Inspired by Samuel Zwemer’s work, we chose the name “Glory of the Impossible” for our upcoming banquet.

Dr. Samuel Zwemer was a teacher, author, and pioneering missionary from the early 1900’s. He published a book in 1911, called The Unoccupied Mission Fields of Africa and Asia, that outlined the areas of Africa and Asia that had not yet been reached with the gospel. Essentially, it was a list of unreached people groups, like we might find today through organizations like The Joshua Project or peoplegroups.org. When some of our founding members were preparing to begin work in Central Asia, they were researching which people groups had not yet been reached and ended up using Samuel Zwemer’s book as a guide. On returning from their trip, they said one of the saddest things they found was that the majority of the places described in the book were still unreached- for over 100 years, the Gospel had not been shared in these areas. This discovery was part of the inspiration for the founding of Global Serve International.

Dr. Zwemer used the phrase “glory of the impossible” in several different articles and addresses throughout his lifetime. It is the title of the closing chapter of his book and the title given to his graduation address at Princeton Theological Seminary. In describing the lives of lonely missionaries facing persecution and martyrdom in Muslim areas of North Africa, he writes, “Theirs is the glory of the impossible. None of them would exchange places with us because they are confident of the issue. They see the invisible, lay hold of the intangible, hear the in-audible voices. ‘Lo I am with you!’” In talking of Paul’s desire to take the Gospel to new places, he says, “It was the bigness of the task and its difficulty that thrilled the early Church. It’s apparent impossibility was its glory, it’s world-wide character is grandeur.”

The Great Commission is the Glory of the Impossible. The charge to “make disciples of all nations” is certainly a daunting task. However, we see the glory of God shining through as His Spirit transforms these communities that have remained in darkness for centuries. In encouraging people to look beyond their borders and to consider going to closed countries, Zwemer states, “The greater the difficulties, the greater is the glory of overcoming them.”

 We are not the first or the only ones to take on this impossible, glorious task. Thousands have gone before us and thousands will continue to do so. We look back at his book, and we see that many of these areas remain just as unreached as they were 100 years ago. The reason is, its difficult. The majority of today’s unreached people groups live in the 10/40 window area of Asia. They are almost all minority ethnic groups, with their own unique language and culture. Often, they don’t use the national language of the country they live in. They live in places that are physically difficult to access and to live in, and where governments are not welcoming to Christian workers.

It is difficult and often dangerous, but this does not mean we should hold back. Our workers are committed to doing whatever it takes to carry out the Great Commission among these unreached people groups, and they could not do it without the faithful support of our partners! 

See Part 2, How Do We Live Out the Glory of the Impossible?

*Names and places changed for security purposes.