Beyond this Blog

Dear Friends,

Thank God that there are so many worthy mission organizations that are reaching out to fight poverty, rescue the oppressed, and share the good news of Christ. Yet, I realize that there are many because the need is so great. I did some research and found that there are 16 countries which have over 50% of their population living under the poverty level. Some are as high as 80%.Here is one of the best interactive maps I’ve found – by playing the video, you can see the progression of poverty since 1981.

http://povertydata.worldbank.org/MAPvisualizer/DVMap.html

A couple of organizations that support improvised countries that I would recommend is Gospel for Asia and Compassion International. Please read about them. There are many ways to help these organizations, whether it be to sponsor a missionary or an individual child, your donation will surely not go in vain.

Furthermore, I found statistics on the number of people groups who have never heard the gospel. According to the Joshua Project, there are 7,275 people groups, or just under 3 billion individuals that are still considered unreached. Here’s a link to this website that describes and analyes these sobering numbers:

http://joshuaproject.net/great-commission-statistics.php

This website is an incredible resource that will show you listings by country, religion, visual by map and chart of the progress of the gospel thus far and how much further we need to go. It also gives information on how you can help to spread the Great Commission.

Did you know that 4.9 billion people don’t have a complete Bible? Or that 209 million people speaking 1,967 languages don’t have one verse of scripture? You can change that by partnering with the Seed Company in their End Bible Poverty campaign. You can donate, become a prayer partner, get your church involved, or start your own campaign. Please prayerfully consider your involvement in this, as you consider how precious the written word of God is to all of us who believe and yet to believe.

http://www.endbiblepoverty.org/

You would think that the work is done once the gospel is shared and these people come to faith. Not so. It is only half the battle. In many parts of the world, old and new Christians are actively persecuted for their faith. It baffles me how anybody could ever justify the horrible violence, death and destruction that is happening to our brothers and sisters in other countries. I don’t understand injustice there, and why this injustice is happening to them and not us who also bare the name of “Christian”.

Here’s a link to the top 50 most persecuted contries, represented in a list and on a map. Please also note this link to give to the dire need in Egypt, were many Christians are under attack in the present unrest. I pray that the Lord will stir your heart in compassion that is greatly needed and to give as you are able.

http://www.worldwatchlist.us/

Another incredible link introduces the Be Heard Project, which seeks to protect Christians in the Middle East, particularly Egypt, who has come upon a time of ever-increasing persecution. Please don’t turn a deaf ear to these saints, many who are imprisoned for their faith. There’s an area to sign petitions and give to this cause.

http://beheardproject.com/egypt-christians

Always and in everything, thank you for your prayers for God’s care, protection, and provision.