EMQ » January–March 2018 » Vol. 54 Issue 1
An Interview by EMQ
The International Day for the Unreached (IDU) is now in its third year. As a movement, it is increasingly gaining momentum and recognition. However, many are still unaware of this concerted focus on the unreached. To help bring a broader awareness to this important day and movement, EMQ interviewed Steve Johnson, a founding member and a spokesperson for IDU.
EMQ: Steve, just what is the International Day for the Unreached?
Steve: About four years ago a colleague of mine and I were talking about all of the different things people advocate for—everything from lost puppies to the persecuted church. That conversation sparked a burden in my friend’s heart that was really the birth of the International Day for the Unreached.
When you consider there are more than 2.5 billion people who haven’t heard the gospel in a relevant or accurate way, it’s simply staggering. How can it be that in today’s world of mass communication, Internet technology, and the ability to travel anywhere in the world in a matter of hours, that nearly 1/3 of the world’s population hasn’t heard? Of the 2.5 billion people who have yet to hear, about 90% of them live in places where teaching the message of Christ openly is forbidden at some level. As a result, most of these people will likely never personally meet a Christian.
EMQ: What is the purpose of observing this special day focused on the unreached?
Steve: Our purpose with IDU is three-fold:
- We want to educate believers about the plight of those who have never heard. So many Christians today are unaware because the issue isn’t talked about much anymore.
- We want to inspire people to care. Jesus was clear. Eternity is at stake. The lost are close to His heart, and therefore, they need to be close to ours. I believe that when a Christian begins to really understand the depth of God’s love for them as an individual, that understanding naturally leads to a passion for those who have not yet experienced His love.
- We want to motivate people to action. The Alliance for the Unreached has a manifesto that begins, “We will not stand idly by as people enter eternity without Christ, when we can reach them.” The last two dialogues Jesus had on earth had to do with taking the message to the world. He did not give us the “Great Suggestion.” These were marching orders to His disciples. That’s the bottom line. We want people to respond to God’s love for us by passing it on to those who still desperately need it.
EMQ: You just mentioned the Alliance for the Unreached. What is that?
Steve: The more we dug into the modern challenges of reaching the unreached, it became clear that organizations, churches, and individuals who were concerned about the plight of the unreached needed to do something to raise the banner. That realization birthed IDU. It was also the beginning of the work to form a coalition of like-minded organizations to unite around this cause and begin to advocate for a renewed passion among believers to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. Today, this coalition is called the Alliance for the Unreached, and these ministries all work together to host the International Day for the Unreached.
It didn’t take long for several ministries to catch the vision. In 2016 we officially formed the Alliance for the Unreached. It was originally comprised of Reach Beyond, Wycliffe Bible Translators, The Seed Company, Bibles For The World, Operation Mobilization, and Missio Nexus. Since then we have added World Mission, Partners International, ZimZam Global, and Mission Network News.
We’d love to have others join in! Our prayer is that one day, any ministry focused on reaching the unreached would stand with the Alliance in some form or fashion so that the Christian world would see us united in fulfilling the Great Commission in our generation.
EMQ: Remind our readers of the importance of focusing on the unreached. How many people are still considered outside the reach of the Gospel? What is the current reality?
Steve: On one hand, we’re closer than ever to reaching those who have never heard. On the other hand, we’ve got a long way to go. When you consider the number 2.5 billion in total, the number is pretty daunting. But when you break that number down into the details, suddenly it becomes much more manageable if churches and ministries would simply come together with a unified strategy.
Today there are roughly 1,900 people groups that are less than 2% Christian by population. There are about 500 people groups that have no Christian witness whatsoever. Again, this may seem a bit discouraging. But consider that in the U.S. alone, there are more than 300,000 churches. What would it look like for each church to implement even a small effort to reach just one unreached group? If that happened, we could make significant progress toward the goal. I realize that this is a gross oversimplification. The point is, fulfilling the Great Commission is not impossible. We as churches and believers just need to be committed to making it happen.
EMQ: Is it really possible to reach the remaining unreached?
The resources are available if we choose to allocate them. We have the technical and logistical tools to pull it off. The real question is, do we have the will and passion? To me that’s the foundational question.
I heard a quote that said, “Since 9/11 the church has built its own twin towers called ‘safety and security.’” That really struck me. So many churches today fall into one of two categories. First, they simply aren’t aware of the issue of unreached people. If they were aware, they would spring into action and do their part.
