The “10/40 Window” with 3.2 billion Opportunities

What is it? Where is it? The 10/40 Window – a rectangular area extending from West Africa to East Asia, from 10 degrees north to 40 degrees north of the equator. This vast region is home to the majority of the world’s Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists. In India alone, more than 300 million Dalits – “untouchables” according to India’s historic caste system – are hungering for the hope embodied in the Gospel.

The 10/40 Window is an area of the world that contains the largest population of non-Christians in the world. The area extends from 10 degrees to 40 degrees North of the equator, and stretches from North Africa across to China.

There are more people living today than have ever lived in the entire history of humanity. This phenomenal population explosion is presenting many challenges for churches and ministries who are seeking to take the gospel of Jesus Christ to every person on the planet.

Today, over 6 billion people inhabit the earth. Approximately two billion of these profess to be Christians. Another two billion live in regions where access to the gospel is possible, but they have made no profession of faith in Christ.

Two-thirds of the world's population -- more than 3.2 billion people -- live in the 10/40 Window. This is the vast area extending from 10 degrees to 40 degrees above the equator, stretching from North Africa, across the Middle East and India, to China and Southeast Asia. Half of the world's least evangelized cities are in this window.

There are approximately 2500 unreached people groups in the 10/40 Window. In Southwest China, we want to reach the Miao, Shui and Boyei peoples. In Northern Nepal, the Tibetan and Dolpo. In Northern India, Kashmiri Muslims. And in Southwest Kyrgystan, the Kyrgyz, to name just a few.

Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism are centered within the 10/40 Window.
Eighty-five percent of those living in the 10/ 40 Window are the world's poorest people. There are millions of people around the world that have never heard of God's love for them. They've never heard of Jesus' death on the cross to forgive them of their sins even once! A staggering 95% of the people living in the 10/40 Window are unevangelized.

Today, God is raising up ministries and mobilizing the church, to take the gospel to the last unreached people groups that live in this world today.

The Time is Now!
Jesus has commanded us to ...”go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and of the Holy Spirit,... teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you...” Matthew 28:19-20

Jesus also said in Matthew 24:14... that this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed in all the world as a witness to all the nations and peoples, and then the end would come.

Statistical data on unreached people groups:
The statistics on non Christians living in the 10/40 Window can be staggering to the mind!

865 million unreached Muslims or Islamic followers in 3330 cultural sub-groupings
550 million unreached Hindus in 1660 cultural sub-groups
150 million unreached Chinese in 830 groups
275 million unreached Buddhists in 900 groups
2550 unreached tribal groups with a total population of 140 million!

The Countries of the 10/40 Window
Afghanistan ,Algeria, Bahrain, Bangladesh Benin, Bhutan, Burkina, Faso, Cambodia, Chad, China, Cyprus, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Gibraltar, Greece, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Jordan, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Libya, Macau, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Morocco, Myanmar (Burma), Nepal, Niger, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Portugal, Qatar Saudi, Arabia, Senegal, Sudan, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, Western Sahara, Yemen...

Of the 55 least evangelized countries in the world, 97% of their population lives within the 10/40 Window. Unless something changes soon, most of these unreached people will never hear the Gospel. Why? Well, analysts at World Vision estimate that only about one and a quarter percent of Christian mission giving is going to missions work in the 10/40 Window. Open evangelism is difficult and even impossible in many 10/40 Window countries with restricted access or no access for missionaries. This generation in the 10/40 Window may never hear the Gospel in their lifetime!

What can you personally do about the unevangelized and unreached parts of the World?

THE MISSIONARY'S CHALLENGE–Animism

Anthropologist say animism is the oldest original human religion. Defined as belief in the existence of spiritual beings, it dates back to the earliest humans and continues to exist today.

Animism is a very practical belief system. The animist believes that a spirit or divinity resides within every object, controlling its existence and influencing human life and events in the natural world. Throughout the world, animistic religious beliefs are widespread among primitive societies, particularly among those in which many different spiritual beings are believed to control different aspects of the natural and social environment.

Animism is prevalent on every continent and is part of every culture. In Western cultures animistic customs include channeling and magical use of crystals in the New Age movement, ritual practices of the occult, and the reading of horoscopes to perceive how the alignment of the planets affects life. There are also animistic undercurrents to all major religions as they are practiced around the world. For example, spiritism is an ideology followed by most Catholics in Brazil. Muslims not only worship God at the mosque on Friday but also venerate holy men at their tombs.

