This year, International Day of the Unreached is on June 5, 2022. On this day, we remember nearly two billion people around the world who have never been reached with the gospel. And we rededicate ourselves to the Great Commission of sharing the good news of Jesus with them and making disciples (Matthew 28:19-20).

Who are the Unreached?

It’s hard to imagine that there are people today who have never heard of Jesus. But it’s not hard to believe when we understand that there are still millions of people who are cut off from God’s Word. But through your prayers, and the faithful witness of believers, churches, and Bible Societies around the world, God’s Word is making it into the hands of the unreached. Read these powerful stories.

• Sangha’s* story. Fourteen-year-old Sangha lives in a rural farming village in Cambodia. Sangha’s family is poor, lacking the money to buy rice and other basic foods. But Sangha describes one of his happiest moments as the day he and the children at his school were given free Bibles. “This is the first Bible I ever received,” Sangha shares. Now he and his family are reading Scripture in their heart language and growing spiritually. Thanks to Bible distribution efforts, children like Sangha—growing up in some of the toughest circumstances in the world—are coming to know Jesus and how much he cares for them and their needs.

• Omar’s* Story. Omar is a farmer who lives in a region that is very hostile to Christianity. Omar had never heard the name Jesus. One day while watering his crops, a man approached Omar and invited him to listen to an audio Bible at his home. Omar agreed. After hearing about Jesus in the man’s home, Omar decided to bring the audio Bible home for his family to listen as well. Omar’s wife said, “I feel something powerful. I feel that someone is talking with me. I believe that is Jesus.” Eventually, Omar’s entire family accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior! Thanks to audio Bibles, people like Omar—living in some of the most hostile and least evangelized regions of the world—are connecting with the love of Christ for the first time.

• Hannah’s* Story. Hannah is a 71-year-old woman who lives in Angola. Hannah’s husband and son died, leaving her as a widowed mother of five. Hannah became depressed as she struggled to care for her family. Seeing her struggles, a friend invited Hannah to the local church. Hannah received a New Testament that was recently translated into her heart language of Umbundu. “Only the Word of the Lord has comforted me in these days of my life,” Hannah says. “My life has been transformed. I gained, courage, strength, and a desire to continue living because I had children to look after.” Thanks to Bible translation teams, people like Hannah—suffering deep spiritual wounds and heartache—are finding comfort as they read God’s Word in their heart language.

Praise God that unreached people are experiencing the love of Jesus for the first time. But there is still more work to be done. Join us as we pray that Christ will be made known to every person on earth, through his Word.

Let’s Pray Together

Father, we thank you that your Word is reaching people like Sangha, Omar, and Hannah. We pray that believers will be bold, creative, and tenacious as they share the Good News. We pray that you will open doors to bring the gospel to hard-to-reach places where people still have not heard the gospel. Let your Word go forth and transform lives and communities. We pray in Jesus’s name. Amen.

*Name changed to protect identity.