jan
wow! How exciting! You definitly have our prayers!!
Wow! We are so excited for your family that God is leading you in this direction and that you are following His call! What a step of faith! May God bless, guide, and strengthen you and give you much wisdom and grace for each step of the journey!!
Dana and Kim
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