Hindus not only believe in karma, reincarnation, and samsara, but they also presume that rakasas (evil spirits) and ancestors influence life and, therefore, must be manipulated and controlled. What a challenge for the missionary serving in cultures where animism dominates everyday life. One can scarcely imagine the effect a simple mention of “the spirit or Holy Spirt”, would have on the animist. It would conjure up thoughts and visions of spirits that are totally incompatible with what the Bible teaches about the spirit and Holy Spirit.

The clear message for all who seek to proclaim the gospel effectively in cultures where animism is part of every day life, is to know and understand the culture. Winning people to Christ requires that we know the enemy well.

Preparation is Essential

The Importance of Education
In order to become a bridge-builder between the church and the world, we need to be educated about both, and also about how to integrate Biblical principles into today's culture. So, becoming an effective ambassador for Christ requires knowledge in three critically important areas.

Theology
As bridge-builders we first need to develop a thorough knowledge of the character of God, the Person of Christ, and the salvation message. As we do, the Holy Spirit incorporates this learned knowledge into our personal lives and ministries. The Spirit helps us craft the most effective message and presentation attributes consistent with our personalities, so we can be effective in communicating the gospel. Many churches today, however, have downplayed the importance of theology as a real solution to the problems of our nation, some even adopting an anti-theological attitude. Today more than ever before in our Christian history, long-held assumptions about doctrinal adherence and devotion seem of little importance. Fewer and fewer people are choosing a church or continue attending because of biblical doctrine or theological purity. If this is our reality, and it is, then we desperately need to develop a hunger for theology, and for becoming theologically educated. We cannot hope to be the “bridge builders” Christ expects us to be without a personal commitment to educating ourselves thoroughly and completely.

Anthropology
We also need to understand the people of our world, our very neighbors. This includes the biblical nature of man, the prevailing world views today, and how these world views show their faces in today's media, attitudes, education, government, an all across our social strata. Also, what are the needs of our world today? There are physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual needs to consider. But to address these needs we must be educated.

It is challenging to grasp the concept that we need to understand our own culture in our own country before we can be effective ambassadors for Christ. The real challenge for each Christian is to not only understand the American culture better, but help us immerse our faith into that culture.

Contextualization
As we begin to dialogue with non-believers within the context of our own experiences, we'll actually learn how to use those experiences as channels for sharing biblical truth. Nonbelievers need to see that a biblical foundation works within their own field of interest and life experience before they adopt the Christian foundation for their entire life. So we need to become thoroughly educated regarding the biblical foundation of our own field, whether it be science, marketing, education, medicine, law, child-rearing, factory work, whatever. Eventually you'll be able to develop a specific strategy for ministry within your educational or occupational field, turning where you live and work into a mission field.

A Christian lawyer, for example, could start a legal defense program for Christian education in the community, or could teach a Sunday school class on “A Biblical Basis for Law and Justice”. A Christian doctor could teach a night sex education course for high school and junior high school students (incorporating the physiological, psychological, and biblical/moral perspectives) at the church - and open it up to the entire community. There really should be no limits to the creative options explored to build bridges to the non-believers all around us.

The question we must face.... is whether or not this sort of education and hard work is really important to us. Why has the church lost its place as a dominant force within American culture? Simply because Christians have neglected this sort of study and preparation - and frequently replaced it with an emotionalized, trivialized Christianity.

Consider making a commitment before God to educate yourself in such a way as to turn your occupational or educational field into a mission field. There is nothing more thrilling than living a life modeled after the Incarnation of Jesus Christ. Jesus will equip you and empower you to be the Bridge Builder He wants you to Be! Be willing and He will do the rest!

We are God's Bridges

When non-christians encounter Christians, what impressions do they walk away with? Do they simply see another "religion," or do they encounter a Christianity that is relevant outside the church and makes good rational sense in every area of human life?

As Christ took on the context of human flesh, so we must enter into the context of today's world. The basis for our ministry, therefore, is not only found in sharing the truths of the Christian faith, but also in utilizing our own humanity as an actual channel for relating these truths.

