Count Nicolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf was the rich young ruler who said “yes.” Born into a family of privilege and status, he determined from a young age to use all his influence and money to advance the Gospel. When he inherited his first piece of land, he made it a safe harbor for persecuted Protestant Christians from surrounding countries, especially Moravia.

After some troubles in the beginning, the little band of Moravian believers under the protection of Zinzendorf experienced great revival. Besides congregational worship and prayer, they formed little groups where members met to encourage and pray with each other. They memorized hymns until only guests needed hymnals. They formed a prayer team that would take turns praying every hour so that someone was always praying around the clock. This revival was the springboard from which the Lord would launch a missionary movement that would ripple down to today.

The world of the 1700s hadn’t seen large-scale missionary work since apostolic times. The 300 Moravian refugees caught the vision of preaching the Gospel of the kingdom in all the world in their generation. Within 30 years, the church had sent hundreds of missionaries to many parts of the world, including the Caribbean, North and South America, the Arctic, Africa and the Far East. They were the first to send lay people as missionaries, the first Protestant denomination to minister to slaves, and the first Protestant presence in many countries.

Sometimes I am acutely aware of how much more I have than other people in the world, both spiritually and materially. Blessings come with responsibility. Will you join us as we reach the unreached for Jesus?

• Twitter