On Sunday, the Day of Pentecost, Pastors David Platt and Francis Chan led a coalition of more than 50 Christian ministries in the launch of a 33-day prayer challenge to remind Christendom of the one-third of the world's population who still lack access to the Bible, the church, and the community of other believers.
According to the Christian Post, Christians are asked to pray for the "third of us" who do not have access to Jesus as part of the 1:11 Prayer Challenge.
A Facebook Live broadcast was held on Sunday at 1: 11 p.m. in each U.S. time zone to kick off the event. The "Three Line Symbol" was drawn or placed on the participants' hands wherever it was visible. The "three no's" - no Bible, no church, and no other believers - represent a third of humankind.
Platt, the head pastor of McLean Bible Church in Vienna, Virginia, and New York Times bestselling author Chan will participate in video conversations throughout the day on Sunday at the online event.
The event was hosted by Alliance for the Unreached as part of the "A Third of Us" movement.
The alliance, which includes Bibles for the World, FEBC, Door International, Ethnos 360, Frontier Ventures, Joshua Project, Missio Nexus, Mission Network News, Operation Mobilization, Seed Company, TransWorld Radio, World Mission, and ZimZam Global, states that "this is a conversation starter to talk about the movement and invite others to join the 1:11 Prayer Challenge."
According to the collaborating group, the initiative aimed to disseminate awareness via social connections in a simple and rapid manner.
"Someone came and presented the Gospel to us and gave us the opportunity to be reconciled to God, to have a relationship with God, and to have our lives transformed by the Living God. Why would we hold that back from millions of others?" asked Jon Fugler, the Alliance for the Unreached's board chair.
"So, awareness is our focus. Our campaign is designed to help spread awareness, through our social connections, simply and quickly," he added.
Defining the "Unreached"
According to Marv Newell, executive director of the Alliance for the Unreached, the term "unreached" does not mean "unsaved" nor is it synonymous with "unevangelized."
"The vast majority of people in communities across North America are reached with the Gospel, meaning that they have access to the Good News in their language in some form or another," she said.
"But this is not true for the 3.2 billion people living in Gospel-destitute areas of the world," she continued. "They are considered unreached because they have no access to the Good News. They still await the opportunity to hear the message of Jesus for the first time and based upon the number of professing believers in their community, it is extremely unlikely they will meet or know a Christian personally."
"I cannot imagine having to face God apart from Christ. So, how can I allow other people to do this? " Chan said, adding that God gave him a desire to champion the cause for the unreached people.
