250 Years Later: What would would William Carey say about 2 Billion Unreached?

I kept reading last week celebrations of the life of William Carey.  At first, I thought ‘WOW!’  I mean how cool is that - the ‘Father of Modern Missions’ was born 250 years ago!  But then it hit me like a ton of bricks.  ‘Oh no, 250 years later and more than 2 billion people have still NEVER heard the name of Jesus Christ!’  I don’t mean they choose not to believe, I mean they have literally never heard His name!  2 billion people living on this earth right now, today, have never even heard the name of Jesus!  What would William Carey say?

I first heard the name of William Carey last spring when I took Perspectives.  If you don’t know Carey, here is your crash course:  Born August 17, 1761, William Carey first met Christ as a teenager.  A transformed man, Carey was soon overcome with a desire to share the Good News with those who had never heard it and so he dedicated his life to missions.  Known today as the ‘Father of Modern Missions,’  Carey moved his family to India where he spent the rest of his life sharing Christ with others in word and deed.  More than a missionary, Carey dedicated considerable time to raising awareness in the Christian community about the unfinished work of the Great Commission, mobilizing others to join him in answering the call, and translating the Bible into other languages.  He went where no one else was going, learned the language of his new home and overcame many obstacles including death of family members and a devastating fire that destroyed much of his translation work.

In celebrating this modern movement that Carey began, I find myself asking what he thinks of where we are today?  Would he be blogging about the fact that despite 250 years of progress in every other area of society and technology, still today over 2 billion souls living on this earth with us who have never heard the name of Christ. Would Carey be heartbroken or outraged that only 3% of Christian workers today are serving among unreached people groups?  What would Carey say to the American Church who give less one cent of every dollar given to missions to reach the unreached! 

According to the Joshua Project, there are 6,926 unreached people groups in the world today - the majority in the 10/40 Window.  That is over 41% of the population of the entire world!  In India alone, where Carey dedicated his life to reaching unreached peoples, still 77 people groups of 113 total are unreached.  That is over 68% of the population of India that remains unreached 250 years after William Carey was born!  What would he say to us if he were here today?

Just a thought, but I’m guessing he would say something like, ‘GO! Go now and go where no one else is going!  Go to the unreached!  If you cannot go, then give generously and pray for others that will go and others that will give!’

And he said to them,‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.  Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.’

Is God calling you to go the unreached or support those who are going?  Visit www.cafe1040.com to see how we can help you get there!