MISSIOLOGY

LECTURE 9

The 10/40 Window

The 10/40 window. - Ten degrees north latitude to forty degrees north. Stretches from western Africa to east Asia.

Called the "final frontier" in world missions, it includes the Muslim block, the Hindu block, and the Buddhist block. (see map)

Here is a listing of the major 10/40 Window countries:

Afghanistan
Algeria
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Benin
Bhutan
Burkina Faso
Cambodia
Chad
China
Cyprus
Djibouti / Egypt
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Gambia
Gibraltar
Greece
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
India
Iran
Iraq
Israel / Japan
Jordan
Korea, North
Korea, South
Kuwait
Laos
Lebanon
Libya
Macau
Mali
Malta
Mauritania / Morocco
Myanmar (Burma)
Nepal
Niger
Oman
Pakistan
Philippines
Portugal
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Sudan / Syria
Taiwan
Tajikistan
Thailand
Tunisia
Turkey
Turkmenistan
United Arab Emirates
Vietnam
Western Sahara
Yemen

The 10/40 window has tremendous biblical significance: Cradle of ancient civilization. Here the nation of Israel was founded under God's mighty hand. Most of the Bible occurs within this geographical area.

10/40 window is home to the least evangelized countries in the world. - Of the 55 least evangelized countries more than 45 are located in this region. - 97% of the unevangelized people of the world reside here. This now represents the ‘uttermost part of the earth”.

Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Two-thirds of the earth's population is located in the window. Represents 1/3 of the earth's total land mass.

Home of the poorest of the poor. - Of those in the world living in absolute poverty, 80% reside in the 10/40 window. - They have the poorest quality of life in the world. - The ones affected the most are children.

100,000,000 children are homeless.

35,000 children under the age of 5, die each day.

40,000,000 abortions are performed each year.

1,000,000 children are engaged in prostitution.

1.5 million children were killed in wars between 1984 and 1994.

Up to 200 million are involved in child labor.

1.5 million are currently infected with AIDS.

2 million children die every year of a preventable diseases but they have not been immunized.

500,000 children go blind every year from vitamin A deficiency.

Some of the most oppressive and repressive governments in the world are within this window.

Governments that are not only decidedly anti-Christian but where Christians are martyred daily for their faith.

The most dangerous places in the world to be a Christian are within this region.

Vance Havner: Some missionaries bound for Africa were laughed at by the boat captain. "You'll only die over there," he said. But a missionary replied, "Captain, we died before we started."

So, who cares? Why should we be concerned with what is occurring a half a world away?

Because God cares. - The biggest tragedy of all is not the starvation, the diseases, the poverty or the wars. - The biggest tragedy is that every day hundreds of thousands of people go to their death without knowing Jesus Christ.

That's only a portion of it. - The other part of the tragedy is that to a large degree, God's people here in America don't care.

The above was an outline of a presentation given by Pastor Gary Kusunoki at the Calvary Chapel Missions Confterence

James 2:14-17 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

1 John 3:16-18 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.

Ps 82:3-5 Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy. Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked. They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course.

James 1:27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

In the 10/40 Window there are:

865 million unreached Muslims or Islamic followers in 3330 cultural sub-groupings

550 million unreached Hindus in 1660 cultural sub-groups

150 million unreached Chinese in 830 groups

275 million unreached Buddhists in 900 groups

2550 unreached tribal groups (which are mainly animistic) with a total population of 140 million

Forming a smaller -- though important -- unreached group are the 17 million Jews scattered across 134 countries

Good news: Missions researcher David Barrett says the country with the most rapid Christian expansion ever is China where there are 10,000 new Christian converts every day.

Rom 10:14-18 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.

It’s quite expensive to travel to these areas; but, fairly cheap to live there. Some say that the dollar per soul ratio is greater amongst more civilized countries outside the 10/40 Window. What is the price of a soul?! Maybe it should be not the dollar per soul that’s examined by the many mission’s agencies, but the dollar per opportunity! Most of the more "cost effective" areas have been reached and even saturated with the gospel. - We need to be where the need is the greatest.

John Keith Falconer: "I have but one candle of life to burn, and I would rather burn it out in a land filled with darkness than in a land flooded with light"

Acts 13:46-47 Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.

It is a ‘no-brainer’ that these countries are to be of primary focus for sending missionaries to. Theoretically, over 90% of new missionaries should go to this area, at least for a period of time.

“Why should anyone hear the gospel twice before everyone has heard it once?”

Matt 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

Here are the 10/40 Window nations that were previously closed to the Gospel, but now are beginning to open up (per the Window International Network):

Afghanistan ;Algeria (parts of) ;Benin ;Burkina Faso;Cambodia ;Chad ;Djibouti ;Eritrea ;Ethiopia ;Gambia;Guinea ;Guinea-Bissau; India (parts of) ;Indonesia ;Iraq;Kazakhstan ;Kuwait ;Lebanon ;Libya (expatriates);Mali ;Mongolia;Nepal ;Niger ;Nigeria ;Thailand; Western Sahara

Luke 10:2 Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.

Isa 6:8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.