Concentric Circles of Witnessing?

You've probably heard of the concentric circles theory when it comes to witnessing to people. The theory comes from Acts 1:8 which says "...but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."

‘Jerusalem’ represents home, family and close friends, where you live and where you are well-known. ‘Judea’ represents your kind of people, people of your faith, culture, language and basic outlook on life. ‘Samaria’ represents cultural, racial and religious diversity. The ‘ends of the earth’ represents global or cross-cultural mission, going to areas that are geographically isolated, with different languages, cultures and religions to your own.

As I was reading this verse I really felt God telling me that there was something else to this verse; that Jesus wasn't telling the apostles His concentric circles theory for witnessing to the lost.

Who was in Jerusalem when Jesus told His disciples this?
Jesus and His disciples, as well as thousands of other devout Jews, were in Jerusalem for the Feast of Passover. They came to worship God for delivering their fathers from Egypt.

What are the regions of Judea and Samaria?
Judea is the inheritance that was given to the descendants of Judah and Benjamin. Samaria is the inheritance given to the other 10 tribes of Israel. Samaria is also a large city built by King Omri of Israel. Multiple kings of Israel made the city of Samaria their home, effectively making it the capitol of Israel. Now you must remember that Judah and Israel are two separate "countries" at this point. They split after the reign of Solomon. Because Solomon worshiped other gods (1Kings 11:31-40) God created two countries, Judah to preserve the line of David on the throne and Israel, the rest.

The remotest part of the earth?
The remotest part of the earth represents everyone who is not of the physical descendants of Abraham, i.e. gentiles, barbarians, etc.

So what?
Reread Acts 1:8 with this historical context in mind.

"...but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." - Acts 1:8 NASB

Did you notice that Judea and Samaria are not separated by a comma, but are treated as one. Go to Jerusalem then Judea and Samaria and after that go to even the remotest parts of the earth. Now read the following scripture:

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." - Romans 1:16

Jesus did not lay out a plan for concentric circle witnessing, but a plan to witness to the Jews first, then to the Gentiles. This was very evident in Paul's ministry as he went from town to town, first going to the synagogue then preaching to the rest of the town. God has such a heart for the Jews because they are His chosen people.

So what's wrong with the concentric circle theory?
Too many times Christians have abused this verse and used it to not get out of their comfort zone. "I don't need to witness to people across the world because there's people in my neighborhood who aren't Christians." "I witness to people at my work by trying to do a good job, I'm not comfortable with going to the ghetto and actually telling people about Christ."

The following is an excerpt from a newsletter I received from the mission group Gospel for Asia.

"Hardwar is a holy city on the Ganges River, not far from the more famous city of Varanasi( or Benares). Hundreds of thousands of Hindus travel there every year from all over the world to bathe in the river's "holy" waters. Police estimate that 35 million people come to Hardwar's "Kumbh Mela" festival, which takes place for two weeks every 12 years. These millions believe that taking a ritual bath in the Ganges will wash away all their sins.

"One day while Brother Varghese, a native missionary, was walking through the packed throngs of people at the water's edge, he saw a young woman crying uncontrollably. She was beating her chest with her fists as she wailed in grief.

"With compassion, the native missionary knelt down and asked what was wrong.

"'The problems in my home are too many and my sins are heavy on my heart, so I offered the best I have to the goddess Ganges, my firstborn son,' she said.

"At that, Brother Varghese began telling her about Jesus, about how He loved her and her baby, and that through Him her sins could be forgiven.

"'I have never heard that before,' she replied through her tears. 'Why couldn't you have come 30 minutes earlier? If you had, my child would not have died.'"

This story breaks my heart. There are MILLIONS of people on the other side of the world DYING AND GOING TO HELL! EVERYONE in America has heard the name of Jesus. I'm not saying that we should not witness here in the U.S.

"In 2003, conservative and evangelical denominations gave 2.6 percent [of their income] (about three cents per dollar), with the liberals giving only 0.9 percent [of their income] (one cent). The combined average for overseas work is about two pennies per dollar...Where is the money going?...the numbers demonstrate an increased emphasis on internal operations over the broader mission of the church." - http://www.worldmag.com/articles/11176

If you can't or are not willing to go yourself then consider giving money to mission organizations such as Heart of God Ministries (www.hgm.org) or Gospel for Asia (www.gfa.org). If you can't afford to give any more money than you already are then get involved in your church and convince your local body to give more money to foreign missions. If you are not able to do that then please PRAY for the lost. They are dying, dying, dying.

Clay