Unreached people groups

Unreached people groups. Less reached people groups. Unengaged people. These are alternative terms used in the study of Christian mission for cultural and language groups who have limited access to the gospel and very few if any Christian communities in their midst. Virtually no-one in these groups have Christian friends who speak their language and understand their culture. According to the Joshua Project, there are still 6870 unreached peoples in the world. That represents approximately 1.7 billion people with very limited access to the gospel message or a church community... When I think of unreached people groups, I am reminded of Jesus’ parable of the lost sheep in Luke 15. When only one sheep out of a hundred was lost, he left his flock and went in search of the one. Unreached did not mean out of reach for Jesus. Today there are at least 1.7 billion people who have never heard of Jesus our shepherd. As representatives of Christ with a shepherd’s heart, I believe we need to continually prioritise seeking out the lost sheep of the world.

By “Andrew” from CityLife’s Acitv8 newsletter, March 2011.