There are many reasons for us to be thankful!
Kim has been completely pain and med free for over 120 days now. She is not only off all her pain meds (including all over the counter pain meds) but she has been off antidepressants and anxiety meds. She is losing weight and is healthier than she has been in over 12 years. We are having the time of our life as a family having the woman I married 15 years ago back and the boys getting to experience a mom they never got to experience before!
As you all know I traveled to Indo*nesia to work with our 3 adopted UPG's over there this spring and we saw and experienced the Lord in miraculous ways as well as encountered spiritual warfare first hand. Our work here coupled with our adoption of the Khmer people of Cambodia while in Carrollton is the kind of work one can take into eternity with them.
Romans 15:20 "It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation."
Here is a little insight as to why it is important to me:
WORLDWIDE
- Total People Groups: 16,761
UNREACHED PEOPLE GROUPS
Less than 2% Evangelical Christian.1
- Total Unreached People Groups: 7,050
- Total Population of UPGs: 2.88 billion people
- Total Percentage of world: UPG’s make up 42.1% of world population
UNEVANGELIZED PEOPLES
Greater than 2% Evangelical Christian but still great numbers of unsaved.
- Total Unevangelized People Groups: 2,854
- Total Population: 900 million
- Total Percentage of world: the unevangelized make up 17% of world population
HOW MISSIONS MONEY IS DIVIDED.
Money that goes toward the Reached world: $609 billion
(that means 87% of the money given to "Missions" goes to areas with "reached" status or access to the gospel already). [2]
Money that goes toward Unreached Peoples: $450 million (that's only 1% of what is given to "Missions.") [2]
That's also how much Americans in 2011 spent on Halloween costumes (for their pets).
The $450 million (going toward UPG's) is only .001% of the $42 trillion Income of Christians. (for every $100,000 that Christians make, they give $1 to the unreached.)
ALL MISSIONARIES
- All Missionaries in the World (Catholic, Protestant, etc.): 400,000 foreign missionaries [1]
- Missionaries in the Reached World : 309,315 foreign missionaries (77.3%) [2]
- Missionaries in the Unevangelized : 77,610 foreign missionaries (19.4%) [2]
- Missionaries in the Unreached : 13,315 foreign missionaries (3.3%) [2]
CHRISTIAN WORKERS
- Full time Christian Workers in the World : 5.5 million workers
- Christian workers in the Reached World : 4.19 million local workers (75.9%)
- Christian workers in the Unevangelized : 1.3 million local workers (23.7%)
- Christian workers in the Unreached : 20,500 local workers (0.37%)
MORE TTT OBSERVATIONS
The number of current UPG missionaries compared to the total 2 billion Christians in the world equals the same probability of being in a plane accident (.0005%).
The ratio of UPG workers the total unreached world is: 1 missionary for every 216,300 people.
There are 78,000 Evangelical Christians for every one unreached people group.
These statistics are mind boggling to me! I praise God that at my current church and my last church we sought to reach the unreached. I pray this continues to be a priority and main point of vision and spending for both Grace North And FUMC Carrollton!
Max finished sixth grade and survived! This means that he will be starting football next year and We will officially have two jr high aged youth at the end of the summer. (I don't know if that is a praise or a prayer request)
Over all we are blessed! Thank you for being a part of that blessing!
Moving forward pray for us as we have begun the task of looking for land and preparing for a capital campaign for land and building! We are at the very beginning stages so pray that God would lead us each step of the way!
Love you all!
Jeff, Kim, Max, Joshua and Tate
