'American Idol' Finalist to Lead Global Rallying Cry to Reach Millions Who've Never Heard the Gospel
American Idol finalist Phil Stacey is lending his voice to the International Day for the Unreached event happening on May 20 which will be broadcast on three continents in hopes of taking the Gospel to the 2.5 billion people across the world who have never heard it.
The Third Annual International Day for the Unreached was initially inspired because more than 2 billion people around the world have yet to hear the Gospel. The global outreach, presented by The Alliance for the Unreached, will be held at the Focus on the Family headquarters in Colorado Springs, and be live-streamed around the world from the alliance's Facebook page.
Stacey, American Idol's season 6 finalist, will host and perform during the 90-minute event. The segment will also feature video reports from unreached missions workers around the world, updates from alliance leaders, and a panel discussion about the challenges the unreached faced. Media outlets will broadcast the event in other countries, including parts of Kenya and Uganda.
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According to the Day for the Unreached website, the purpose of the International Day for the Unreached is to "educate, inspire and motivate believers in North America to take a stand on behalf of those who have yet to hear the Good News." The Alliance for the Unreached shared their message with more than 11 million people in 2017 and are expecting to double that number at this year's event.
Stacey is a pastor's kid who has traveled abroad in support of missions in the past so he is no stranger to the initiative. The singer took a trip to Ghana to see firsthand some of the work of alliance member Reach Beyond.
"It's an honor to join this group to celebrate the International Day for the Unreached," Stacey said in a statement shared with The Christian Post. "If we believe the scriptures to be true, we must concede that reaching the unreached is paramount to the mission Christ has given us. If we believe that Jesus is the hope of the world, it must become our highest priority as a church."
Reach Beyond's Jon Fugler, the event chairman, defined who the "unreached" are.
"The 'unreached' are those who have not yet had the opportunity to hear and respond to the gospel," he explained. "We're not talking about our friends, family, neighbors or co-workers who may not be Christians. These people are not unreached, because they have us. The truly unreached live in places where no one is there to tell them about Jesus."
Along with Reach Beyond, the alliance is composed of multiple groups, including Bibles for the World, Frontier Ventures, The Joshua Project, Missio Nexus, OM-USA (Operation Mobilization), Mission Network News, Partners International, William Carey International University, World Mission, ZimZam Global and InChrist Communications.
Alliance members are "delighted" to have Focus on the Family joining in on the effort to "publicize the Day for the Unreached."
"Not only are they making their facilities available for the live event, but they are lending their expertise for the live streaming of the event across the Internet," Fugler noted.
The day of the event, May 20, was selected to go along with Pentecost Sunday — when Christians commemorate the day the Holy Spirit came upon the early church, empowering members to take the Good News to the ends of the earth, as recorded in Acts 2.
For more information on International Day for the Unreached, visit the website.