Second, they may not be aware, but more alarmingly, they may not care. Many churches have turned inward. In some respects, many churches have a rich worship experience or solid biblical teaching, but sometimes that has replaced the outward expression Jesus commanded us as believers to demonstrate.
David Platt said in his 2017 IDU keynote address, “When it comes to reaching the world with the gospel, we are Plan A and there is no Plan B.” Certainly the Spirit of God moves in amazing ways and places. But in the end, the responsibility to proclaim the name of Christ to the nations was given to us. It was intended to be a core byproduct of our faith. It seems that in many cases, there is a disconnect between our understanding of the Scripture and our efforts to see that everyone has a chance to hear the Word.
I don’t mean to paint with a broad brush, but in some cases the numbers speak for themselves. For instance, of all the money given to Christian causes, only about one percent goes to reaching the unreached. In addition, only about five percent of the missionaries serving in foreign fields are serving among unreached people.
At the same time, I’m convinced that if every believer and every church did just their part, giving, praying, advocating, and going, we might be shocked at what happens. Again, the work is up to the Holy Spirit, but if we as His vessels were pulling together, who knows what could happen.
EMQ: Why was the Day of Pentecost chosen as the specific day to focus on the unreached annually?
Steve: We all know the story—the wind begins to blow, tongues of fire descend from heaven and light on the heads of the believers. People from all over the world suddenly had the ability to communicate the gospel in languages that were completely foreign to them. From there, believers were dispersed around the known world, and they took the gospel with them. Of all the miracles of God, the spread of the church from Pentecost forward is perhaps one of the least talked about, yet most astounding. Never before and never since has a message that faced so much opposition spread so quickly and had so much impact. I truly believe it is one of the greatest miracles in all of Scripture.
When you really stop to think about it, Pentecost gives us a special glimpse into the heart of God. In the Matthew passage Jesus begins by saying, “All authority in heaven has been given to me. Therefore…” Then again, in Acts 1:8, Jesus said, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and you will be my witnesses…” In both of those cases, Jesus refers to the power that equips believers to take the gospel to the ends of the earth.
God was literally willing to impart the power of His Spirit to us so that we could point others to Him. That’s how important the lost are in God’s economy. When the Holy Spirit descended on Pentecost, fulfilling Jesus’ prophecy, God enabled his people to do what He commanded them to do. They weren’t alone. They were operating in the divine power of His Spirit.
That was the beginning of the gospel going global, but it certainly wasn’t intended to be the end. The same Spirit that empowered the first century believers to spread the Word still empowers us today. While the methods may be different, the message and power are the same.
So when we asked the question, “When should we host the International Day for the Unreached?” the answer, which actually came from Wayne Pederson, our Chairman, was obvious—Pentecost Sunday. What better day to raise the cause and reignite the passion for the unreached?
EMQ: What special event has a broadcast on that day, and how can it be attended/viewed?
Steve: We really feel our efforts to raise awareness and advocacy for this cause needs to culminate with an annual event that captures the hearts and minds of Christ-followers in North America and beyond.
On Pentecost Sunday in 2017, we hosted an event that featured Phil Stacey, Christian recording artist, former American Idol finalist, and passionate missionary. Becky Harling, noted author and speaker and wife of Steve Harling from Reach Beyond, co-hosted the virtual event. David Platt, author of Radical and President of the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptists, was our keynote speaker. David is recognized as one of the world’s leading voices of advocacy for the unreached.
Finally, we featured the president of each of the Alliance members sharing their heart and passion for the gospel and the globe. The whole event was tremendous. It was filled with music, information, vision, and motivation. To date, more than 20,000 people have viewed the event that was streamed on Facebook.
In 2018, we want to extend the reach even further. Ultimately, we want every believer reaching out until everyone is reached. In the meantime, all of the resources for the International Day for the Unreached are available at dayfortheunreached.org, including the 2017 full-length event.
EMQ: Is IDU a one-day event only or is it more than that?
Steve: The International Day for the Unreached is a day—that’s true. But by God’s grace, it’s the culmination of the ongoing effort to reignite a passion for the unreached. The term “grassroots movement” is thrown around a lot these days. But that’s what we hope IDU becomes.
The members of the Alliance want to “lead from behind” so to speak. We want to be vehicles through which thousands of Christ’s followers can exercise their role in reaching the least reached. We all long for the day when every ministry focused on the unreached works themselves out of business—a day when everyone on earth has access to the gospel and the opportunity to make a decision.
