International Day for the Unreached seeks to 'light up' the map for billions of people without the Gospel

An Indian man who once wanted nothing to do with Christianity says the power of prayer and the miraculous healing of his sick brother after meeting two evangelists opened his heart to Jesus Christ, a decision that came at the cost of family relationships and social standing.

“Very often in India, people come to Christ through miracles, through healings especially,” David Bogosian, director of the Alliance for the Unreached, told The Christian Post in an interview ahead of the International Day for the Unreached, an annual Pentecost Sunday observance intended to raise awareness about the billions of people worldwide who do not have access to a church, Bible teaching or Christian community.

Today, the Indian man, who is not identified for security reasons, serves with the Third of Us Alliance, a campaign launched by the Alliance for the Unreached to draw attention to the roughly one-third of the world’s population still living with little or no access to the Gospel message.

'Tremendous resistance to the Gospel'

In countries such as India, where more than 2,000 people groups are classified as unreached by the Good News, Bogosian said there remains “tremendous resistance to the Gospel,” much of it rooted in misunderstandings about Christianity and Christians.

Bogosian, who previously served as a missionary in Asia for 10 years with Frontier Mission Fellowship, recalled a story the Indian man once told him. The man initially believed Christians were “bad people” who ate beef and even their “Gods,” which appeared to stem from misunderstandings about Holy Communion and the Trinity.

When the man was a teenager, his brother became sick, and doctors told the family the illness would likely claim his life. Around that same time, two Christian evangelists visited the family’s village and shared a message about Jesus as a healer.

“When they learned about his brother, they offered to pray for him in the name of Jesus, but the family said no,” Bogosian said. “They were opposed to anything related to Christianity.”

The evangelists left, but the Indian man decided to pray for his sick brother.

“He prayed in the name of Jesus for his brother, and his brother was instantly healed,” Bogosian said. “So he decided to become a Christian. He was thrown out of his home by his parents. He was homeless at that point, just a teenager.”

The teenager was later taken in by Christians living about 45 minutes from his village. He attended Bible college and met an American missionary who trained him in church planting and discipleship.

“And something just clicked in that training, and he got it and began to run with it,” Bogosian said. “Now there is a large movement taking place in that area of India. Many believers have come to faith in that area. They were even able to elect a member of Parliament in India who is a Christian.”

Bogosian, who works with the Alliance for the Unreached through its parent organization, Missio Nexus, said the man’s story reflects both the opportunities and challenges facing missionaries in regions resistant to Christianity.

Clearing up the 'misunderstandings'

Missio Nexus is an association of about 300 mission organizations representing approximately 50,000 missionaries serving around the world.

“One of the jobs of missionaries is to help clear up those misunderstandings,” Bogosian said. “That’s always been the case, going all the way back to the first and second centuries of Christianity.”

“When you look at the whole history of Christianity, it’s all about clarifying what we actually believe so people can understand,” he added. “We’re really here to help, to serve and to love people and to show people God’s love. That’s the heart of the message. When we emphasize those things, it’s amazing how many bridges can be built.”

According to Bogosian, churches and individuals can participate through prayer gatherings, youth activities and discussion guides. Organizers are also encouraging participants to use an online prayer map created by the Joshua Project, which identifies 3,216 frontier people groups globally, where fewer than one in 1,000 individuals follow Christ. 

Participants can click on a region of the map and leave a prayer, causing that section to illuminate digitally.

'Light up that whole map'

“So we want to light up that whole map on Pentecost Sunday, as well as going forward,” Bogosian said. “Then in the evening, we’re having a concert of prayer.”

The evening event will focus on prayer for people living in the 10/40 Window, a region stretching from North Africa through the Middle East and much of Asia between 10 and 40 degrees north latitude. Many Christian mission groups consider the region a major focus because it contains large populations with limited exposure to Christianity.

About 230 people have already signed up online to participate in the International Day for the Unreached webinar.

The observance began about a decade ago and has since expanded internationally, with churches and ministries in Brazil, Africa, Europe and other regions participating, according to Bogosian.

The founders of the International Day for the Unreached approached Missio Nexus last year and asked the organization to bring the initiative under its umbrella.

“Many of the members who founded it were actually our members,” Bogosian said. “So we said that would be fantastic.”

Bogosian noted that while Missio Nexus members serve globally, there is a “strong emphasis” on restricted-access countries — places where governments or hostile social environments prevent traditional missionary activity.

Missionaries working in those areas often cannot obtain religious visas and instead enter countries as teachers, humanitarian aid workers or professionals in other fields.

“Half the world consists of high-risk areas for missionary activity,” Bogosian said. “Yet those are the same places that desperately need the Gospel.”

Despite the risks, Bogosian said Christians in the West have more opportunities than ever to support believers living in persecuted regions through organizations such as Voice of the Martyrs and Christian Aid Mission.

“There’s probably no country today in the 10/40 Window where you can’t find a ministry that can connect you with brothers and sisters there,” he said. “So it’s possible to pray, to give and even to go.”

Bogosian encouraged Christians to consider how their personal skills and experiences could be used to serve in difficult regions around the world.

“What we all need to be asking is, ‘OK, God, how do I use the gifts and opportunities You’ve given me to serve You in these contexts where Your name is not known?’” he said. “There is a place for you.”