Reaching
Every
People , Every
Place
By Jon Stone , OMS Mapping Lead
The Urgent Need for Mapping Churchless Villages
In a remote village tucked away in the arid sands of sub-Saharan Africa , a family lives on the same land where their ancestors have lived for generations . They grow their own food , speak their native tongue , and hold close religious traditions passed down through centuries . Yet , this family has never heard the name of Jesus , nor has anyone else in their village . For them , the message of the Gospel is as foreign as the technology of modern cities . This reality is repeated thousands of times over in hidden communities across the globe , where the name of Christ remains unknown . The question is not whether they are willing to hear — but instead , do we even know where these communities are ?
Today , there is an urgent need to map villages where no church exists . Praise God , we now have a groundbreaking tool — a digital map called iShare . Digital mapping is a strategic initiative gaining ground as mission organizations collaborate on a shared cloud-based map to identify where the church is and where it is not .
Mapping has always been part of the missionary story . In the book of Acts , Paul said , “ So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum , I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ .” Today , our mission is the same — to bring the Gospel to every person in every place — but now , our tools to fulfill that mission have advanced .
With modern technology , we can use satellite data , GPS systems , and collaborative mapping tools to pinpoint villages lacking access to a local church . We can map remote regions with precision and identify populations that , until now , were invisible to the global church . This is especially crucial in areas with difficult terrain , few roads , and almost nonexistent communication networks .
The need for mapping is particularly pressing with respect to unreached people groups — ethnic communities without
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