Leaving the 99 to go after the 1

Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. Luke 15: 3-7

It was Christmas high in the mountains of China. Shin Fu was walking alone when he heard a strange song. The language was familiar but the words and meaning were not. He went curiously into the small village and asked the men what they were singing. “A song about the birth of Jesus,” they replied. They went on to share the Good News about the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. That night Shen Fu heard the Gospel for the very first time. He became a believer and all Heaven rejoiced.

All across China and around the world, literally billions of people have never heard the Gospel. They are in over 6,600 people groups that are considered unreached. This means there is no indigenous community of believing Christians trying to evangelize this people group. They have no churches, Bibles or believers. They are lost sheep.

 

At Jordan Lewis Missions we have made a decision to leave the 99 to go after the one.

In the parable of the Lost Sheep the shepherd leaves the 99 and seeks out the one. He uses all of his resources to find the lost. But in the church today, the vast majority of resources are being used to care for the “flock” while very little is used to reach the lost ones. It is estimated that over 90% of all missionaries work among people groups who are reached. The tragedy is that for every dollar of Christian resources, less than one penny is directed at reaching unreached people.

At JLM, we have connections with literally thousands of evangelists, teachers, pastors, apostles and missionaries who are ready, willing and eager to leave the 99 to go after the one. In the cities, on mountaintops, across the deserts and to the islands they are waiting for financial provision, evangelistic tools like Bibles and the Jesus Film as well as our prayers to finish the Task and fulfill the Words of Christ:

“And this Gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:14

Finally, we are very excited to announce that a generous partner has stepped up to match EACH DOLLAR raised by the end of the year up to $48,000 to help us send 8 teams to reach 8 identified unreached people groups in China. Broken down, it will cost $1,000 per month to support each of the 8 teams for a total of $96,000 for 2016. Imagine, your support will be doubled and the gift you give will allow these workers to bring the greatest Gift ever given…Jesus.

Merry Christmas to you and your family and may the Lord richly bless you in 2016. Thank you again for standing with us as together we reach the unreached with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

For our King,