What Are the 10/40 Window Nations?

The 10/40 window nations are those that fall within a rectangle bounded by the 10 and 40 north latitude lines, as well as the edge of the African continent and the Far East. The window received this name in 1990 from missionary and researcher Luis Bush. From Bush’s statistical analysis, it was a geographical representation of the largest percentage of the world’s population who had not yet heard about Jesus.[1]

There are 54 countries currently listed as 10/40 window nations. These include thousands of people groups, with just as many languages and cultures. Most of the more than 5 billion people – two-thirds of the world’s population – adhere to one of the three traditional Eastern religions, though there are also many local deities served and varied beliefs held throughout the vast array of humanity covered in this area.[2]

Most of these billions of souls have never heard about Jesus Christ and the Good News available to them, no matter their race or culture. This geographical window is also home to 80 percent of the world’s poorest people,[3] those who suffer at or below the commonly held international poverty line of $2.15 per day.[4] GFA World’s mission is to serve the combination of deep physical and spiritual needs endured by “the least of these.”

GFA national missionaries are the perfect people to train and send into places desperate for hope. Each missionary is raised up out of their own country. They receive training in how to best love and serve the people there. They already know the language and the culture to which God is sending them. Their ability to bridge divides because of their own backgrounds is essential in the hard work of reaching those who don’t yet know about the love of Jesus.

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