There’s a good chance you’ve actually heard of the 10-40 window. I know that I first heard about the 10-40 window when I was preparing to go on one of my first mission trips when I was 15 years-old. That seems like a really long time ago. In case you’ve heard about the 10-40 window and didn’t know what it was, here’s your missions primer.

The 10-40 window is a rectangular area between 10 degrees north latitude and 40 degrees north latitude spanning from North Africa to covering most of Asia. It is in this region that the worlds poorest live, it’s where the the three largest non-christian are most highly concentrated (Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and non-religious) and it’s where practically all of the worlds most unreached live. It’s also called the resistance belt because many of the people groups in this area are very difficult to reach with the gospel.

Remember, less than 2% of all missionaries are being sent to this part of the world. Less than 1% of all giving to missions goes to this region of the world. Hopefully this gives you a visual picture of where greater emphasis needs to go. When considering giving to world missions, I’d encourage you to pick a work being done in the 10-40 window. I’m not encouraging you to stop giving to other mission projects or to no longer give to missionaries in “reached” regions, but when looking to give more (which we should), make it a priority to give to the unreached.

Do you ever teach your kids about missions? You should. It is biblical you know. I’d encourage you to consider teaching the kids about the unreached who live in this part of the world… the 10-40 window. What if the next generation of kids raised up in the church had a heart of completing the Great Commission by focusing on these unreached peoples? That probably won’t happen unless someone teaches them what they need to know about God’s heart for the lost and  forgotten.

Here is a great resource about the 10-40 window and the people who live there.