The Bakeries on Every Corner

"It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation." (Romans 15:20) "How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in?

And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?" (Romans 10:14) Imagine a city that is starving. On the south side of the river, there is a bakery on almost every street corner.

The people there have so much bread that they leave it half-eaten on their plates. They have white bread, wheat bread, and gluten-free bread. If they are hungry, they only have to walk 50 feet to get fed.

On the north side of the river, there are millions of people, but there is not a single bakery. Not one. The people are dying of starvation. They don't need a "better" kind of bread; they just need any bread.

Now, imagine that all the bakers in the city graduate from culinary school. They are asked, "Where will you go to work?" 95% of them say, "I will go to the south side. I want to open a bakery right next to the other five bakeries."

Only 5% say, "I will cross the river to the north side." This is the current state of Global Missions . We often confuse "Unsaved" with "Unreached." The Unsaved Person: Your neighbor who is an atheist.

He could go to church if he wanted to. He has a Bible app on his phone. He has access, but he chooses not to believe. The Unreached Person: A woman in a village in Afghanistan or a nomad in Yemen. She does not know a Christian.

There is no church in her language. She could not hear the Gospel even if she wanted to. The tragedy of the modern church is that we spend almost all our money and resources reaching the people who already have access (the "South Side"), while billions of people live and die without ever hearing the name of Jesus once.

The Great Commission is not just about making people "nice"; it is about Access . It is about taking the Bread of Life across the river.

(Tap to expand) Theologically, when Jesus said "Make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19), the Greek word for "Nations" is Ethnos . It doesn't mean political countries (like Nigeria, USA, or France).

It means Ethnic People Groups —groups of people united by language, culture, and tribe. There are about 17,000 people groups in the world. About 7,000 of them are still considered "Unreached" (less than 2% Christian).

The 10/40 Window: If you draw a rectangle on a map between 10 degrees north and 40 degrees north latitude (covering North Africa, the Middle East, and Asia), you find the majority of the world's Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists.

This is the "Resistance Belt." This is where the need is greatest, yet it is where the fewest workers go. God is not American, European, or African. His vision is global. Revelation 7:9 promises that in Heaven, there will be people from "every nation, tribe, people and language."

The mission is not finished until that room is full. Reflect on this: Look at the map of the world in your mind. Do you only pray for your own country? God promised Abraham: "I will bless you... so that you will be a blessing to all families on earth" (Genesis 12:2-3).

If you are blessed with the Gospel, you are indebted to the nations. You are not a reservoir; you are a pipeline. 👣 Take a Step You may not be called to move to a foreign country, but you are called to care.

Download the "Joshua Project" app or visit their website today. It lists the "Unreached People Group of the Day." Spend just two minutes praying for a tribe you have never heard of. Be the baker who sends bread across the river.