JERRY’S STORY
Jesus told His church to make disciples of all nations. During the last 2,000 years, the church has done a remarkable job of reaching people groups all over the world with the gospel, the good news that there is salvation in Jesus Christ. Of the 16,500 people groups on earth, the church has reached almost 9,900 of them! The effort, cost and sacrifice to reach all those folks cannot be overstated.
Yet, a lot of work remains to be done. Some 6,700 people groups have never heard the gospel. That’s about 2.5 billion souls who have never heard of Jesus Christ, have no idea how to be saved, have no Bibles, with no churches or even individual Christians nearby.
There is good news in this situation. Thousands of Christians have answered the call to take the gospel to unreached people groups. Ethnos 360, formerly New Tribes Mission, has nearly 800 missionaries dedicated to that very task: reaching the unreached with the gospel.
But, this is not easy ministry. Many of these groups live in remote areas and use a language only they know, a language that is verbal only. Here is a greatly condensed recap of what these missionaries do in order to plant a church:
Four years of Bible and practical preparation.
Contacting and setting up residence with the target group.
Learn the culture and create friendship and trust.
Learn the language, create a written language, and translate as much of the New Testament as possible.
Present the gospel over a period of many weeks, taking these dear folks from the creation to the cross, with the goal of planting a church with functioning elders and teachers that not only will maintain itself, but also reach out to other unreached people groups nearby.
The entire process takes from 12 to 20 years, or more.
If that blows your mind, you and I are on the same page.
The tragic news in all that is this: missionaries often find that raising and maintaining financial support is difficult and discouraging. Worse, it’s been well-documented that missionaries enjoy their highest support levels when they first go on the field. Support almost invariably diminishes thereafter. Low levels of financial support inhibits ministry, and is a mental, emotional and spiritual burden on the missionary.
At So All May Hear, we hope to change all that. We are raising up an army of senders, Christian people who want to have an active role in fulfilling the Great Commission.
In Romans 10, Paul said, “How shall they call on Him whom they have not believed, and how shall they believe unless they hear, and how can they hear without a preacher, and how can they preach unless they are sent.
Listen friends, we senders are the starting point, we are the booster rocket that sends the missionary to people who have never heard the name “Jesus.”
So, we send the missionary, he/she preaches, the lost soul hears, believes and calls on the name of the Lord so as to be saved! Oh I hope that rings your bell.
We want to create a band of brothers and sisters in Christ, 60,000 strong, who will donate $25 a month for the rest of their lives. If you die or if the Rapture happens you can stop giving. When we have 60,000 in our gospel army, we will be able to raise the support level of all 800 Ethnos 360 missionaries to 100%, where it should be.
I’ll make you this promise: every penny we receive from you will be forwarded to a missionary working to reach the unreached. All of our employees are volunteers. All expenses are paid by So All May Hear directors and a few good friends. Every penny we receive from you will reach a missionary.
E-mail me with questions or comments (jerry@soallmayhear.org). Pray about your role in this. I beg you; join with us and be a sender for life.
Jerry Pomeroy