The Harvest is Plentiful but The Workers are Few

The Harvest is Plentiful – The Workers are Few
• Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching
in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the
kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.
• When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them,
because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep
without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, “The
harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord
of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His
harvest.” -- Matthew 9:35-38.

The Harvest is Plentiful – The Workers are Few
• “Jesus’ compassion came to expression in the call to
pray for more missionaries. From first to last mercy was
driving missions in the life of Jesus.” -- John Piper
• Goal of Missions – The worship and glory of God.
• “All of history is moving toward one great goal, the
white-hot worship of God and His Son among all the
peoples of the earth. Missions is not God’s ultimate
goal, worship is. Missions exists because worship
doesn’t.” -- John Piper

The Harvest is Plentiful – Our World
• Population – 6.64 billion
• Twice as many people alive today than in 1960
• Least Reached/Unreached – 2.72 billion
• Percentage Least Reached/Unreached – 41%
Joshua Project; World Overpopulation Awareness

The Harvest is Plentiful – Our World
• Muslim Countries – 36 (1.1 billion people)
• Hindu Countries – 2 (1.1 billion people)
• Buddhist Countries – 12 (305 million people)
Dr. Milfred Minatrea

The Global Quiz
If world’s population were reduced to 100 people…
• How many would be Asian? 60
• How many would be European? 12
• How many would be African? 14
• How many would be American? 5
• How many would be white? 30
• How many would be malnourished? 50
• How many would be unable to read? 70
• How many would hold a university degree? 1
The Traveling Team

What is God’s Focus Now?
What is the Need Today?
• Unreached People Groups – Matthew 24:14
• “A people group among which there is no
indigenous community of believing Christians
with adequate numbers and resources to
evangelize this people group.”
• How many UPG’s are in the world?
– 6,700 – 8,000 (estimates vary)
• Where are the majority of unreached people?
– The 10/40 Window
The Joshua Project; Dr. Milfred Minatrea; Traveling Team

The 10/40 Window

The 10/40 Window

The 10/40 Window
• 67 Countries
• 4.05 billion people - 61% of world’s population
• 1/3 of the world’s land, 2/3 of the world’s people
• 2.37 billion are Unreached People- 36% of
world’s population.
• Muslims – 724 million
• Hindus – 787 million
• Buddhists – 240 million Luis Bush; The Traveling Team

What are the Issues?
• Major religions of the world started there and are
firmly entrenched.
• Hostility, rejection of Christian missionaries.
• Access or Availability of the Gospel.
“The people who are lost in the 10/40 Window are
not “more lost” than your neighbor or family
member who does not know Christ. But, they are
“unreached” in the sense that they have not had an
opportunity to hear the Gospel. The issue is their
lack of access to the Gospel. People can be
unevangelized without being unreached.”
The Traveling Team

The Workers are Few – Today’s Need
• Estimated 430,000 missionaries from all branches
of Christendom.
• 90% serving reached (not all evangelized).
• 10% serving unreached.
• In areas of 10/40 Window – only 1 missionary for
every 1 million people.
• 1976 – 17,000 UPG 2009 – 8,000
• 1970 – 1/2 world’s people were unreached; Today
about 1/3.
The Traveling Team; Dr. Milfred Minatrea

The Harvest is Plentiful - Matthew 9:37
• Harvest – That which is reaped or ready to be
reaped or gathered; The product or result of
any exertion or labor; Gain; Reward
• Plentiful – Abundance; prolific
• Plentiful Harvest = Opportunity
• Few Workers = Opportunity

The Workers’ Power Tool - Prayer
• How did Jesus say workers in God’s kingdom are employed?
– By asking the Lord of the harvest to send them out!
• Beseech – Ask or entreat with urgency; To supplicate; To implore
• Purposeful and Powerful Prayer – “Ask the Lord of the
harvest to send out workers into His harvest field.”
• “God has given us prayer because Jesus has given us a mission. Prayer
humbles us as needy and exalts God as all-sufficient. This is why the
missionary enterprise advances by prayer. God’s goal to be glorified
will not succeed without the powerful proclamation of the gospel.
And that gospel will not be proclaimed in power to all the nations
without the prevailing, earnest, faith-filled prayers of God’s people.
The purpose of prayer is to make clear to all the participants in this
war that the victory belongs to the Lord.” - - John Piper

The Heart of Workers – Compassion of Christ
“For I tell you that Christ has become a servant for the
Jews on behalf of God’s truth, to confirm the promises
made to the patriarchs so that the Gentiles may glorify
God for His mercy.” – Romans 15:8-9
• Zeal for the glory of God motivates world missions.
• A servant spirit and heart of mercy motivate world
missions.
• A heart for the glory of God and a heart of mercy for the
nations make a Christ-like missionary. – John Piper

The Harvest is Plentiful – The Workers are Few
• Missions is about the worship of God and His glory
among all peoples.
– “All the nations you have made will come and worship
before you, O Lord; they will bring glory to your Name.”
– Psalm 86:9
• See Obstacles as Opportunities to glorify God
• Missions and missionaries are launched and
empowered through prayer.
• Make it your daily mission to ask the Lord of the
harvest to send out workers into His harvest field.