We talk a lot about our desire to see the Great Commission completed, but the simple reality is that some pretty big portions are beyond our reach. Afghanistan is a classic example. If you want to see the whole world reached with the Gospel, then Afghanistan must be reached. Yet much of “reaching Afghanistan” is beyond our ability.
Consider the provinces of Afghanistan. There are 34 provinces, each ranging in population from a low of 300,000 to a high of 3 million. If my calculation is anywhere near correct (or even in the right ballpark), and we need 1 team to raise up 100 local ministries to reach 100,000 people over the course of 10 years, then Afghanistan requires 216 teams (= about 650 workers) plus 21,000 local home evangelists.
Yeah, right. Can you see that happening at the moment? Most of these provinces can’t be entered by foreigners. The Koreans (perhaps one of the best bets) were pulled out of Afghanistan after some were martyred in the course of Christian witness (see BosLife, CSM, NY Times stories). It is dangerous enough for the US military in some provinces; for others it is simply impossible.
Media and broadcasting is a thought, but radios are not widespread in Afghanistan but there are challenges both in transmission and material development. The Internet is not widespread. The simple fact is that Afghanistan is beyond our reach.
- UPDATE: Bill Damick (in comments below) notes that radios are in fact widespread in Afghanistan; the real challenge is “to locate, train and resource believers who can produce effective and culturally-relevant Christian radio programs and find transmission outlets that can put a consistent signal into one of the most rugged terrains in the world.”
But that does not mean it has to be beyond our memories, thoughts or prayers. I wish I had kept the link for it, but I remember being struck by a comment by an intercessor – I believe it was a nun – who said, in essence: I believe that we are called to go into dark places and pray for them, and that our prayers bring the missionaries. What she was saying (and she said it better than I can paraphrase it) was that prayer comes first, and in some mysterious partnership we have with God, it paves the way for missionaries who bring light, and hope, and healing.
When it first becomes possible to enter these remote regions of Afghanistan it may take a great deal of courage, and we may lose people. And that is something we will have to face, too. But for now, the best thing we can do is pray and remember these places – by name as much as possible – and place them in the hands of God who sees them all and cares for each one.
As we do, we recognize that we can do much to be faithful to the Great Commission we are given. But in the final analysis, the time of completion is never in our hands. We cannot, of our own accord, “finish,” I think. It will take time, and many generations raised up in the obedience of the Lord, and sacrifice, and faithfulness. That’s what we as a church are called to do.
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