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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A Small Island Poised to Reach UPGs

Low Evangelical Numbers

Puerto Ricans are overwhelmingly Christian. At 67% of the population, Roman Catholics make up the largest religious demographic. Starting in the early 1500s, Puerto Rico was colonized by the Spanish and thus has a deep Roman Catholic history. However, more than 1,000,000 (or 25%) of Puerto Ricans are evangelical. [[2]] &nbsp;[[3]] &nbsp;Before 1870, Protestantism was suppressed by the Catholic church in Puerto Rico. The first protestant church was established in the country just a few years before the country came under United States sovereignty in 1898. Fortunately, today the evangelical church in Puerto Rico is free to preach the gospel and raise up laborers for the harvest. Pray that the Lord would continue to turn the hearts of the Puerto Rican the nations, that they might go to the unreached with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Culturally Bridged in Communal Values

According to Geert Hofstede's cultural values, Puerto Rico has an average cultural distance of 15.2. [[4]] Of the 6 cultural values, Puerto Rico has data in 5 and is missing information on long-term orientation. Puerto Rico is ranked as a predominantly communal country, as they score low in individuality. Typically, countries that value the community have a worldview that emphasizes the group's needs over the family, and individuals are defined in terms of their relationship to the larger group.
Ethnically speaking, Puerto Ricans are a mix of Spanish, African, and indigenous peoples such as the Ta&iacute;no and Carib. This gives the country a rich and distinct cultural population. Their culture shares many values with unreached people groups, potentially providing relational bridges for Puerto Rican missionaries, notably, the shared communal and family values.&nbsp; Ask that the Lord would show this strategic similarity to the Puerto Rican evangelical church and that they could be encouraged to use their shared values for the glory of the gospel and to love the unreached.

Small Access, but Great Regional Opportunity

Puerto Rican evangelicals have access to an estimated 1,100 unreached peoples within the country and 18.2 million unreached regionally. While it is excellent news that most Puerto Ricans have access to the gospel, it also means that Puerto Rican evangelicals will often have to leave their borders for another country to have significant contact with the unreached.&nbsp;
Lack of geographical access to the unreached could be a barrier for mobilizing Puerto Rican evangelicals, as significantly more effort must be put into reaching UPGs than those in countries with many UPGs within their borders. Because of this, Puerto Rico's access to the unreached is ranked as low.

Not Religious Freedoms Data

Puerto Rico is not currently listed in the religious restrictions index by Pew Research. However, Article 2 of the Puerto Rican constitution guarantees freedom of religion. Believers in Puerto Rico should be free to preach the gospel and mobilize towards the unreached without any governmental restrictions.

No Prosperity Data

Puerto Rico is not currently ranked on the Legatum Prosperity Index.

Low Cross Culturally Sending

According to Operation World, Puerto Rico is currently sending around 176 missionaries abroad, most serving in the Caribbean, Europe, and North America. [[5]] A prayer goal of the Mobilization Index is to see 0.1%, or 1 in every 1,000, of a nation's evangelical church, mobilized to the unreached. Puerto Rico sends around 176 abroad to the unreached, approximately 0.0001% of the evangelical church. If Puerto Rico were to send 0.1% of their church, the world would see an increase of near 1,000 sent to the unreached! Imagine what the world would see if the Puerto Rican evangelical church were to double or triple their sending numbers! Pray that the Lord would put the weight of the unreached on the hearts of Puerto Rican evangelicals and equip thousands of missionaries to go to the unreached!

Moderate Mobilization Potential

According to Operation World, Puerto Rico is currently sending around 176 missionaries abroad, most serving in the Caribbean, Europe, and North America. [[5]] A prayer goal of the Mobilization Index is to see 0.1%, or 1 in every 1,000, of a nation's evangelical church, mobilized to the unreached. Puerto Rico sends around 176 abroad to the unreached, approximately 0.0001% of the evangelical church. If Puerto Rico were to send 0.1% of their church, the world would see an increase of near 1,000 sent to the unreached! Imagine what the world would see if the Puerto Rican evangelical church doubled or triple their sending numbers! Pray that the Lord would put the weight of the unreached on the hearts of Puerto Rican evangelicals and equip thousands of missionaries to go to the unreached!

Obstacles:
<ul>
<li>Puerto Rico's population has been steadily declining since 2004. In large part due to multiple natural disaster such as Maria, many have chosen to migrate the continental US in search of economic opportunities. [[6]]</li>
<li>Puerto Rico's small sending numbers and physical distance from UPGs means that going to the unreached will require a certain level of financial and locational planning and dedication.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
Opportunities:
<ul>
<li>Puerto Rican evangelicals have tremendous cultural access to the unreached! Though the nation is predominantly Christian, they share many cultural values with the unreached.</li>
<li>With such a high percentage of Puerto Ricans being Christian, there is not likely to be major religious hostilities mobilizing believers to the unreached.</li>
</ul>

Pray:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>For the Puerto Rican evangelical church to not see the geographic distance from UPGs as a hindrance, but rather praise God for their cultural access to the unreached. Though Puerto Rican evangelicals might have to leave their country to reach UPGs, there is still great access to the unreached that can be used to further the Kingdom. &nbsp;</li>
<li>Pray that Puerto Rican evangelicals will be able to recognize each of their strategic roles in reaching the nations with the Gospel, no matter the barrier or hardship that they might face in doing so.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
Praises:
<ul>
<li>Praise God for how He has made His name known throughout Puerto Rico!&nbsp;</li>
<li>For the rich cultural and ethnic heritage of the Puerto Rican church and the bridges they share with many UPG nations!</li>
</ul>

*First coined by Archbishop Desmond Tutu in 1994, South Africa is has been called the "Rainbow Nation" to describe the dream unity between the countries various cultural, races, ethnic groups, and 11 spoken national languages.

Official Country Name:Commonwealth of Puerto Rico

Population:2,933,000

Region:North and Caribbean America

Government:Republic Representative Democracy

Official Languages:Spanish

Religious Demographics:Christian ±95% (Evangelical ± 25%), Non Religious ± 3%

Puerto Rico