“Why are you here?”

My friend Yesu was asked this question by a man in India who stopped him outside a village. The man who stopped him had never heard the gospel. Yesu had traveled for hours by motorcycle, then by foot, into the mountains in search of villages that had never heard about Jesus.

As he retold the story to me, I asked who the man was.

“He was a terrorist,” said Yesu.

“A terrorist? Why would you think such a thing?”

“Because he had a gun to my head.”

Ahh. That makes sense.

He told me, with such humility, stories of crossing cultures and risking his life. He and a few other Jesus-followers would ride for hours, taking a generator and video projector in order to show the “Jesus” film to others who might not speak their language. Many of those tribes had never heard or seen a depiction of Jesus.

Billions of people are not Jesus-followers — not because they have chosen to reject Him, but because they have never heard of Him. Less than 0.1 percent of Jesus-followers in the U.S. will ever cross a cultural or language barrier to take the message of the gospel to an unreached people.

The Lottie Moon offering in December helps fund missionaries to go around the world to take the message of the gospel to unreached people groups. Through our partnership with the International Mission Board, we are able to utilize 100 percent of these funds to mobilize missionaries. As you pray about what you will give this year, open up your prayer life to the possibility that God may want to use that money to send … you!

Don’t ask God if He wants you to go. Ask Him why He would not want you to go. Jesus is a sent-God who stepped out of heaven and into His creation. As you become more like Jesus, He sends you across the street and across the world.

On Feb. 22, 2018, in Columbia, the IMPACT conference will be a statewide call to send. J.D. Greear, pastor of Summit Church in Raleigh, N.C., and Jimmy Scroggins, pastor of Family Church in West Palm Beach, Fla., will challenge us to live a sent-life and create a culture of sending in our churches. You are encouraged to register by Dec. 15 at www.scbaptist.org/impact.

The new evangelism question of the future will be: “Why are you here?” It will be asked by the lost to Jesus-followers who have cared enough to come to them.

Live a sent-life that compels others to ask you that question.