80% of the world’s evangelical Christians live in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Over the last 50 years, God’s church has grown exponentially in these areas.

These regions have tremendous mission sending potential to help bring the gospel to unreached peoples, but they currently send only 20% of the world’s cross-cultural missionaries!

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Total Number of Evangelicals

Cultural Bridges to UPGs

Regional Access to UPGs

Religious Freedom

Prosperity

Current Sending Abroad

Mobilization Potential

Custom Mobilization Potential

Number of Evangelicals

Cultural Bridges

Strategic Access

Religious Freedoms

Current Sending

This infographic provides a visual score for seven data points ranked on a 0 to 100 scale. Faded icons show scores for other countries on the mobilization index. See below for actual scores and country-specific insights.

ADDITION

FINANCIAL DEPENDENCY

INACCESSIBLE

LIMITED MISSION FORCE

DISTANT AND FOREIGN MISSION FIELD

THE WORLD IS THE MISSION FIELD

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Over 2 Million Evangelicals in One of Latin America's Most Violent Countries

Shortly after the Spanish conquest, Catholic missionaries came to the Central and South American region, resulting in deep Catholic roots reaching back to the 16th century. This resulted in the rapid growth of the Catholic Church, which set foundations that would become lasting pillars of Honduran culture for years to come. The spread of Catholicism began to slow, and a higher percentage of Latin America became protestant evangelicals.&nbsp;
Today, Honduras is home to approximately 1,800,000 evangelicals. Praise God that roughly 90 million evangelicals are spread out across Central and South America and that Honduras plays a significant part in those numbers! [[3]]&nbsp;
The 1.8 million evangelicals within the country are facing a growing threat of violence. The infamous and violent drug cartels prevalent in many parts of Latin America have at times lashed out against evangelical believers who have sought to minister to the cartels and those they influence. Honduras has risen to be one of the most violent locations in all of Latin America due to its massive amount of drug trafficking and gang tensions. This puts a hindrance and safety threat on Honduran evangelicals that seek to minister or mobilize within the country. [[4]]

More Cultural Bridges than any other Latin American Country

With a median cultural distance of 12.7, Honduras has many similarities with the 30 unreached countries on our list! Honduras' closest cultural neighbors are Indonesia (4), Bangladesh (5), Senegal (5), and Singapore (7). Honduras has 11 more countries on our list within ten median points of cultural distance away. This is great news, as Honduras is more culturally connected to the unreached than the majority of its Latin American neighbors!&nbsp;
It is important to note that Honduras's closest cultural neighbors are either located in the Middle East, are majority Muslim, or have significant Muslim populations. Their closest cultural neighbor, Indonesia, houses the world's largest Islamic population! Though the nation is not geographically close to the Arab world, it is clear that the Lord has designed Honduras to share values and cultural bridges with the Arab world. Praise God that Honduras is similar to so many unreached countries and strongly tied to the Arab world, which so badly needs the truth of the gospel!&nbsp;
According to Hofstede's ranking of cultural values, Honduras ranks low in individuality and high in power distance, which means that their culture is one of community and group values that recognize the importance of authoritative roles. [[5]] These are cultural values shared with the Arab world, which grants the Honduran evangelical church a great cultural bridge to billions of unreached Islamic peoples.&nbsp;
Despite its distance from Islamic peoples, this cultural connection is a beautiful opportunity that the Lord has given to Honduras. Pray that the heart of the Honduran church would feel drawn to capitalize on the cultural similarities they have in common with many unreached peoples.

Little Regional Access to UPGs

<span data-sheets-textstyleruns="{&quot;1&quot;:0,&quot;2&quot;:{&quot;2&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:0}}}{&quot;1&quot;:968}" data-sheets-userformat="{&quot;2&quot;:2817,&quot;3&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:0},&quot;11&quot;:4,&quot;12&quot;:0,&quot;14&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:14706278}}" data-sheets-value="{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;According to the Joshua Project, Honduras has the least access to unreached people, both in-country and in the surrounding region. Honduras has approximately 1,900 unreached people and around 814,000 unreached people regionally. [[239]] The lack of easy access to unreached people speaks to the importance of the Honduran church's growing a strong desire to go to the unreached, both in and outside of their borders. This lack of access could deter the Honduran church from going on a mission. While evangelicals in other countries can love the unreached by simply befriending their unreached neighbor, Honduran evangelicals will likely have to purchase a plane ticket or move from their hometown in an effort to have significant relationships with unreached peoples. \n\nThere is certainly still work to be done in the region, and we pray that our brothers and sisters in Honduras continue to grow in their desire to reach the many UPGs in and outside of their region. \n&quot;}">According to the Joshua Project, Honduras has the least access to unreached people, both in-country and in the surrounding region. Honduras has approximately 1,900 unreached people and around 814,000 unreached people regionally. [[6]] The lack of easy access to unreached people speaks to the importance of the Honduran church's growing a strong desire to go to the unreached, both in and outside of their borders. This lack of access could deter the Honduran church from going on a mission. While evangelicals in other countries can love the unreached by simply befriending their unreached neighbor, Honduran evangelicals will likely have to purchase a plane ticket or move from their hometown in an effort to have significant relationships with unreached peoples. There is certainly still work to be done in the region, and we pray that our brothers and sisters in Honduras continue to grow in their desire to reach the many UPGs in and outside of their region.

