The Great Imbalance – The Hindrance to the Remaining Task.

In 2024 we continue focusing prayer on the ‘Remaining Task’ since the Great Commission has become a Great ‘Omission’ due to following reasons:

1. Great Ignorance.
2. Great Indifference.
3. Great Imbalance.

The Great Imbalance:

This week we look at how the Great Imbalance in the Mission work has hindered the fulfillment of the Remaining Task.
This ‘Great Imbalance’ is the disparity in focus and and allocating resources in Missions work today.
The majority of the focus of the Christian missions and ministry are on already finished areas instead of the unfinished areas. If the Church continues in this imbalance it will amount to ‘injustice’ done to the lost and unreached people who are yet to hear the Gospel.

Imbalance is Injustice!

“You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.”

Daniel 5:27.

When looking from the world’s point of view, when care and resources are not equally allocated it is considered as injustice. It is noted that “when a group with resources, wealth, power, or authority gives preferential treatment to its own group over members of another group, social injustice occur.”
The justice systems of the modern world depicts the symbol of ‘balances’ adopted from the Greek goddess of ‘Themis.’

Themis was a member of the Greek pantheon of deities and was considered the goddess of justice, was also known as “Lady Justice” who is blindfolded and holding scales to execute balanced and impartial justice.
The ‘scales’ of justice represent the fact that justice must balance the needs of the individual against the needs of society. Justice must also balance the interests of one individual against those of another. The scales of justice symbolize fairness.

‘Huge Injustice’

We quote from the Task Remaining by the ‘Global Frontier Missions’ (GFM):
“There is a lot of discussion in the Christian world today about fighting injustice (racial reconciliation, human trafficking, slavery, AIDS, poverty). We believe those ARE issues that are near to God’s heart. However . . . we consider it a huge injustice that, 2000 years after Jesus said to go and make disciples of all nations, only 2.4% of missionaries are working among the nearly 3 billion people who have never had the chance to hear the Good News of the kingdom for the first time!“

Where is the Great Imbalance?

The GFM further notes that the Great Imbalance is evident in how we allocate resources in Missions work today. This is highlighted by dividing the World in to 3 segments as ‘World A, B, & C,’ and analyzes the current activity of the Christian Church and Missions, and how much attention given to each World.

The Three Worlds: A-B-C

While God’s priority would be in the order of A-B-C, the majority of the focus to the Christian mission and ministry is on finished areas instead of on the Remaining Task.
Therefore we explain this in reverse order to highlight this:

‘WORLD C’: 72% of Focus on 29% of People – who are Christians.

Majority of all Christian Work is among the 1/3^rd of the worlds Population who are already Christian – about 2.5 to 3 billion people.
They are provided with abundance of Resources in following areas:

Allocation of Missionaries and Finances to the Christian ‘World C.’

‘WORLD B’: 22% of Focus on 28% of Lost People – who have access to the Gospel.

The ‘World B’ has Evangelized persons who have had an adequate opportunity to hear the Christian message and to respond to it, whether positively or negatively.
There is limited focus and engagement in places already the Gospel has access to the lost people.

1. They may have heard the Gospel and chosen not to Follow Jesus.
2. They have Churches nearby.
3. Have Bibles and Resources in their own language.
4. Have Friends or Co-workers potentially Christian.
5. Access to other Christians and Resources.
6. About 22% of Focus

‘WORLD A’: 3% of Focus on 29% of Unreached People and Regions.

THESE WILL NEVER HAVE ACCESS TO THE GOSPEL – 3 Billion People and 6000 People Groups!

There is NO focus on the Unreached Regions and Unreached People Groups who will never have an opportunity or access to the Gospel.
This is what involves the Remaining Task!

Churches are spending approximately 1% of our missions resources among the 2 billion people in 7,000 people groups who haven’t heard the Gospel.

• They have NO Chances of Hearing the Gospel.
• No Access to the Gospel.
• No Bibles or resources in their own language.
• Not Churches nearby.
• No Believers nearby.
• Some estimate that 75% of them will never meet a Christian in their lifetime!

(Watch the Video of the Great Imbalance on the link at the end.)

The 2 Key Factors of Imbalance: Access & Resources.

From the above facts we realize that the 2 key factors which contribute to the Great Imbalance are ‘access’ and ‘resources’; which are not given equally.
Next week, we will further highlight how both ‘Access and Resources’ contributes to this.
But we ask you to join in Prayer so that this imbalance will be addressed by the global Church.

Prayer for Change in Church’s attitude towards the Unreached.

Prophet Haggai exposed  ‘consumerism’ of  Israel which reflects the state of the Church today.

“Think carefully about how you are living. You have planted many seeds. But the crops you have gathered are small. So you eat. But you never have enough. You drink. But you are never full. You put on your clothes. But you are not warm. You earn your pay. But it will not buy everything you need.”

Haggai 1:5-6

Jesus too warned the Church of its responsibility to steward resources to take care of the lost.

“Much will be required of everyone who has been given much.
Even more will be asked of the person who is supposed to take care of much.”

Luke 12:48.

Jesus further warned how the Church can be like the unfaithful servant saying “My master is taking a long time to come back” and “feeds himself, and drinks until he gets drunk.”  
The dire consequence will be that the “Master will return at an hour the servant doesn’t know…and  He will send the servant to the place where unbelievers go.” (Luke 12:45-46 NIRV)

Prayer:

• Lord, We thank you that you have blessed the Global Church with so many resources.
• Lord help us to understand that: “Much will be required of everyone who has been given much.’
• Help us to evaluate our lives by what the Prophet Haggai said: “Think carefully about how you are living.”
• We Repent that we have spent so much on ourselves ‘eating and drinking’ and not being alert about your Commission and return.
• Help us to realize that you have ‘given us so much‘ to “take care of much” of the needs of the Lost People in the World.
• Lord, open our eyes to see the ‘Great Imbalance’ and remove this blindness from the Church.
• We repent and pray that you will help us to focus on the ‘Unreached People and Regions’ which need the Gospel.
• We Pray for more Laborers to the Unreached because the ‘laborers are few’ among them.

For More Resources on the Great Imbalance:
Video: The Task Remaining: Global Frontier Missions.
Video: The Great Imbalance: The Gospel Coalition.
World Christianity and Missions Report.

• Sources:
• Global Frontier Missions.
• World Christianity and Missions Report.
• The Radical.net
• Status of Global Christianity 2024.
• Inquiresjournal.com
• Study.com.