From the sermon preached on July 13, 2025
What if the most unlikely person in the room — the one who feels the most disqualified — is exactly who God is looking for?
That question isn’t rhetorical. Right now, there are roughly 3.2 billion people on earth who have never had a real chance to hear the gospel. They live in unreached people groups — communities where no church exists, no Bible has arrived, and no one has come to tell them there is a God who loves them. And according to Jesus in Matthew 24:14, this gospel — the one about a risen Savior who changes everything — is destined to reach every single one of those groups before the end comes.
The question isn’t whether it will happen. The question is: will you be part of it?
Want to know what Generation Church believes and why we do what we do? Explore our beliefs here.
What Does It Actually Mean to Reach Unreached People Groups?
The phrase “unreached people groups” sounds like a statistic. But behind every number is a name, a face, a family.
Take a man we’ll call John. He grew up in a mountain village in the Middle East — part of a community historically hostile to Christianity, a people group that had, generations ago, killed the first Christian missionary to enter their region. John’s own family line was directly connected to that death. He came to faith as a young man, was immediately excommunicated from his village, and spent decades serving God far from home — planting churches, serving refugees, seeing signs and wonders across the region.
But his heart never stopped breaking for the people he came from.
Last year, John got a message. Word had spread in his village. People were curious. They’d heard rumors of healings, of peace, of something different. A secret gathering was arranged, and when John and his team walked into that room, they found multiple generations of people who had already begun turning toward Jesus — not because of a polished ministry strategy, but because of whispered testimonies and the quiet, unstoppable work of the Holy Spirit.
That village — the one known for killing the first missionary — is now sending people back to share the gospel with their own neighbors. God rewrote the story.
Can God Really Use Someone Like Me?
Here’s what Andrew Steele, a missionary living in the Middle East with his wife and three kids, told a room full of people in Miami: “He doesn’t look for the qualified. He calls you, then qualifies you as you go.”
Andrew wasn’t always a missionary. He was a hungover engineering student at NC State, sitting in a library, feeling the hollow weight of a life that looked successful on paper and felt empty underneath it. A YouTube video about surfers bringing the gospel to isolated communities wrecked him. He couldn’t stop crying. He shut his laptop in embarrassment. And God changed his life forever.
His wife had her own story — one that involved near-death, addiction, and running from God for years. Today she’s in the Middle East, helping set women free.
This is what 1 Corinthians 2:4–5 looks like in real time: “My message and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.”
The fastest-growing churches in the world right now are in Iran, Afghanistan, Indonesia, and China. Not because of clever programs. Because of people — ordinary, imperfect, yielded people — who said yes.
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What Happens When Persecution Looks Like It's Winning?
Acts 8:1–8 opens in the worst possible moment for the early church. Stephen — a faithful, Spirit-filled man — had just been stoned to death. Saul was going house to house, dragging believers to prison. The community was shattered and scattered.
And then verse 4 arrives like a gut-punch of grace: “Therefore, those who had been scattered went about preaching the word.”
The thing Saul meant to destroy the church became the very thing that spread it further.
Philip didn’t retreat. He went to Samaria — a place the Jewish world looked down on — and proclaimed Christ. The crowds listened. Unclean spirits left. The paralyzed walked. And then verse 8 says something remarkable: “There was much rejoicing in that city.”
Not fear. Not grief. Rejoicing.
This is the pattern of God throughout history, and it’s the same pattern playing out today — in detention centers in Miami, in mountain villages in the Middle East, and maybe in your own story, too. What felt like scattering was actually sending.
What Does the Great Commission Look Like Right Now?
Here’s what often gets missed about global missions: it doesn’t require a plane ticket.
|
The World’s Assumption |
God’s Reality |
| Missions is for professionals | God calls the willing, not the qualified |
| Your past disqualifies you | Your story is your most powerful testimony |
| Evangelism requires persuasion | The Spirit demonstrates power through you |
| Unreached people are far away | The nations are coming to Miami |
Miami isn’t just a city — it’s a mission field. People from unreached people groups are moving here, working here, living across the street. The Great Commission can be lived at a coffee shop in Brickell, a job site in Hialeah, or a laundromat in Kendall.
And for some people, it will mean going — really going. To the places that scare you. To the people who seem unreachable.
How to Apply This to Your Life This Week
- Tell your story. No one can argue with your testimony. Think of one person in your life who needs to hear what God has done for you — and reach out to them this week.
- Pray for the unreached. Visit JoshuaProject.net and spend five minutes reading about an unreached people group. Let the numbers become names in your heart.
- Show up where it’s uncomfortable. God used Philip in Samaria — a place Jews avoided. Ask yourself: Where is my Samaria? A relationship you’ve avoided? A neighborhood you’ve driven past?
- Lay down the backup plan. Andrew Steele gave up a dream job in Washington, DC. His wife walked away from addiction into a surrendered life. You don’t have to go to the Middle East — but what is God asking you to release so He can use you more fully?
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Your Script Isn't Finished Yet
John’s family line went from killing the first missionary in their nation to baptizing an unreached people group in a courtyard baby pool. That’s not a motivational metaphor. That happened.
If God can do that — if He can take a lineage marked by violence and turn it into a lineage marked by revival — He can do something with your story, too.
Maybe you walked into this page feeling like you’re too far gone, too broken, or too ordinary for God to use. Acts 8 says otherwise. The scattered ones became the sent ones. And there was much rejoicing in that city.
Generation Church in Miami believes the best days for this church — and for this city — are still ahead. If you’re curious about what that looks like, we’d love to meet you.
Want to be part of what God is doing in Miami and beyond? Get involved with our outreach community.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are unreached people groups, and why do they matter?
Unreached people groups are ethnic or cultural communities where there is no established church and less than 2% of the population is Christian. According to the Joshua Project, approximately 3.2 billion people fall into this category. Jesus specifically referenced “every people group” (ethnos in Greek) in Matthew 24:14 as the target of the Great Commission — which means these communities are central to God’s heart and to the mission of every believer.
Can God flip the script on a painful family history?
Yes — and the Bible is full of examples. In Acts 8, the very persecution meant to destroy the early church ended up spreading the gospel further. In modern-day missions, there are documented stories of people from family lines marked by violence and hostility to the gospel who are now leading others to faith. God specializes in redemption — your family story isn’t over.
How do I know if God is calling me to missions or to stay local?
The short answer is: both. The Great Commission is for every believer, whether that means crossing an ocean or crossing the street. The key question isn’t geography — it’s availability. As the sermon from Acts 8 makes clear, God doesn’t look for the qualified; He calls the willing and qualifies them along the way. Start by asking where you feel the pull to go — and take one step in that direction.
What does it mean to preach the gospel with demonstration of the Spirit and power?
It means the gospel isn’t just communicated through words, arguments, or programs — it’s confirmed by the tangible presence and work of the Holy Spirit. In 1 Corinthians 2:4–5, Paul says his preaching wasn’t with “persuasive words of wisdom” but with a “demonstration of the Spirit and of power.” In Acts 8, Philip’s ministry in Samaria included healing and deliverance — which is why the city rejoiced. This kind of ministry is still happening today in places like Iran, Afghanistan, and the Middle East.
Why do I feel disqualified from sharing my faith or serving in ministry?
Feeling disqualified is one of the most common — and most strategic — lies people believe. The early church was made up of fishermen, tax collectors, and former persecutors. Andrew Steele was a hungover engineering student. John came from a village that killed missionaries. Disqualification is often the very thing God redeems and uses. The question isn’t whether you’re qualified — it’s whether you’re willing.