That’s the vision—people residing in the presence of God because the Church rose up and determined to make His name known to all people, everywhere. That may sound grandiose, but Revelation 5:9 tells us that His blood ransomed people from every tribe and language and people and nation. That pretty much covers everyone.
But for that vision to be fully realized, the Body of Christ must unite around the common goal of being His ambassadors around the world.
EMQ: What resources are available, especially to churches, so that they can lead their people into a greater understanding of the unreached?
Steve: The Alliance for the Unreached wanted to make sure anyone interested in participating is fully equipped. As a result, we developed an entire suite of content for use by churches, media outlets, and individuals. These resources include video spots, sermon outlines, geo-data, radio spots, bulletin inserts, the Manifesto for the Unreached, and a lot more.
All these resources are available to anyone free of charge. Simply by visiting dayfortheunreached.org, people can download any of the resources for use from the pulpit, small groups, Sunday school, social media—really anywhere a person wants to advocate for the cause.
In 2017, we were hoping to reach a significant audience in the U.S. Little did we know what God had in mind. We received web hits from people downloading these resources from more than 170 countries, including some of the most gospel-resistant places on earth. God is definitely at work in this initiative.
EMQ: Can you give us a story of how IDU helped impact a church to more fully focus on the unreached:
Steve: Certainly. Thousands of churches in North America benefited from the resources provided by the Alliance at dayfortheunreached.org. But there were two unexpected encounters in 2017 that brought a smile of thanks and tears to my eyes.
One afternoon I received an email from a Christian publisher in France. He was burdened by the cause of the unreached, especially with the influx of Middle Eastern refugees flooding into Western Europe. He stumbled across our website doing some research and was astounded by the content and message he found.
He immediately reached out to me and asked for a license to translate the content into French and launch the initiative there. “No license required,” I told him. The resources are there for you to use. He ended up translating all of the resources and launched a French version of IDU.
In another “chance encounter,” I received a message from an evangelist in Ireland. He wanted to share with churches why the story of Pentecost was still relevant today. While doing some research, he “stumbled” across the website, saying that the content and initiative were answers to his prayer. He asked if he could use the resources. He ended up getting several churches in Ireland involved in IDU.
EMQ: Media and social media are used to promote awareness of not only the specific IDU day, but also of the unreached in general. How do the IDU organizers utilize these? Where might one encounter such?
Steve: Traditional and social media have been primary drivers of our message to churches, radio listeners, social media users, etc. In today’s world of instantaneous mass communication, there aren’t many causes that gain traction without leveraging these channels.
The primary channels we’re using to raise awareness are our website, dayfortheunreached.org and a Facebook page, Facebook.com/dayfortheunreached. We want everyone to make their voice heard through these channels. In addition, radio has been a huge channel through which the message has been shared. Moody Radio Network, many Salem stations, and countless independent stations have joined the cause in promoting IDU and the cause of the unreached in general.
I encourage anyone interested in being a part of raising awareness to visit the IDU website to find web banners, Facebook images, radio spots, sermon outlines, bulletin inserts, and a host of other resources that will equip you with all the tools you need.
EMQ: How can other groups or organizations join the IDU coalition as either Alliance members or advocates, and what are the expectations?
Steve: We have an invitation process through which we consider new Alliance members. Any organization interested in joining the Alliance should contact our leadership directly. Jon Fugler from Reach Beyond is the current chairman of the Alliance. He can be reached at jfugler@reachbeyond.org. Jeff McLinden, of Bibles For The World is the vice chair of the Alliance and can be reached at jmclinden@bftw.org.
We don’t want joining the Alliance to be cumbersome for anyone. However, we do require that the organization is established and effective in reaching those who have never heard. We have historically never required a financial commitment, but we now realize that each member organization should have some “stake in the game.” We also recognize that it takes resources to proclaim any message.
In addition, each member ministry is required to advocate for the cause through their respective channels including media presence, donors and constituents, church networks, etc. Each member is asked to carry their load in elevating the cause in general.
EMQ: Thanks, Steve, for helping us understand more fully the International Day for the Unreached movement. In closing is there anything else you would like to add?
Steve: Ultimately, the cause of reaching unreached peoples isn’t about the Alliance or about those who participate as advocates. The task belongs to every believer—our final order from the King of Kings, who has left this challenge to us and to His Church. It’s time to finish the task.
Steve Johnson, until recently, a vice president at Reach Beyond, is now Associate Publisher with Focus On The Family.
