Eighty-eight countries is a lot, right? Tokyo alone is so large that there are 88 countries whose total population combined would still be smaller than the Tokyo metro area!

Over time, the city has grown, spread, and merged with smaller surrounding cities, resulting in a massive urban area called an agglomeration.

While Tokyo has grown to such an amazing size, the number of Christian believers in the city has remained small. Only around 1% of the people in Japan are Christians.

While Tokyo is the world’s largest city, it’s still just one of many very large cities! Worldwide there are 37 agglomerations, each with more than 10 million residents.

Over 100 years ago, Ellen White was urging the Seventh-day Adventist Church to reach the large cities of the world:

“Oh that we might see the needs of these cities as God sees them!” she wrote, adding that “The work in the cities is the essential work for this time.” She prompted, “Work the cities without delay, for time is short.”

But in 1900, around that very time, there were only 15 cities on earth that had more than one million residents. Today, that number has increased to almost 600!

Many of these cities have only one or two Adventist churches, and some still have no Adventist presence at all. How can we make a difference? Through the mission offerings, Adventists around the world contribute to critical outreach in the cities.

Perhaps at some point in your life, you dreamed of becoming a missionary, but somehow, it never quite worked out.

If that’s you, or if you have a heart for those who don’t know Jesus, consider how faithful, daily prayers for unreached cities could be a very real mission that could open doors and hearts, even half a world away!

Sharon has answered this call to prayer wholeheartedly. The Mission to the Cities prayer map arranges these cities on lines to look like a subway map, and Sharon uses it as a guide to pray for one city each day.

She’s been praying for more than a year! She has already checkmarked more than 200 of these 580 large cities. She prays for the residents of the cities—for their health, their marriages, their leaders, and their faith. God hears her daily prayers, and Sharon believes that He is answering in quiet but amazing ways. She looks forward to hearing the stories one day in heaven.

Adventist schools are also praying for the cities. At Hillside Christian School, a one-room school in Wisconsin, the students began by praying for the large cities in North America. Each day, they prayed for a different city. One student would pray for the homeless in the city. Another prayed for families. As a team, they took the needs of these cities to God in prayer, and then checkmarked each city on the map.

Churches and schools, adults, children and academy students are praying for the cities!

We believe that as we gather in spirit, praying in unity for the cities, God will be with us and hear our prayers. As you pray for each city, please ask God to bless the work of missionaries and Global Mission pioneers there.

Prayer maps are available for download on the Mission to the Cities website. You can print them for yourself, your school, your prayer group, or your church.

Please join other prayer missionaries, and pray your way around the world!

Did you know that eight of the world’s ten largest cities1 are in the 10/40 Window2? It may be hard to imagine, but there are more people, total, in those eight cities than in all the largest 3,000 cities4 in the United States combined!

In fact, the world’s single largest city, Tokyo5, has about the same number of people as can be found in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix, Philadelphia, San Antonio, San Diego, Dallas, San Jose, Austin, Jacksonville, Fort Worth, Columbus, Charlotte, San Francisco, Indianapolis, Seattle, Denver, Washington DC, Boston, El Paso, Nashville, and Detroit combined6!

How unreached is the 10/40 Window? Prior to the pandemic, there were more Adventists in attendance at the Loma Linda University church each week than in all of the Middle East and North Africa7. While two-thirds of the world’s population lives in the 10/40 Window, only 15% of Adventist churches are there8.

This is why Global Mission is so focused on planting churches, sending Global Mission Pioneers, and establishing Urban Centers of Influence in this region of the world where few people know about a loving Savior. And this is why we are so grateful for your support of Global Mission!

1.This is Tokyo, Delhi, Shanghai, Cairo, Mumbai, Beijing, Dhaka, Osaka, counting only city proper, taken accessed 2021.01.05

2.List of countries in the 10/40 accessed 2021.01.05

3.190,029,068 is the total combined population of the eight 10/40 Window cities that are included in the list of the world's ten largest cities--city proper, also accessed 2021.01.05

4.177,412,566 is the estimated total 2019 population of the top 3,000 US cities—also city proper. Data is from an Excel spreadsheet named “SUB-IP-EST2019-ANNRES” downloadable by clicking “United States” under “Choose a State to View,” which is below the heading, “Incorporated Places: 2010 – 2019” accessed 2021.01.05

5.37,400,068 is the population of Tokyo, city accessed 2021.01.05

6.37,176,173 is the estimated total 2019 population of the top 24 US cities—also city proper. Data is from an Excel spreadsheet named “SUB-IP-EST2019-ANNRES” downloadable by clicking “United States” under “Choose a State to View,” which is below the heading, “Incorporated Places: 2010 – 2019” accessed 2021.01.05

7.Refer back to the statistics Rick McEdward compiled for the GMC Doors brochure.

8.Ibid.

(Calculations are in an Excel spreadsheet titled “Picture Story Donor Letter Data, 2021,” saved under MTTC à Writing à Articles)

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Did you know that the world’s three largest cities1 are in the 10/40 Window2? It may be hard to imagine, but in those three cities, there are roughly the same number of people as can be found in all the largest 279 US cities3.

In fact, the world’s single largest city, Tokyo4, has about the same number of people as can be found in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix, Philadelphia, San Antonio, San Diego, Dallas, San Jose, Austin, Jacksonville, Fort Worth, Columbus, Charlotte, San Francisco, Indianapolis, Seattle, Denver, Washington DC, Boston, El Paso, Nashville, and Detroit combined5!

1.This is Tokyo, Delhi, and Shanghai, counting only city proper, taken accessed 2021.01.05

2.List of countries in the 10/40 accessed 2021.01.05

3.U.S. city population data: This is also city proper. Data is , accessed 2021.01.05

4.37,400,068 is the population of Tokyo, city accessed 2021.01.05

5.37,176,173 is the estimated total 2019 population of the top 24 US cities—also city proper. Data is from an Excel spreadsheet named “SUB-IP-EST2019-ANNRES” downloadable by clicking “United States” under “Choose a State to View,” which is below the heading, “Incorporated Places: 2010 – 2019” accessed 2021.01.05

Did you know that eight the world’s ten largest cities1 are in the 10/40 Window2? Those eight cities have a combined population of 190,029,068. For perspective, that’s more than the total population of the largest 3,000 cities in the United States!

1.This is Tokyo, Delhi, Shanghai, Cairo, Mumbai, Beijing, Dhaka, Osaka, counting only city proper, taken accessed 2021.01.05

2.List of countries in the 10/40 accessed 2021.01.05

3.190,029,068 is the total combined population of the eight 10/40 Window cities that are included in the list of the world's ten largest cities--city proper, also accessed 2021.01.05

4.177,412,566 is the estimated total 2019 population of the top 3,000 US cities—also city proper. Data is from an Excel spreadsheet named “SUB-IP-EST2019-ANNRES” downloadable by clicking “United States” under “Choose a State to View,” which is below the heading, “Incorporated Places: 2010 – 2019” accessed 2021.01.05