What "Unreached" Really Means

This Sunday I talked about the passion of William Carey to reach "unreached" people groups, specifically the people of India. He not only became the father of modern day missions, but he also helped give us global view of evangelism.

In the 1700's the unreached people groups were called "heathen," but in the 1970's it was Ralph Winter, at the Lusanne conference, that first defined the term "unreached people groups."

Here's a summary: Unreached people are not those who have heard; unreached people are those who cannot hear. The difference is access to the gospel message not receiving the gospel. Unreached people groups are unreached for a reason. They are hard to get to, governments set up barriers, the culture is resistant, etc.

If you are interested in learning more, the Joshua Project details the scope and breadth of the need in our world.

Here is a link to what College Park is doing to reach unreached people.

Evangelicals, Adoption and Foster Care

One of my dreams is to see the Foster Care system flooded with Evangelical believers. Imagine what would happen if 2,000 believers from every State in the Union decided to enlist in providing abused and neglected children a safe and caring home. Imagine what a testimony it would be to the overtaxed, underpaid, and highly vilified Department of Child Services to see this many followers of Jesus live out their faith.

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal cataloged what may be the early signs of a similar movement. It chronicles the recent interest by Focus on the Family, Rick Warren, and Russell Moore from Southern Seminary as an indication that adoption and foster care are starting to get some much needed attention.

The article clearly has a bias: "one wonders how these evangelical adoptive parents overcome their own desire for control, bring a stranger into their home, and then take responsibility for raising him."

But it ends well: "The most persuasive explanation comes from the author of that article, Leslie Leyland Fields, who exhorts her readers: "We are not sovereign over our children—only God is. Children are not tomatoes to stake out or mules to train, nor are they numbers to plug into an equation. They are full human beings wondrously and fearfully made. Parenting, like all tasks under the sun, is intended as an endeavor of love, risk, perseverance, and, above all, faith."