May 24th is International Day for the Unreached, a day set aside to spark awareness and prayer about unreached people groups around the world. Our families can participate in a simple, but powerful way: prayer.
WHY THE UNREACHED MATTER
"For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts" (Malachi 1:11 ESV).
God’s plan has always involved the nations knowing and worshiping him.
In the Old Testament, the Israelites worshiped God through two ways—incense and offerings. When incense is burned it makes a good smell. Offerings are animals or grain given to God. Before Jesus came, these acts of worship could only be done in one place—the temple in Jerusalem (Deut. 12).
But God designed a plan even before Jesus came to earth. God planned for a day when people from across the world could worship Him in every place. God didn’t want worship to be available to only one people in one city. He wanted everyone in every town, village, and city around the globe to know and praise Him. Since the coming of Jesus, worship is no longer in one place (John 4:21-24). Jesus opened the door for worship to happen all across the globe and ended the Old Testament system of sacrifices by becoming our eternal sacrifice (Heb. 10:11-14). Faith in Jesus unlocks the door to a right relationship with God, but this Good News isn't fully known in every corner of the world.
Another issue existed during the time the book of Malachi was penned. God's people weren't rightly worshiping Him. They were going through the motions. Not following the rules outlined to properly offer sacrifices to God. They failed to see His greatness and it was reflected in their lackluster worship.
The purpose of missions is for the Lord to be fully worshiped by every nation. For God to be glorified in every corner of the world. John Piper states this clearly, "Missions exists because worship doesn't."
Malachi 1:11 grants us a glimpse into God's heart: He wants people from every nation aware of His greatness and responding to Him in genuine worship.
In the grind of daily life, we can forget how holy, merciful, and powerful our God truly is. We can offer up half-hearted worship. We may not join in seeing God's name made great in our family, neighborhood, state, country, or across the globe because our hearts are focused on lesser things. Perhaps busyness has crowded out space for this.
If we believe God is truly the greatest, then our actions should match this belief. One way we can do this is through praying for the gospel to reach parts of the world still in darkness. We can realign our hearts to what matters to the Lord through finding pockets of time in our day or week to pray for the lost.
Unreached people groups (UPGs) don't have access to hearing the gospel and aren't giving God the glory He rightly deserves. Unreached means from the time someone is born until the day one dies, this person doesn't have a chance to hear who Jesus truly is or even know a Christian.
If God cares about His name worshiped among every nation, then so should we. The International Day for the Unreached can be more than just one day, but an invitation to rightly worship our great God and join in His global plan through prayer.
4 FAMILY-FRIENDLY UPG RESOURCES
.jpg "Photo by Josue Michel on Unsplash")
Here are four family-friendly resources to raise awareness about and foster prayer for UPGs:
Via Families created family-friendly unreached people group prayer cards, The Great Gathering Prayer Cards for the Unreached World, to guide families in praying for the unreached in five minutes or less. Each of these colorful 25 cards shares a bit about an unreached people group and how your family can pray. My kids and I use these cards on our way to school in the mornings. One of my kids reads the card, then we all take turns praying for the unreached people group of the day. If you have kids who still enjoy coloring, Via Families created a coloring book, The Great Gathering Coloring Book, that pairs with the prayer cards.
Each month, your family receives a letter in the mail from a fictional child from an unreached people group. Each letter includes a story, activities, and prayer prompts. The subscription rate is $10 a month. This resource is ideal for those who may want to a dive a bit deeper into learning about different UPGs, but don't have time to research themselves. Additionally, your family spends an entire month learning about and praying for a specific UPG before moving onto a new UPG.
Author, artist, and former missionary Sarah Nunnally created these 26 beautiful digital UPG cards for younger kids. You can download the PDF for FREE to guide your family in praying for the unreached. (Plus, she provides other lovely FREE resources to foster prayer for the world.) Sarah Nunnally wrote three mission-minded picture books for young readers (ages 4-8) that would pair well with learning about and praying for the unreached with little ones.
4) The Dreamer (To the Ends) by Jenny Marcelene (🠜that's me!)
Magic Tree House meets God's heart for the nations in this delightful book for young readers. In The Dreamer, Jason and Fred must fulfill a strange mission to deliver a holy book to a dreamer in Afghanistan. If only the brothers knew who. Can they lose the mysterious person following them and figure out who needs the book before time runs out?
I'm the author of this series (published by Calla Press) and was inspired to write it after spending six years in conservative Muslim cultures. To the Ends is a missions chapter book series for children ages 6-10 and crafted to introduce young readers to people they may never meet in person, but can pray for the gospel to reach. Spark prayer for the nations in your family through this faith-based adventure. (The Menders based in Sri Lanka will be released October 1, 2026.)
The Dreamer includes discussion questions, a family-friendly prayer guide, and a glossary of terms. Additionally, if you swing by my blog, I offer a FREE digital 4-Day Family Guide, Ticket to Afghanistan, to dive deeper into Afghan culture along with other FREE resources to extend the learning and prayer beyond the story.
Our God isn't just for the United States, but for every country and people group across the earth. Let's show our kids how great God is through praying for UPGs around the world to know and worship Him.
Step into God's global plan and weave prayer for UPGs into the fabric of family life starting today.