International Day for the Unreached campaign featuring 'intolerable' David Platt appeal seen by millions worldwide
Contact: Darin Campbell, 512-785-8350
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., July 20, 2017 /Christian Newswire/ -- A challenge to churches to help take the gospel to those who have not yet heard the good news of Jesus continues to ring out following the recently celebrated International Day for the Unreached.
Photo: David Platt, best-selling author and Southern Baptist missions leader, was the keynote speaker for the "Facebook LIVE for the Unreached!" event that was held on Sunday, June 4 at 7:00 pm ET. Replay of the event is available at www.facebook.com/dayfortheunreached.
A recording of the event that attracted interest from more than six million people in more than 170 countries has been made available online for those who missed the celebration and call to action held on June 4 (dayfortheunreached.org).
In his keynote message for the 60-minute "Facebook LIVE for the Unreached," author and missions leader David Platt speaks of God's great love for every single person in the world, and asks, "What is it going to take for the concept of unreached people to become totally intolerable to us in the church?"
The second annual International Day for the Unreached was marked on Pentecost Sunday because it is widely recognized as the birthday of the church, when the Holy Spirit empowered Jesus' first disciples to take the gospel to the world.
Organized by an alliance of like-minded missions organizations, the annual International Day for the Unreached aims to mobilize more workers, prayer and resources to the parts of the world where around 2.5 billion have yet to be told about Jesus.
"It was encouraging to see so many respond so positively to the call of the International Day for the Unreached," said Wayne Pederson, chairman of organizers, the Alliance for the Unreached. "But this is not just a once-a-year need. It exists year-round, so we hope that as more people have the opportunity to experience what took place, we will see even more impact."
Nearly 20,000 people watched the Facebook live event, with an estimated 20 million-plus made aware of this year's focus on those unreached with the Gospel through radio, television, print and social media sharing about the event.
President of IMB -- the international missions board of the Southern Baptist Convention, and author of the widely acclaimed Radical, Platt appealed to Christians to seek more of God's heart for those who have not yet heard the gospel. His message was supported by music and testimony from musician Phil Stacey.
The event "went beyond what we could have hoped or imagined," said Steve Johnson, president of the Alliance for the Unreached. "If we can maintain this kind of momentum in the coming years, I believe God will use this alliance and event as a catalyst to reignite a passion within the North American Church."
Pederson said: "We hope that this year's event will be like a stone dropped in the water, with the ripples continuing to spread out around the world as more people get to experience it and respond with renewed commitment to playing their part in seeing the fulfilment of the Great Commission."
The International Day for the Unreached was organized by the Alliance for the Unreached: Bibles For The World, Missio Nexus, Operation Mobilization, Partners International, Reach Beyond, GMI and World Mission.
The third annual International Day for the Unreached will be held on Pentecost Sunday next year--May 20, 2018.
The International Day for the Unreached (www.dayfortheunreached.org) is an initiative of the Alliance for the Unreached, a group of evangelistic ministries including Bibles For The World (www.biblesfortheworld.org), GMI (http://www.gmi.org), Missio Nexus (www.missionexus.org), Operation Mobilization (www.omusa.org), Partners International (www.partnersintl.org), Reach Beyond (www.reachbeyond.org), and World Mission (www.worldmission.cc).
For more information, contact:
Darin Campbell, InChrist Communications – dcampbell@inchristcommunications.com, (512) 785-8350
Press kit available at www.inchristcommunications.com/dayfortheunreached/.
