In most areas of the United States, it’s common to see a church, hear about Jesus, or listen to Christian music. Most people in the US have some connection with Christianity, even if it’s not personally within themselves.
In many areas of the world, however, that is not the case. Some groups of people have never seen a church, held a Bible, or even heard the name of Jesus. These are considered unreached people groups. They do not have a large indigenous population that is Christian who can minister to and share the gospel with their own community, and they often have less than 2% of the population claiming to be Christians.
Matthew 9:37 quotes Jesus speaking to his disciples: “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.” Today, many pastors and ministry leaders quote this famous phrase, relaying to Christians that countless people need to hear about Jesus, but those willing to go share the good news are few and far between.
The Need Is Great
The continent of Africa has approximately 3705 people groups. While many in the southern half of the continent have been reached for Jesus, over 900 people groups still do not have access to the gospel. This equates to over 400 million people!
While some areas are hard to reach due to physical barriers, such as mountains, difficult terrain, or inaccessible villages. More often, however, unreached people groups remain as such due to political and cultural barriers. Many areas practice other religions and can be harsh about people converting to a different belief system. In some groups and areas, there is much hostility toward Christians, keeping missionaries away and keeping people within the group hesitant to explore Christianity.
At Hope Academy International, we long to increase the number of workers by equipping and empowering those called to the mission field in their local communities. The need is great, but we believe that God is preparing people to minister to those unreached people groups who have never heard the name of Jesus or the good news of His love and sacrifice.
Equipping the Called
The more prepared missionaries feel entering the field, the more likely they will remain in the area to which they were called and have a greater impact. Hope Academy International is a proud partner of Send56, a fantastic organization that trains African missionaries to reach the people in their own communities and tribes. Both Send56 and Hope Academy believe in the Great Commission, to bring Jesus to the very ends of the earth, and we are committed to doing so to the very best of our ability. We desire to train and equip more workers for Christ so that we can reap the harvest that Jesus promised.
We believe we can change the world, one person, one prayer, and one life change at a time. We long to reduce the number of unreached people groups and grow the number of those who will follow Christ into eternity. If you want to join our cause by helping us educate the children of missionaries across Africa, donate now on Tithely or get in touch with us to learn how you can get involved.