The early church repeatedly followed Christ's model by building human bridges in order to communicate the gospel within the context of the audience. In Acts 17, Paul shared the gospel with the polytheistic and philosophically-oriented Greeks differently than he did with the monotheistic, traditionally-oriented Jews. He could do this because he had a deep understanding of each culture. Often times in the New Testament, certain individuals were able to build bridges because of common cultural back-grounds. Their very lives and heritage built a natural bridge. Timothy, for example, could easily minister to Greeks in his hometown because of his Greek heritage. At other times, though, there is no apparent common ground, and we have to learn how nonbelievers are thinking and accommodate our message accordingly. For example, when Paul needed Timothy to accompany him on a missionary trip, he had Timothy circumcised. Why? Because they were going to come into contact with Jews who saw circumcision as very important.

Christ Himself clearly took a contextual approach to ministry. In John chapter 3, Christ confronts Nicodemus, a teacher of the law, with some deep theological insights. But in John chapter 4, as Jesus casually converses with the woman at the well about her immoral past, He uses the well as a simple illustration of the "living water" He could provide. In each case, Jesus showed genuine respect for that person's background and mindset by tailoring the gospel appropriately. Likewise, an ambassador for Christ must show utmost respect to the people he is trying to reach, and to their mindset. By demonstrating a deep understanding of culture, we gain integrity and credibility with our audience.

The key is that our very lives are the bridges, or channels, for the gospel. When God created man He gave man dominion over the world (Gen. 1:28). God was essentially giving every person the assignment of demonstrating His character on earth. As Christ's ambassadors, He has given each of us specific areas in which we can become channels for His love and truth as we turn these areas of our lives over to Him. These areas include our talents, burdens, educational experiences, abilities, and spiritual gifts. Whether a person is a homemaker, a dentist, a doctoral candidate, or a farmer, he or she needs to do an extensive study regarding how biblical truth provides a foundation for that "platform" God has made possible in your life. Very often God will show a person a specific subculture that only he or she is equipped to reach.

Christ is the Model

The model is based on the character of God. The Bible presents to us a God who continually seeks man by entering into man's cultural context. In the New Testament we first find God seeking man by taking on a "contextualized" form - that of a flesh and blood human. Contextualization means becoming identified with the opposing party. It requires breaking through cultural barriers in order to establish useful and effective communication.

Through the incarnation of Christ, God crossed a rather large "cultural gap" to seek man, and identify with man, by actually becoming a man. God took on our context, and in doing so, He broke through two barriers that kept man from having a relationship with Him. What were these two barriers?

First Christ broke through our humanity barrier. Christ took on the flesh, cultural patterns, thought patterns, practices, and frailty associated with humanity. He left His world and entered into our world. And then second, Christ broke through the sin barrier. He went to the cross and became sin on our behalf so we could be forgiven of our sins and come to know God personally and have intimate fellowship with Him.

Not only did God seek man by becoming a man, His commitment to seek man continued after Christ's death and resurrection, but took on a different form. His communication model, one still involving contextualization, continues to this day through His people.

In 2 Corinthians 5:20 we see that God has called every believer to be an ambassador for Christ. How do we go about this task? By following Christ's model, and breaking through the same two barriers He did. First, we need to break through the humanity barrier. Motivated by His love, we also need to enter into the world of nonbelievers, seeking to understand their context, and finding areas of common ground. This means that, without compromising, we are to get involved with real people and their needs, struggles, and intellectual doubts. Second, we need to help people overcome the sin barrier. We do this by sharing the gospel within their context, in a way that "makes sense" within another person's cultural and intellectual makeup.

The Christian Church must be perceived as culturally relevant to nonbelievers around us whom we seek to share the gospel with. Our responsibility is not only to hold to the basic, scriptural principles of the Christian faith, but to communicate these unchanging truths `into' the generation in which one is living. If we can see ourselves in this essential and vital role then we can become effective at building bridges for the gospel that Christ has given us.

Mission Dialogue... Building Bridges for the Gospel

“We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.” 2 Corinthians 5:20

As Christians, we are called by God to be Christ's ambassadors. Now that's quite a job description! In order to fulfill our glorious assignment, we are going to have to step outside of our insulated Christian circles and learn how to bridge the gap between Christ's church and today's world.

Bridges are fascinating feats of engineering and design. They are designed to bring things together--land masses, roads, and people. Your life as a Christian can be exciting for the very same reason--because we get to be bridge-builders for Christ. Of course, Jesus is the only mediator between God and man (1 Tim. 2:5); but, acting under His authority, Christians have the privilege of building bridges that can attract people into His Kingdom.

