They can feel invisible and their voices unheard. Misunderstood and sometimes dismissed, the marginalized are all around us. They represent various ethnic groups, individuals and families with special needs, families living with poverty and housing challenges, etc. Sometimes women and children can also fit this category. Jesus made it a practice to see those who seemed invisible or marginalized in society – women, children, those considered “unclean” or even unnoticed by society. His encounters with these people were intentional, full of compassion, and very personal. He is El Roi – “The God Who Sees Me” in Genesis 16.
Today, there are multiple segments of society that can feel unseen, invisible, and/or marginalized. According to the International Mission Board, just over 3000 people groups remain unreached or unengaged – meaning there is no known evangelical church planting strategy and less than 2% are evangelical Christians.1 Some of these people groups are still being discovered.2 “Individuals with disabilities and their loved ones are some of the most unreached people in the world.”3 They often feel unwelcome or unwanted in church communities.
Today, there are multiple segments of society that can feel unseen, invisible, and/or marginalized.
In our churches, women can also feel unseen and invisible. Average mainline evangelical churches are made up of 55 percent women, just over half the congregation.4 Yet, only 5% of female leaders plan alongside their church staff and only 17% are paid staff, leaving the majority of female leaders to be volunteer staff who often do not have a seat at decision making tables or even the opportunity to share ideas that could very well represent over half the congregation.5
There is no “one size fits all” answer of how to see and engage the “unseen,” but from my personal experience in various ministries involving the marginalized, there are some general principles that can help.
- Pray. Ask the Lord to give you eyes to see as He sees and to stretch you beyond your comfort zone.
- Pursue intentionality. Look for who is missing from your community. Does your church represent the racial and ethnic diversity of your community? If not, who is missing and how can you reach out to them? Do you have families with individuals who have special needs? If not, what can you do to help make your church more inclusive and accessible for these families? Are both men and women represented in your leadership teams? If not, how can you make sure both voices are heard?
- Posture your heart. Show mercy and compassion but also speak truth and be an agent of change to bring visibility to those who are unseen.
- Provide training and tools. Give support for those in your church and ministries.6
- Practice, practice, practice. No skill comes out perfectly the first time. To get better at seeing the unseen and engaging the marginalized, continually practice intentionality, compassion, and personal engagement.
Bringing the marginalized into community and helping the unseen to be seen strengthens the body of Christ as we together strive towards unity. As Ephesians 4:16 states: “He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.”
- https://www.imb.org/fast-facts/ ↩︎
- Project 3000 in https://www.imb.org/project-3000 ↩︎
- Aimée Stork’s article in Some of the Most Unreached People in the World | Joni and Friends ↩︎
- https://www.pewresearch.org/religious-landscape-study/database/gender-composition/ ↩︎
- State-of-Ministry-to-Women-Leaders-Report-for-Release.pdf, p 5-6; https://research.lifeway.com/2023/10/17/co-laborers-3-ways-pastors-can-support-womens-ministry-leaders/ ↩︎
- Ryan Faulk’s article on https://joniandfriends.org/for-the-church/the-largest-unreached-people-group-youve-never-heard-of/; J.D. Greear and Lesley Hildreth’s article on https://research.lifeway.com/2023/10/17/co-laborers-3-ways-pastors-can-support-womens-ministry-leaders/; https://baptistresearch.com/Associations ↩︎
A Love for Scripture
Damaris Scrima, MTS student, shares the importance of cultivating a love for God’s word.
