A.C.C.E.S.S. to the Gospel

Time for a quick word-association game: what first comes to mind when you hear the word ‘access’? Depending on your experience and circumstances, any number of things may have crossed your mind: connections between your property and the nearest road, wheelchair ramps (or their lack!) at local businesses, or perhaps an inability to get an internet connection any faster than dial-up. As a linguist, I often associate ‘access’ with Microsoft’s database software, which we use to analyze all manner of patterns in language data. Yet for myself – and probably most other cross-cultural missionaries – the word ‘access’ most quickly brings to mind the people who have none: specifically, those with no access to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

In a world of mass-media and the Internet, the concept of a person beyond the reach of the Gospel is often hard to grasp. What does it really look like to have no access to the Gospel? My father-in-law, Rob Greenslade, preached on this issue last Sunday at Newport Southern Baptist Church. Contrasting an ‘average Joe’ in the United States with people unreached by the Gospel, Pastor Rob summarized the opportunities to hear of Jesus Christ with this easy-to-remember acronym:

• A – Airwaves. In the United States, we have the ability to hear the Gospel by television, radio, or the Internet. For the unreached these technologies are either absent, or only available in languages they do not speak.
• C – Church. Most Americans live within walking distance of multiple Christian churches, and could learn about God in one if they so desired. Unreached people groups have no such option to hear Jesus taught in their own language!
• C – Culture. Christianity pervades Western culture. An investigation of our holidays, history, legal system, charities, or idioms will eventually lead to Christ, but Jesus is not there to be discovered at the root of societies where He is unknown.
• E – Education. Children in the US can hear of Jesus in Sunday School, history classes, a parent’s instruction, or eventually through one of many Christian colleges. None of these options are available to the unreached!
• S – Someone. A family member, a teacher, a coworker, a service provider, a friend… it is hard to imagine an American who does not know someone who could tell them of Jesus. Yet for those living in unreached people groups… there is no one.
• S – Scripture. There are hundreds of available modern English translations of God’s Word today. They can be found on library shelves, at bookstores, in hotel rooms, and even online. Unreached languages do not have a single verse of Scripture available to be read.

It seems that we as English speakers can hardly step outside without tripping over the knowledge of God’s rescue plan for mankind! The Gospel is ubiquitous in our lives – so common that it can fade into the background and remain unnoticed. Such widespread availability can easily numb our perception of others’ lack, because we struggle to comprehend how anyone could not access what we have in such plenty.

Yet the harsh truth is that of 6,500 people groups in the world today, a full 2,500 have no access to God’s Word. Not only have they no access… but there is no effort currently underway to reach them! And of the world’s population, which is nearing 7.1 billion living people… anywhere from 30-40% of people alive today (2.1-3.0 billion!) live in one of those unreached people groups.

“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved,” wrote the Apostle Paul in the book of Romans, “but how can they call on Him to save them unless they believe in Him? And how can they believe in Him if they have never heard about Him? And how can they hear about Him unless someone tells them?”

As you go about your day, take time to stop and consider the full A.C.C.E.S.S. you have to the knowledge of Jesus. Then take a moment to reflect on the tragedy that 2,500 people groups have none of those ways to hear about the God who created them, loves them, and desires that they be reconciled to Him.

What are we going to do about it?