“You will be my witnesses . . . to the ends of the earth.”

— Acts 1:8

After removing the barrier between us and God, Jesus commissioned his followers to bring this good news everywhere. The book of Acts tells about the early years of this mission. By the power of God’s Spirit, Jesus’ followers overcame barriers and discovered bridges to bring the good news and make disciples far and wide. And they, in turn, spread the message to make more disciples.

You would think that by now the mission would be complete, that the good news would have reached everywhere. Today there are Christians in every country of the world, but there are still about 2 billion people—a quarter of the world’s population—who have virtually no opportunity to receive the gospel. They are in various people groups (like ethnic groups) that haven’t been exposed to the gospel because of ongoing barriers.

Some of those barriers are in the groups themselves—like devotion to false religions, and misconceptions about Jesus. Some other barriers are more common—such as language and cultural barriers, and laws against preaching the gospel.

In addition, we can have barriers that stop us from reaching out to other groups (including people around us who don’t know Christ)—apathy, fear, racism, and preoccupations with our personal lives.

Let’s pray for God’s help in overcoming these barriers.

Lord, please break down the many barriers that prevent people from receiving the gospel, and free us from barriers in ourselves that can hold us back. Amen.