1874 is a year without too much significance for most of us in our everyday lives. This was the year the Seventh-day Adventist Church sent out its first official missionary, J.N. Andrews, to take the gospel and the three angels’ messages to Europe. The history of the Adventist Church since that time has been filled with stories of the dedication and generosity of members and missionaries to take the gospel to the ends of the earth.

A lot has changed since 1874. Travel that used to take months is now accomplished in hours. Modern technology has afforded benefits for the advancement of the gospel to unreached people. Increased knowledge and cultural awareness has made missionaries more effective.

But some of the changes over the last 136 years pose significant new hindrances to the spread of the gospel. Today, there are 2 billion more non-Christians than the entire world population during the days of our Adventist pioneers. One hundred thirty-six more years of sin in an evermore connected world has only served to increase the amount of prejudice, hatred and tribalism among our human family.

Yet one thing has not changed—God’s desire to bring people to Him. The current state of the world calls each of us to new levels of prayer, generosity and service to finish the work. The world is waiting. We will go. Here we are, Lord. Send us.