The 10/40 Window is a region of great gospel need. And though the 10/40 Window is often talked about in mission circles, this term is not as common among the church at large. As I become a missionary, I continually gain new insights into this region and God’s desire for its people. To better know God’s heart for the peoples in this region of the world, we first need to understand the basics of this part of the world.
What is the 10/40 Window?
The geographic area exists between 10 degrees north and 40 degrees north latitude — hence the name 10/40 Window. This region includes North Africa, the Middle-East and Asia. Great imbalances exist there. The majority of Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist and non-religious peoples live here. Additionally, this region is home to most of the world’s poor. Over eight out of 10 people who live on less than a few hundred dollars per year live in this region.
According to Joshua Project, though the 10/40 Window “constitutes only one-third of earth’s total land area, nearly two-thirds of the world’s people reside here”. That translates to approximately 4.89 billion people who call this region home. A heart-gripping statistic stands out from this number. Of the individuals in the 10/40 Window, 62 percent remain unreached or unengaged people groups.
This means the 10/40 Window holds over 3 billion men, women, and children who have never heard the gospel. That is over 3 billion people who are precious to our Lord, but have no idea he loves them. Three billion individuals who at this time remain eternally separated from King Jesus with no knowledge of His salvation. Three billion who do not know the beauty and glory of the living God.
Why Should We Care about the 10/40 Window?
Although I’ve heard these numbers for years, it still breaks my heart when I think of the human life each number represents. My compassion is not my own: It is the heart of my Father who desires that no one would perish. Ezekiel 33 makes it clear that he never delights in the death of the wicked. Instead, he delights that the wicked would turn to him and be saved.
Yet this passage also says God sends messengers to warn people to turn from their ways and seek him. As Romans 10:13-17 says, how can people believe if they have not heard? Someone must share the message of the Kingdom of God with the unreached people groups in the 10/40 Window. Though the Lord has always called messengers, just like Ezekiel, to go, messengers must choose to respond. Here at Equip, a small number of us have chosen to say “Yes” to His call.
As I receive training in New York City, I have many opportunities to engage with unreached people groups who come from countries within the 10/40 Window. I am honored to be a messenger of the gospel among those who have never heard.
It is absolutely beautiful to watch the Holy Spirit draw people from the 10/40 Window here to New York City! My heart also soars at the thought of one day being in the 10/40 Window itself as a messenger to the people God has called me to love.
I believe we should care about the 10/40 Window because God cares about each person within this region. God cares about their eternal destiny because he loves them. God cares about their present salvation because he wants a relationship with them. But at the beginning and the end of it all, it is the worth of his beautiful Son that causes God to desire these people for his own.
Revelation 5:9 says,
“Worthy are You [Jesus] to take the scroll and to open its seals, for You were slain, and by Your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation…”
Jesus Himself is the reason we should care about the 10/40 Window! He is worthy, for He shed His own precious blood for each person in the 10/40 Window. May Jesus receive the reward of His suffering as messengers go out and as men, women, and children from the 10/40 Window come into the Kingdom of our God.
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