What kind of bridges are still left to be built? Non-Christians often have barriers that keep them from considering Christ: intellectual, cultural, and moral barriers. We can be their bridges to the gospel. Just as Jesus left heaven to come and dwell with man in a sinful world, He's left us with the glorious task of creatively penetrating our world with the good news. He showed us how to be effective bridge builders. In a sense, then, there may never be a time when we are more like Jesus than when we are bridging a cultural gap with the gospel.

How does one become a bridge-builder for Christ? While it's true we need to understand the Bible, a measure of theology and most importantly the gospel message, we must also understand what non-Christians believe, how they think, and how they've been impacted by today's cultures. And then, as ambassadors for Christ, we become the bridge between His church and the world by communicating the gospel into the context of the non-Christian mindset.

I think most people today view cross-cultural ministry as something performed in a foreign nation. In one sense that is certainly very true. But America today has become very secular, developing a culture of its own in an ideological sense--one very different from the culture characteristic of the church. So today, we need to view our American culture as a place of opportunity for cross-cultural ministry! We do this by investigating the world views of our culture. Understanding another person's world view, or belief system, is the starting point for communicating the gospel. By showing an understanding of and interest in another person's beliefs, we gain credibility and integrity with that person--and probably even a favorable hearing for the Christian message.

A bridge-builder is one who has made a commitment to understand people with different backgrounds and beliefs in order to make Christianity relevant to these people. However, in order to become an effective bridge-builder, we have to go through a process of transformation. First, we need to examine the isolation problem found in many of today's churches. Then we'll look at Christ's model for ministry which overcomes our isolation. Next, we'll find out how our lives can build bridges to the world. Finally, we look at the need for education in order to construct better bridges.

The Problem of Isolation Imagine receiving a phone call informing you that you'd been chosen to become the American Ambassador to China. You'd consider that quite an honor! How would you prepare for your task? You'd want to do a thorough study of Chinese culture and customs. If you simply said, "No problem, I'm an American!" and neglected this study, you'd find yourself very ineffective as an ambassador.

Now imagine if Christ were to call you, as an American, to be His ambassador to America. How would you prepare for that? Well, in fact this is what Christ has called us to (2 Cor. 5:20). But what if we were to say, "No problem, I'm a Christian!" but neglected any attempt to understand our own culture? Just because you are a native born American, you cannot assume you truly understand the culture even though you are living surrounded by it and probably even immersed in it.

Surprisingly this is what many people in the church today have done. Some believers have actually managed to construct lives that avoid any connection with the world. Christians leave their safe surroundings, go to work, scurry home to their families and then off to their Churches and Bible studies, and finally end the day praying for the unbelievers they safely avoid interacting with in the normal course of a day-to-day living.

In early America, Christians enjoyed discussing philosophy and theology with believers and nonbelievers alike. New England was a community that fostered intellectual pursuit. Today's Christians however, are often viewed by the world as anti-intellectuals, as people who have neglected their minds in order to become "spiritual." But with this mentality, we are unable to address the critical issues of our day, and so our culture begins to look elsewhere for answers: to secular humanism, for example.

What is the root of this separation mindset? Well, many believers today hold to a pietistic view of the Christian life. Pietism is essentially 'platonic' in that it makes a sharp division between the 'spiritual' world and the 'material' world. The reality of human experiences are not afforded a proper balance.

This pietistic view of Christian living, has sapped the real life out of the Christian experience for many people. That's because one's spirituality never quite comes "down" far enough to integrate with the real world. We still end up trying to be nice Christians, but too many areas of our humanity get left out of the experience. Being Christian no longer looks very attractive to those first investigating the faith. In fact, some nonbelievers are scared away because of the disconnect from the realities of the world!

How can we change this pattern? We must remove this "sharp division" by finding out how our spiritual life works in the physical world, by developing a practical biblical world view.

As we learn to apply the Christian faith in our own life and world we become able to tell nonbelievers how it applies to theirs also, and this opens doors for the gospel. But without a well-thought-out faith we don't feel comfortable taking our message into the middle of the marketplace of modern ideas, and so we stay insulated and isolated. What we actually need is a model for building bridges within the complexity of today's culture, one that makes Christianity relevant to the lives of real people. Christ Himself has provided this model in a absolutely amazing way.