There are more believers alive than at any time in history.

Followers of Jesus can be found on every continent across the globe.

But there is still a lot of work to be done. 

More than one-third of the world’s population still lacks meaningful access to the gospel. 

That’s 3.5 billion people

Without a local church

Without a neighbour who follows Jesus

Without anyone intentionally sharing the Good News with them

A young South Asian man smiles enthusiastically as he shares with other men sitting on a bench
2 south east Asian women smile while preparing to lift baskets to carry
A small group of south Asian men, women, and children sit in a circle on the floor in a house

Images courtesy of Power to Change Ministries, Partners International Canada, and Wycliffe Bible Translators of Canada

A young South Asian man smiles enthusiastically as he shares with other men sitting on a bench
A small group of south Asian men, women, and children sit in a circle on the floor in a house
2 south east Asian women smile while preparing to lift baskets to carry

Images courtesy of Power to Change Ministries, Partners International Canada, and Wycliffe Bible Translators of Canada

Despite decades of faithful ministry, mission engagement, and mobilization, engaging people groups who have never heard the gospel of Jesus Christ remains a pressing opportunity for the global Church.

How do we go forward?

Polycentric Christianity

Missions today is increasingly polycentric.

Christianity is a globally shared movement, with churches from every region both sending and receiving gospel workers.

The movement of the gospel is no longer from “one centre to the rest” but from “many centres to everywhere.”

A man explains the gospel using images to 2 indigenous South American women sitting alongside a walkway

Image courtesy of IMB

The global church across Africa, Asia, and Latin America is leading the great calling to share Jesus with those who have never heard.

With the change in global workforce, comes a change in strategy, partnership models, funding flows, and leadership structures.
A man stands in a rural African sharing something with listeners on motorcycles and a straw mat

Image courtesy of SIM Canada

Two young men with their eyes closed face each other and hold hands to pray

Image courtesy of Operation Mobilization Canada

Christian communities with different cultures, languages, and resources, are uniquely equipped to bring the gospel to specific less-reached places. 

The Persecuted Church

Much of the global church is hidden as millions of believers face persecution.
People walk and cycle on a dusty middle eastern street at sunrise
A South Asian man closes his eyes and prays
A view through the door of a rustic middle eastern home shows a young boy holding his mother's hand as they walk down the street

Images courtesy of iStock and IMB

Many churches are just 5 people bravely singing, studying, serving.  No sign on their meeting place. No photos from gatherings. Treasured Bibles tucked under floorboards.  Threatened, marginalised, displaced, restricted, excluded, disowned, imprisoned, and even killed for their uncompromising faith.
People walk and cycle on a dusty middle eastern street at sunrise
A South Asian man closes his eyes and prays
A view through the door of a rustic middle eastern home shows a young boy holding his mother's hand as they walk down the street

Images courtesy of iStock and IMB

While the realities of persecution can pose significant challenges, they also strengthen and deepen the resilience of gospel witness. 
The willingness of our persecuted brothers and sisters to pay the highest price for Jesus is not just survival. It is one of the most powerful testimonies on earth.
Areas experiencing persecution frequently overlap with regions where access to the gospel is most limited.
Two men view an old cell phone while leaning over a shopping cart full of posessions
Two men view an old cell phone while leaning over a shopping cart full of posessions
An older man with a reflective vest sits under a large tree holding a radio
An elderly person holds up a mobile phone with Chinese characters written on it
2 men sitting in an African savannah with wildlife in the background smile while looking together at a mobile phone
A farmer puts down his digging tool in the field to view his mobile phone

Images courtesy of iStock and IMB

Persecution also drives innovation and multiplication. Restrictive contexts inspire creative outreach, digital discipleship, and house-church networks, often turning hardship into hubs of vibrant, reproducing faith.

Learn more about the persecuted church →

Christian Media

Christian media is reaching the frontlines.
An older man with a reflective vest sits under a large tree holding a radio
An elderly person holds up a mobile phone with Chinese characters written on it
2 men sitting in an African savannah with wildlife in the background smile while looking together at a mobile phone
A farmer puts down his digging tool in the field to view his mobile phone

Images courtesy of iStock and IMB

Media platforms like…
• broadcast,
• digital,
• and mobile channels
are now central to gospel engagement, serving as strategic pathways for connection, discipleship, and gospel access in today’s world.
Media can reach where traditional teams have limited access,
  • bringing scripture past the borders of closed nations,
  • discipleship to people who would never set foot in a church building,
  • and connecting isolated believers to the wider Body of Christ.
An integrated media strategy has become an indispensable mission infrastructure, exponentially expanding the reach and impact of the gospel.

The Deaf

Some communities require extra intention to share the good news.  Notably, the Deaf community often faces barriers to Scripture and gospel access in their heart language, calling us to create meaningful ways to connect, evangelize, and disciple.

Of the world’s 70 million Deaf individuals, fewer than 2% know and follow Jesus.

Because of unique linguistic and cultural needs, the Deaf community thrives when mission approaches are specially designed to reach them.

2 African sign language interpreters use sign language
A man uses sign language to communicate with others who are sitting at a table together

Images courtesy of DOOR International and IMB

2 African sign language interpreters use sign language
A man uses sign language to communicate with others who are sitting at a table together

Images courtesy of DOOR International and IMB

For many Deaf people, scripture is most meaningful when it is shared not on a printed page, but in their own sign language—the language that speaks most clearly to their hearts and minds. Experiencing God’s Word in a language that feels natural and fully accessible makes all the difference.
There is no single universal sign language. Linguists have identified at least 135 distinct sign languages, and estimates suggest there may be more than 300 worldwide. Every Deaf community has its own unique language and culture, highlighting the importance of Scripture translations that genuinely reflect and honor that rich diversity, and the need for devoted efforts in this area.

Check out this translation of scripture into Nepali sign language. 

Projects like this make scripture accessible to marginalized Deaf communities. 

Bible Translation

Bible translation progress over the last 100 years is an incredible cause for joy. 

The good news has been translated into thousands of languages spoken by more than 6 billion people.

3 Nepali people sit in front of a traditional home in the Himalayas with notebooks and a laptop
3 Nepali people sit in front of a traditional home in the Himalayas with notebooks and a laptop

Yet, the work of Bible translation is not finished. More than 1,000 languages lack a translation of even part of Scripture.

Bible translation remains central to gospel accessibility and discipleship effectiveness.

The tools are available. Our generation is tasked with finishing the great work of writing the Bible in the heart language of every people group on earth.

Learn more about the status of Bible translation →

Funding

The global Church has been entrusted with remarkable collective financial capacity. Faithful believers already have the resources needed to reach the unreached through strategic initiatives.

However, investment in missions to the least reached people remains modest when measured against the immense task at hand.

There are

3.5 billion people

without gospel access

In 7,400 unreached people groups
1,000+ languages still lack a translation of even part of the Bible

Yet, only

1.8%

of global missions funding is directed toward reaching them.