New Life 91.9 is a ministry of Columbia International University in Columbia, SC, where 46% of recent graduates have become missionaries. Why do they do it? Because He said this. And, from the monthly CIU President's Letter:
When it comes to the evangelization of the entire world, there is good news and bad news. The good news is really, really good. And, the bad news is really, really serious.
First, the good news: The percentage of the entire world population that claims to be personal followers of Jesus Christ has grown from 3 percent to over 12 percent during my short lifetime! This is phenomenal news! When I was born in 1945, there were 80 million people in the entire world who claimed to be personal followers of Jesus Christ. Today, there are over 700 million devoted followers of Christ! And, the number of true believers continues to grow, and the percentage of true believers continues to grow.
One example: In the early 1950s when all the ex-patriot missionaries were expelled from China, there were 850,000 believers throughout that country. Today there are at least 60 million believers in China and many China watchers would say that number is closer to 100 million believers! This is good news!
Now, the bad news: In a world of over 6 billion people, 9 out of every 10 people are lost and outside of personal faith in Jesus Christ. Moreover, 2 out of every 3 people living in the world have never once heard a clear explanation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Furthermore, 1 out of every 3 people in the world (that’s 2 billion!) has no one living near enough to tell him about Jesus, even if he wants to hear.
Let me use China as an example again: Even with close to 100 million believers in China, there are still more lost people in that one country than all the lost people in North America, Central America, South America, and Africa combined! This is bad news indeed.
Our Lord Jesus Christ said: “Go into all the world, and preach the Good News to everyone, everywhere.” He has never rescinded that command. It is not something we might do; it is something we must do. It is not an option; it is an obligation.
