Every Christian Should Be Exposed to Lostness Cross-Culturally

Thirty-seven million. Thirty-seven million people is far more than any one person can comprehend. I recently found myself overwhelmed by this vast number as I stood in the observation tower of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building overlooking the city. I had been afforded the opportunity to join a Southeastern missions team to experience ministry in Japan, and this was our “orientation day.” As we stepped off the elevator, I will never forget the words the IMB missionary shared with us: “As you look out at the city, I want you to think about how, as far as the eye can see, there are people. There are thirty-seven million people in this city. Only about 0.3% of those are Christian.”

He wasn’t wrong. Six hundred sixty feet above the ground, all I could see were buildings, with Mt. Fuji being the lone exception far in the distance beyond West Tokyo. As I walked around to the various windows, I felt a mixture of emotions. On one hand, I was awestruck by the beauty of the city, every building seemingly unique in its architecture. On the other hand, I felt a heaviness in my heart at the great lostness before me. Thirty-seven million people.

The next day, we participated in a prayer walk in the Harajuku district. Because of the sheer number of people in Tokyo, the missionary recommended that we each choose a feature or item of clothing so that we could pray for different individuals as they passed by. As we stood on the sidewalk praying, I was once again overwhelmed by the amount of lostness around us. A seemingly endless stream of people walked by, and I was horrified to realize that the majority were likely not Christians.

Prior to traveling to Tokyo, I had been on mission trips before, but those trips were primarily to “Christian” nations. I had been to Mexico and Rwanda, both countries with a majority Christian population by census. Japan’s population, however, is less than one percent Christian. This was my first time in a predominantly lost nation.

Traveling to Tokyo was eye-opening. Of course, I was concerned for the lost prior to the trip, but experiencing such a vast number of people separated from Christ at one time allowed me to see the true gravity of the world’s lostness. According to globalfrontiermissions.org, 3.42 billion people in the world have little to no access to the gospel. Growing up in the South, most people have heard the gospel or have attended church at some point. I have encountered many lost people in the United States, but I had never been somewhere where hardly anyone is a Christian or has even heard the gospel. The Lord used my experience of the vast lostness of Tokyo to burden my heart for the nations.

With over three billion unreached people in the world, there is clearly a great need for Christians to make intentional efforts to reach them. According to thetravelingteam.org, only one out of every 41,707 Protestant Christians goes as a missionary to the unreached. This appears contrary to the command of Christ: “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18–20, CSB). As Christians, we are called to make disciples wherever we are, but the overwhelming lostness should compel us to consider whether God is leading us to plant our lives among the unreached.

I encourage everyone to consider taking a mission trip to a majority-lost nation and being exposed to the immense need in the world. In the comfort of our first-world lives, it is easy to assume that someone else will go. In doing so, we allow the responsibility we bear as believers to slip out of sight and out of mind. However, going and meeting the unreached firsthand means the need for laborers can no longer be ignored. Cross-cultural exposure to lostness can also serve as a valuable litmus test for whether one is called to the nations, and I firmly believe every Christian should be willing to go, even if God ultimately calls them to stay.

Traveling to Tokyo and witnessing the lostness there greatly increased my concern for the Great Commission. I would highly recommend a trip like mine to any Christian. Being exposed to so many people facing an eternity apart from Christ is certain to stir the heart—whether that leads someone to return as a career missionary, to pray regularly for a specific nation, or to support missionaries financially. Every Christian, regardless of whether they are called to overseas missions or not, should take a mission trip to a primarily lost nation.