The 10/40 window is a, “rectangular area of North Africa, the Middle East and Asia approximately between 10 degrees north and 40 degrees north latitude…” (Joshua Project) Besides this being just a spot on the earth, the spiritual context is what makes this area of such high value for targeted mission work. This area is highly unreached by the gospel of Jesus. The predominate religions in this area are Hinduism, Islam, and Buddhism and have been for thousands of years. Another reason for the significance of reaching into this area is the sheer number of people that are located in this area. Estimates show that there is close to 5.2 billion people in the 10/40 window. The 10/40 window is also where the majority of the poor population of the world lives.
Sometimes when people think of the 10/40 window they may picture more extremists’ countries like Afghanistan, or Iraq, but this window also includes countries like Japan and Thailand, which are more open countries to witnessing and sharing the gospel. Although, they are more open in some senses, there are huge pockets of people who have never heard the name of Jesus in these countries. Other countries that are more controlled, people go to jail, or even can be killed for having faith in Jesus.
Since 1992 ECR has been thankful to do work in the 10/40 window and support the workers on the field and provide practical help to meet the needs of those living in extreme poverty.
