Tuesday, 3rd September, 2024
Bible Reading: Matthew 9: 35-38
Memory Verse: He was saying to them, “The harvest is abundant [for there are many who need to hear the good news about salvation], but the workers [those available to proclaim the message of salvation] are few. Therefore, [prayerfully] ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest. Luke 10:2 (AMP)
Introduction: In a 2024 Christian Missionary Statistics, Jeremy Koering writes for Nations Outreach: There are 2,173,180,000 Christians (31% of world population), of which 50% are Catholic, 37% Protestant, 12% Orthodox, and 1% other.
1,598,510,000 Muslims (23%), of which 87-90% are Sunnis, 10-13% Shia. There are 16%, equivalent of 1,126,500,000 with no religion affiliation. 1,033,080,000 Hindus (15%). 487,540,000 Buddhists (7%). 405,120,000 Folk Religionists (6%): faiths that are closely associated with a particular group of people, ethnicity or tribe. 58,110,000 Other Religions (1%): Baha’i faith, Taoism, Jainism, Shintoism, Sikhism, Tenrikyo, Wicca, Zoroastrianism and others. 13,850,000 Jews (0.2%).
There’s an estimated 285,480,000 evangelical Christians in the world. An additional 584 million are Pentecostal/Charismatic Christians. 20% of these Christians don’t have Bibles. One in five people on earth do not have a bible in their own language.
Unreached People: It’s estimated by Joshua Project that 42% of the world’s population (3-4 billion people) have never heard of Jesus or his gospel.
Unreached People Groups: There’s an estimated 17,311 people groups in the world. An estimated 7,290 people groups are defined as “unreached”. An unreached people group is defined as “there is no indigenous community of believing Christians able to engage this people group with church planting.” 6,013 of those unreached people groups are in the 10/40 Window.
Missionary Statistics: Missionary statistics show a steady decline in missionaries and ministries around the world over the last couple of decades. In 2021, there’s an estimated 430,000 Christian missionaries on the field full-time. An estimated 12,000 missionaries leave the field each year—71% leave for preventable reasons. A staggering 47% of missionaries leave the field within the first five years. At Nations Outreach, many missionaries say that they struggle to stay connected to their home church and supporter base.
Which Countries Need Missionaries?
All countries need missionaries. However, the most significant need is in the 10/40 Window. The 10/40 Window is in the eastern hemisphere between 10 and 40 degrees north of the equator. From West Africa across Asia, there are over 5.33 billion people. 96.6% of unreached people are in the 10/40 Window. That is over 3.2 billion people.
Challenge: Whom Shall God Send? (Isaiah 6:8a).
Quote:Evangelism is the heartbeat of the Master.
Prophetic Decree: May the banner of love, wall of fire, and cloud of glory overshadow all missionaries, in Jesus name.
Prayer Focus
1. Lord, we repent for neglecting evangelism and missionary work.
2. My Father, send passionate, intelligent and anointed labourers needed for World evangelism and discipleship.
3. Powers holding down potential evangelists and missionaries down, lose your hold over their lives, in Jesus name.
4. O Lord, increase the staying power of all missionaries. Help them to be resolute despite the devil’s fiery darts, in Jesus name.
5. O Lord of divine provisions, open the two leaved gates for missionaries that they may serve you in pleasure all the days of their lives (Isaiah 45:1).
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Ezekiel 23-24