Lord of the Harvest
Plead with Purpose
When Jesus looked out over the crowds, He saw more than just people; He saw a harvest ready to be gathered — scattered, like sheep without a shepherd. His first command to His disciples wasn’t to go. It was to pray.
But not just any prayer. The word used in Matthew 9:38 carries the weight of pleading, begging, crying out to God. It’s the kind of prayer that flows from deep compassion and longing to see God move.
Together, we are invited into that same divine urgency as partners in His mission. Prayer is an essential part of this work. Will we plead with Him for more workers? Will we align our hearts with His — to see the harvest as He sees it and to respond not just with words but with our lives, our resources and our faith?
The Need Is Now
Every year, representatives from harvest fields around the world come to the Ethnos360 Training Center for a key event called Ministry Fair to give the students firsthand information about the challenges, breakthroughs and stark realities in some of the least reached places on earth. They all share the same report: The harvest is still plentiful, but the workers are few.
Our greatest challenge on the field today is not the size of the task but the shortage of workers. In Mexico, our most recent analysis among the unreached confirms there is much more work to do. What we most need is more people — people willing to be trained to go and to sacrifice for the sake of the unreached.
— Field Leader Pete Hypki
We are hearing from every corner of the world —
“Send us more.”
I’m writing again for the seventh time to ask if you will come to my village or not. … The people are saying that you must come. I’m saying this again. I think you all didn’t get my first six letters. … The people are truly crying for a missionary and for God’s talk. Plenty of my letters asking for missionaries have been wasted.
Now I’m asking you to return a letter to me now. Please return a letter quickly. I just want a missionary. I’m just wasting my money on these pens and paper; they don’t bear fruit. This one must produce the fruit right.
— Eric, Weku Village, Papua New Guinea
Eric wrote these letters for 10 years, but there were not enough workers to send to his village.
In 2013, missionaries finally answered his plea. When they arrived, their first priority was to visit Eric. They were there to tell him and his people God’s talk!
When they reached Eric’s home and spoke with his wife, they learned something heartbreaking. Eric had died two years before their visit — without ever having a chance to hear God’s talk.
Stories like Eric’s remind us that the need is real and urgent. Sending more workers requires more than willingness; it requires preparation.
To increase training capacity, renovations are not optional; they are part of our response to God’s faithful provision. If we plead with the Lord of the Harvest to send more workers, are we ready to receive them?
Join the Vision
What happens if God answers our prayers, but we are unprepared?
The Renovate to Reach campaign is our response to that very question. We are expanding our ability to equip those He sends. The result we are trusting Him for? More workers trained and sent. More people hearing God’s talk. More thriving churches planted.
That’s why your investment in the training centers is so critical!
Because of your incredible generosity, four major facility needs have already been met at the Ethnos360 Bible Institute, and the roofing project at the Ethnos360 Training Center has been fully funded! An exciting milestone made possible by your partnership! But this is just the beginning of a multi-million-dollar campaign to expand training capacity and reach more of the unreached.
At the Ethnos360 Training Center, future missionaries are equipped with church planting methodology to reach people who have never heard the gospel, like the Weku, who were longing for God’s talk. Many of the 50-year-old housing units are in need of extensive renovation. Several are empty and unusable due to damage. As a result, the ability to increase training capacity is limited.
Through your generous gifts to the Renovate to Reach campaign, we have begun to purchase air conditioners for student housing and our main building. Thank the Lord with us for the ability to purchase A/C units wholesale to make your gifts stretch! We will continue our focus on renovating student housing as your gifts continue.
Because of your support, we’re preparing to begin renovations on one of our existing buildings, transforming it into the future Vision Center — a dedicated space where the realities of cross-cultural church planting come to life. Thanks to your generosity, $130,000 has already been given! New A/C units have been purchased, and consulting with an electrical company has begun!
Inside the Vision Center, students and guests will engage with interactive experiences that show the painstaking process of language learning, the complexity of understanding culture and the challenges of teaching and translating Scripture. They’ll get a glimpse into both the obstacles and the joys that come with reaching a people group with the gospel.
The Vision Center will be more than a building; it will be a space that inspires people to pray, to give and to go. And when it’s complete, guests will leave with a clear understanding of the bigger picture: a thriving church for every people. $237,000 remains to fund the project fully!
Would you consider helping meet these needs? Your continued partnership is helping make this vision a reality.
Because God is worthy of this. Of every effort. Every gift. Every prayer.
Your generosity is more than construction; it’s a contribution to God’s global mission. Together, we are preparing to welcome the workers He will send.
Sincerely,
Steve Sanford
CEO of Ethnos360
