One-Third of One Percent

Did you know that 99.7% of money collected by Christian organizations is spent on populations that have already heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ? That means only 0.3% of funds are allocated to unreached people groups.* What in the world!?

So I am wondering...
  1. What would a church budget look like if Missions was more of a priority? Would we spend less on paid pastors who are hired to make our lives easier, dare I say, and more on grassroots initiatives that share Christ's gospel in word and deed outside the church walls, into the community, country, and world?
  2. What would happen if Christians put a cap on their lifestyles and invested all excess funds in telling others about the Good News of Jesus Christ instead of increasing household spending with each subsequent pay raise?
  3. Granted, reaching out to one's community is vitally important. But how many of us use that as an excuse to stay in our comfort zone instead of venturing out to another culture to share our faith?
  4. Is it better to invest in relocating a foreign missionary to another country or to empower and equip a domestic missionary who is already established within an unreached country?
  5. How do we better train missionaries to contextualize the gospel instead of imposing Western ideology on Eastern ways of thinking?
  6. How do we encourage our children to listen to God's voice in regards to career instead of society's pressure to secure lucrative employment for the sake of luxury and pleasure?
  7. How do we hold onto God's gifts loosely, including our children, so that it is easier to let go of it all for the sake of the Gospel?
These are questions I grapple with as I stare at the dismal one-third of one percent.

Any ideas?

*Source: MB Missions Presentation, April 2012

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