When you consider the needs of the 10/40 window—a region spanning from ten to forty degrees north of the equator on the Eastern Hemisphere—it’s overwhelming.
The 10/40 window contains:
- Almost 5 billion people—over 95 percent of which are unreached with the gospel. While it constitutes only one-third of earth’s total land area, nearly two-thirds of the world’s people reside in The 10/40 Window.
- Over 3 billion Buddhists, Hindus, and Muslims—all without Christ.
- The overwhelming majority of the world’s least evangelized megacities—such as Beijing, Shanghai, Cairo, Calcutta, Delhi, Jakarta, Tokyo, Bangkok, and a hundred others.
- Some of the largest unreached people groups in the world—including the Shaikh, Yadava, Turks, Moroccan Arabs, Pashtun, Jat, and Burmese.
What do we do with statistics like these? How do we even begin to pray for so many people who need Christ?
Well, to start with, we pray for the spread of the gospel. We pray, as Jesus commanded us, that God would send laborers into His harvest (Matthew 9:38). And we pray for missionaries and national Christians already on these harvest fields.
Remember, the gospel is powerful. God still uses His servants who courageously and faithfully preach it to change lives, cities, and nations for Christ.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.—Romans 1:16
If it’s overwhelming to think of the need in the 10/40 window, it’s also overwhelming to consider the potential for how the gospel can effect change in this region.
If it's overwhelming to think of the need in the 10/40 window, it's also overwhelming to consider the potential for how the gospel can effect change in this region. Click To Tweet
A specific way that you can pray for the spread of the gospel in the 10/40 window is to pray for Spiritual Leadership Conference Asia, taking place in Manila February 27–March 1, 2018.
We’re hosting this conference with fervent prayer for God to use it to the furtherance of the gospel in this region of the world. Specifically, we’re praying (and asking you to pray) that the Lord would use Spiritual Leadership Conference Asia in the following ways:
- Lead people to Christ—The weekend before the conference begins, we are planning a courageous soul winning outreach with thirty churches participating nationwide. Each church will have a guest speaker who is a part of our delegation, and every church is asking God for a great harvest of souls.
- Foster strategic partnerships—The day before the conference, we will have a roundtable for businessmen. This meeting will help network Christian business leaders with others who also have a heart for world evangelism. Together they will investigate how they can strategically partner with missionaries and national pastors in the 10/40 window to reach more people with the gospel.
- Encourage current laborers—I’ll never forget during our 2016 Spiritual Leadership Conference Asia standing next to a national pastor from a restricted country during the congregational singing and noticing that he couldn’t sing for the tears streaming down his face. I asked if I could help him, and he told me, “I’ve never been in a place with thousands of Christians worshipping Christ openly. This is the most incredible experience of my life.”There are already senior pastors registered from forty-five different countries and over two thousand full-time Christian workers registered. We’re praying that the evening preaching services, music, and fellowship, will powerfully encourage the hearts of these who are already serving in the 10/40 window. (If your church supports missionaries in this region, consider inviting them to the conference and perhaps paying for their travel expenses.)
- Equip current laborers—Daytime services and breakout sessions will include training on soul winning, discipleship, church leadership, church music, ladies ministry, stewardship, church planting, youth ministry, teens and millennials, missions, and more.
- Invest in Bible college students—Delegates include students from several Bible colleges and Bible institutes in the Philippines and other nations. We pray this conference will not only be a powerful encouragement to them concerning giving their lives to the spread of the gospel, but that it will also give them intensely practical training.
- New laborers called—During the 2016 Spiritual Leadership Conference Asia, over fifty men in attendance sensed God’s call to preach the gospel. Since that conference nearly two years ago, we have already heard of several new churches planted, and we know there are many more in restricted nations.
- New churches planted—We believe the local church is God’s plan to reach the world with the gospel. It is to the local church Christ has given the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19–20), and it is to the local church that Christ made the promise, “…upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). We’re asking the Lord to use this conference to further the spread of local churches throughout some of the spiritually darkest places in the world.
Ultimately, this brings us back full circle. How do you pray for 4.7 billion people? You pray for the spread of the gospel.
How do you pray for 4.7 billion people? You pray for the spread of the gospel. Click To TweetWill you pray for Spiritual Leadership Conference Asia? Will you pray that God will use this conference to impact the 10/40 region with the powerful, life-changing gospel of Christ?
