Twenty-two years ago I told Jesus I was willing to pastor His people. Twenty-two years ago. Much has happened over this period of time. Much has changed; much has remained the same.
One matter that has remained for the past two decades is the priority of our disciple making and church planting efforts in the United States and Canada. We continue to give priority and attention to working among reached people groups. This is true among my denomination and most other denominations, networks, districts, associations, and churches in North America.
By the 1980s and 1990s, most evangelical denominations working outside of North America had embraced Winter’s 1974 call to the “hidden peoples” of the world, with the highest priority being that of cross-cultural evangelism. We never embraced this focus in our own context.
We still have not embraced it–even with an estimated 570 unreached peoples living in North America.
Twenty years of giving priority to the reached at home, at least since my calling began.
Don’t you think after twenty years it is time for a change?
How about an unreached priority for the future?
Can we try it for the next twenty years? Or, at least ten?
while I agree with your assertion that “We still have not embraced” this focus upon the unreached within our own context, I’m very interested in seeing the documentation on such: From what source(s) do you validate that statement? I look forward to your reply.
Thanks, Charles, for your excellent question. Please understand I don’t want to sound arrogant or egotistical, but my source is the culmination of 22 years of mission agency/local church ministry, 10 books, and 14 years of research and teaching. In a blog post of a few hundred words, one is very limited as to providing several years worth of evidence. I greatly appreciate your question! Thanks, brother!