In essence, these 6 questions (and others like them) are addressing the same issue. So, as this article doesn’t give us space or time to answer them individually, let’s attempt to consolidate them into one…

When there is so much to do here at home, and all souls are equal, and it is much more cost-effective and safe to do ‘home missions’, why should we put priority on foreign missions?

I guess this article is really a follow-up to a message/article I shared 5 years ago entitled, “The Priority of the Unreached”. As the title implies, I suggested that those who have never heard the gospel should receive priority in our ministry focus (based on Rom. 15:20-21).

But how can any soul have ‘priority’? “God is no respecter of persons,” (Acts 10:34) and we know that it is not his will that any should perish but “that all should come to repentance.” (2 Pet 3:9) So can we use the word ‘priority’ with regard to souls?

Let’s bring the whole dilemma right down to where we live in the following hypothetical, but very real-to-life scenario…

We need to know the will of God on this vitally important subject. Whom should we focus on? How do we prioritize? What is God’s will for his church in ministering to the needs of the world?

“2 Wills” of God

I believe God’s will is revealed to us in 2 ways – His desire and His directive. For now, we’ll call them His “2 wills.” This might not be a theologically correct term, but bear with me as I try to explain what I mean. It’s really not that difficult, because we have “2 wills” ourselves.

For example, it may be your will (desire) to see all of your sons become carpenters. However, you may have another kind of will (directive) that orders how your inheritance will be divided among those same sons if you were to die.

Your first will, your desire for your sons to choose carpentry as an occupation, is dependent upon many outside factors including your sons’ inclinations, other people’s input in their lives, and so on; though you can certainly have some effect on it. Your second will, your directive as to what happens with your inheritance, is not dependant on or even subject to other people’s input or decisions, but must be carried out as you directed in your will.

Now let’s look at God’s “2 wills” in reference to the priority of souls.

God’s Desire

The oft-quoted and very precious passage of scripture from 2 Pet 3:9 says that “God is not willing that any should perish but [He is willing] that all should come to repentance.”

God wants all people to be saved! This holy desire of God must be one of the most beautiful aspects of His character. It’s overwhelming to think that out of billions of souls, God is personally and passionately interested in each and every one. As fellow-workers together with God, we share His passionate desire. We can reduce this desire to a very simple statement – God wants as many people as possible to be saved.

So, does any soul or group of souls have ‘priority’? If we were to answer that question based on God’s desire in 2 Pet 3:9 alone, we would have to come to the following conclusion: To leave a known area of fruitful ministry and go half way across the globe, putting priority on an unknown area where the results may or may not be fruitful is not in keeping with God’s desire for as many people as possible to be saved.

But, we must remember that 2 Pet 3:9 is God’s desire, not His directive. We understand from many other passages in scripture that all will not come to repentance, but some, tragically, will refuse and be lost for eternity.

God's Directive

On the other hand, Mark 13:10 gives us God’s directive or the second part of His will. This is something to which He is steadfastly committed. It is unalterable. Here it is – “And the gospel must first be published among all nations.” The same directive is re-worded in 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.” To top it all off, we even get a sneak-preview into the culmination of the world and the beginning of eternity in heaven and we find that this second part of God’s will, His directive, absolutely WILL be fulfilled! “After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb…” (Rev 7:9)

But perhaps nowhere in Scripture is this great directive of God more unmistakable than in the Great Commission. “Go ye therefore and make disciples of all nations.” That is not poetry or literature; it is a piercing command – a very clear directive. The Konkomba Bible reads like this – “Go! To every clan and make them my followers.” If you hosted a five-course dinner for a visiting dignitary, and he stated that he wanted to sample everything, you would not fulfill his wishes until you had given him at least a spoonful of each and every dish, right? That may be a crude illustration, but God’s directive is just that simple – we must enlist disciples of Jesus from each and every nation, each and every tribe. (The Greek word for ‘nation’ is ETHNOS = a race, a tribe, nation, people)

Now we can summarize the “2 wills” of God:

Let’s pause for a minute. Those 2 sentences are easy to read, but profoundly sobering to consider. Please read them again.

Now, based on God’s revealed will, His desire and directive, let us re-examine our original question and our hypothetical scenario. Do the Naba people get priority? Should a brother like John move out to an unreached field even if it is not as cost-effective or efficient when there is plenty to do ‘at home’?

The answer may be a bit complex. One local church cannot meet the needs of all the unreached people groups in the world. But the local church can and must embrace the obligation of God’s directive and prioritize those groups. The over-arching theme and focus of the church’s ministry strategy should be guided by God’s some-souls-from-every-nation mandate. Our ministry choices must be based, not solely on efficiency or close proximity – but on the directive.

This means that those nations (tribes/ethnic groups) like the Naba of North Africa in which there are few or NO disciples represent not only a pitiful situation, but an emergency condition directly opposed to God’s directive to the Church. At best this is a tragedy, at worst it is disobedience on our part as God’s Church to carry out His directive. These ethnic groups with few to no disciples (also called ‘unreached people groups’) must move front and center in our agenda, both individually and collectively as churches. We have to renovate and re-evaluate our entire lives as we prioritize this emergency condition. Our response to these ‘unreached’ groups must move beyond “Oh, that’s a pity!” to “God, forgive us! We will do whatever it takes to fulfill Your directive!” Only in that state of mind will be ready to do something about the thousands of unreached ethnic groups still in the world today.

My dearly beloved brothers and sisters, let us be of one heart! I do not consider myself to have apprehended this issue (see Phil 3:12). My being a “missionary” really doesn’t change anything. We all must face the facts – those unreached people are still out there. My “Jerusalem” might have changed from Ephrata, PA to Katani, Ghana, but there are still a lot of “uttermost parts of the earth” with no disciples. I am standing with you, hand-in-hand, as we look at this awesome reality. Together, we must answer some serious questions and come to grips with what those answers mean to us as individuals and churches.

Will you get on your knees with me to find the answer to that last question?

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