The spread of the COVID-19 has changed life as we know it, and all of us have been affected by its socio-economic challenges in one way or another.

Who would have imagined when this year began that we would be facing the greatest job losses since the Great Depression? Who would have foreseen the financial uncertainty and the difficulty to maintain gainful employment? The insecurities and anxieties our families faced in the 1930s now belong to our generation too.

As of June 2020, our national unemployment rate sits at 11.1%. That’s down from a recent high of 14.7% in April, but with a new rebound in COVID-19 cases, that number will likely rise again. Somewhere between 30 and 40 million jobs have been lost in our country this year, with the official number of unemployed Americans sitting at 17.75 million people.

How has the rest of the world fared during this crisis? The unemployment rate sits at 7.4% in the Eurozone, 3.9% in the United Kingdom, 8.1% in France, 7.1% in Australia, and 14.5% in Spain.

Beyond affecting the number of jobs available, COVID-19 has also changed how we work. Almost half of Americans in the workforce are now working remotely. Many companies that held off on remote work for years are now seeing the benefits. In a recent survey of American managers, one-third think remote work has increased productivity, and more than 6 in 10 hiring managers report that their employees will continue to be more remote than ever before.

The results are in: The remote work environment is here to stay.

With all these changes, the world just got a lot smaller, and I believe that’s a good thing. It’s time to think globally. With the ability to work from anywhere in the world and many countries in dire need of workers with transferable and in-demand skills, there’s never been a better time to consider working and living abroad.

Location is no longer the deal-breaker it once was. This is especially good news for millennials, 71% of whom say they want to spend time working in other countries, according to a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers poll.

What does this mean for American Christians in particular?

This may be the greatest opportunity in history to go and make disciples among the world’s least-reached people groups. More than 2 billion people have never heard the good news about Jesus, and contrary to what you might think, most of them live in large, global cities.

The global marketplace is open to professionals in every industry. You don’t have to quit your job and change careers. You might be able to simply transfer your work internationally and do what you love while engaging the Great Commission in the most strategic and eternally impactful way.

Does this pique your interest? Talk to us about integrating your faith and your work among the least-reached.

Jonathan Whitt joined the Crossworld community as Vice President of Advancement in April 2020. As a Certified Economic Developer and executive leader, he has been making a measurable difference in the world through business.