Low Religious Restrictions and Rising Tensions

According to Pew Research, the Honduran church experiences very low rates of government and social hostilities toward Christians. [[7]] Honduras has a higher score in governmental restrictions than they do in social hostilities, meaning that Christians are more likely to experience legal or governmental pressure for their beliefs than they are to experience social outcasting, communal stress, or familial guilt.&nbsp;
The constitution of Honduras states that the country promotes religious freedoms, meaning that all individuals are free to promote and exercise religion as they see fit. [[8]] However, recent reports show that the Honduran churches have undergone significant social persecution, such as graffiti on church property and the defacing of religious statues. There has also been an increase in drug-related violence as the church walks the difficult path of trying to minister to and love cartel and gang members while not entering into dangerous and violent situations. &nbsp;&nbsp;
Pray that the evangelical church of Honduras would use their great opportunities to practice their religion freely and boldly! Pray further for any governmental prosecution, as ministry leaders must handle the difficult space between working with cartel youth and the legal stress that that might subject them to.

Low Prosperity and Violence Concerns

Honduras ranks at 107th out of 167 on the Legatum Prosperity Index, which is low when compared to the other countries on the Mobilization Index. Regionally, the country falls as the 22nd most prosperous Latin American country out of the 25. [[9]] &nbsp;
Honduras ranks highest in the categories of Social Capital and Economic Quality and lowest in Safety and Security and Governance. The drug cartel in Honduras makes up the majority of this problem, as they instill a culture of violence and fear throughout all parts of the country. These low scores could be a huge deterrent for potential missionaries and mobilizers that are considering launching to Honduras.&nbsp;
As a whole, the country's prosperity has decreased by four ranks in the past decade. If this downward trend continues, mission mobilization could look very different in Honduras in the coming years. Ask that the Lord would instill a culture of peace and bravery in his church so that His name might be made known despite any societal barriers or safety concerns.

0.1% of the El Salvadorian Church Could Alter the Arab World

Reports of current sending within Honduras show nearly 50 missionaries in-country and 60 missionaries serving out of country. A prayer goal of the Mobilization Index is to see 0.1%, or 1 in 1,000, of a nation's evangelical population mobilized for the unreached. With 60 missionaries going abroad, Honduras currently sends .00002% of their evangelical church. If just 0.1% of Honduras was mobilized, the world would see an increase of 1,800 missionaries going to people and places that have yet to hear the name of Jesus. Imagine the impact that their church could have on unreached people groups, such as the Arab world! Ask that more laborers would be sent out into a ready harvest.

A High Potential, Regardless of Obstacles

God has so divinely positioned Honduras to do great work reaching billions of Islamic people who do not know the gospel. However, the country currently lacks significant regional access to the unreached and also lacks a culture and church mindset for sending. A church body that is willing and ready to send is vital to a successful missions movement.&nbsp;
Despite these obstacles, Honduras still has a high potential to be a considerable force for missions to the unreached. When we consider their cultural similarities to the Arab world and their low religious restrictions, we see that the Lord can use the nation in mighty ways for His kingdom! Ask that the Lord would put the unreached in the hearts of the Honduran church and that their geographic distance and lack of sending culture would not be a barrier to their launching abroad.

Obstacles: &nbsp;
<ul>
<li>Like other Latin American countries on the Mobilization Index, Honduras' prosperity has decreased over recent years and is currently at the bottom of its region. This could be an obstacle when it comes to raising up and sending missionaries to the unreached.</li>
<li>Honduras lacks a sending culture and a view of kingdom generosity within the church, which is greatly needed to launch a missions movement.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
Opportunities:
<ul>
<li>Honduras has an extremely close cultural connection with many countries that are majority Muslim and have high numbers of unreached people. Imagine the mission field being flooded with missionaries from Honduras going to unreached Muslim countries to share the gospel!</li>
<li>The Honduran church is legally free to promote and raise up missionaries for the spreading of the gospel. Religious freedom is such an opportunity that many Mobilization Index countries do not have.</li>
</ul>

Pray for:
<ul>
<li>Pray for a change in heart among the Honduran people, that they would find a love for the unreached and a willingness to send and support the missionaries that desire to launch.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Pray that the Lord would make clear to members of the church where their most strategic position lies in the kingdom work of completing the great commission. &nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
Praises:
<ul>
<li>For Hondura's high mobilization potential, despite their country's many areas of growth.</li>
<li>For close cultural connections within so many unreached people groups in the Arab world.</li>
</ul>

PEW religious restriction numbers Myanmar

Honduras Constitutional religious freedom

Official Country Name:The Republic of Honduras

Population:9,746,000

Region:Latin America

Government:Presidential Representative Democratic Republic

Official Languages:Spanish

Religious Demographics:Christian 96%, Evangelical 23%, Non-religious 2%, Ethnic Religious 2%,Unevangelized 1%

Honduras