Why Adventist Frontier Missions?
Perhaps you have asked that question yourself. Or maybe someone has asked you, “Why should I serve with AFM?” Why should I support AFM? Why does AFM even exist?
Let me share a few answers I believe are among the most important.
AFM exists because of the staggering number of unreached people in our world. Nearly 43 percent of the world’s population still lives among people groups with little or no meaningful access to the gospel. Billions of people do not know who Jesus is, what He has done for them, or that He is coming again soon to save those who call upon His name.
Think about that for a moment. The simple fact of where a person is born may determine whether they grow up surrounded by churches, Christian schools and believers—or whether they live their entire life without ever meeting a follower of Jesus. For many people in unreached areas, the opportunity to encounter biblical truth is incredibly rare.
The reality is that most of us do not go to bed each night thinking about the unreached. We do not often wake up in the middle of the night pleading with God to remember those living in places where few have ever heard His name. Most mornings, our first thoughts concern our families, our work and the responsibilities waiting for us that day.
But for AFM missionaries, the unreached are not statistics on a page. They are neighbors, friends and coworkers, people they love. God has called these men and women to dedicate their lives to advancing His kingdom among those with little opportunity to hear the gospel. Please do not misunderstand me, this does not make AFM missionaries more important than missionaries serving elsewhere. Every mission field matters. Every calling is significant. It makes them faithful to God’s calling.
What makes AFM unique is where God has called its missionaries to serve. They go into the vast unknown—to difficult places, unfamiliar cultures and among people groups where there may be little or no Christian witness. In some locations, they may be among the first followers of Jesus that local people have ever met. I sometimes think of them as the special forces of mission—willing to go wherever God leads, no matter the cost, so others may have the opportunity to know Christ.
AFM exists because the need, a great need, still exists.
AFM exists because bringing hope to those without hope is the work of Heaven.
AFM exists to provide opportunities for people to go and serve.
AFM exists to provide opportunities for you to financially and prayerfully support those who go.
Most of all, AFM exists for the unreached.
Having lived for many years in an unreached country, I can testify that the unreached are not merely numbers. They have names. They have faces. They have families, dreams, struggles and aspirations. They laugh, cry, celebrate and suffer just as we do.
What many of them do not have is an opportunity to know Jesus and the joy and life He offers.
That is why AFM exists.
Will you partner with AFM through prayer? Will you ask God to pour out His Spirit on the unreached and on the AFM missionaries serving among them? Will you support those with AFM who have answered God’s call to go? And if He is impressing you to go, will you follow His call and go with AFM?
Together, we can help ensure that more people have the opportunity to hear the greatest news ever given—that Jesus loves them, died for them and is coming again soon.
