VERTICAL VILLAGES
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Rick Kajiura, Office of Adventist Mission
very day, people begin to leave their homes in the morning. They crowd the streets. Cars, trucks, pedestrians, and even bicycles and other modes of transportation begin the journey to somewhere. Do you ever look at the people around you and wonder, How many of them know Jesus? Today, about 7.6 billion people live on this planet. Christians make up one-third of that number, which means that at least twothirds of the world’s population, or about 5 billion people, don’t know Jesus as their Savior.
For some time, many Christian denominations have talked about the 10/40 Window, an imaginary rectangle drawn on the world to show the area that is least reached by the gospel. If you imagine a world map, the 10/40 Window extends from 10 to 40 degrees north latitude and stretches from northern Africa to Asia. It includes the Middle East, India, and Southeast Asia. Although geographically it’s a relatively small part of the entire world, this area is densely populated: nearly 60 percent of the world’s population lives here.
It’s home to most of the major world religions, including Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam, whose followers make up most of the population. There are also many people who don’t follow any religion. Within the 10/40 Window are more than 5,800 unreached people groups or roughly 3 billion people.* The 10/40 Window is also home to some of the world’s fastest growing cities. People are flooding into major cities such as Mumbai, Tokyo, Jakarta, Casablanca, and Beirut, seeking work and opportunities. As they grow, these cities are improving their infrastructure, education, and economic development, but
People still live in rural villages, but as the villages have
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