PRAYER
Prayer is the heartbeat of mission. Ask of Me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession (Psalm 2:8). A new sound is erupting around the world where the prayers of God's people are intertwined with worship - Harp and Bowl. A well-developed model of this type of prayer is taking place around the clock at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City (ihopkc.org).
CHURCH PLANTING FOCUS in the 10/40 WINDOW
The 10/40 WINDOW is a term first used by missiologist, Luis Bush (Director of A.D. 2000 and Beyond). It indicates a rectangular area of North Africa, the Middle East, and across to SouthEast Asia between 10 and 40 degrees north latitude. Of all the Unreached People Groups, 85% are believed to live in this geographic region of the world.
UNREACHED PEOPLES
Most people think of the world as broken down into countries - distinct places that have their own boundaries, history, government, language, currency, and culture, to name a few. There are appoximately 232 of these entities.
The Biblical word, nations, though is different. It comes from the word ethne or ethnos. These people may be living in the same geographic region or could be scattered throughout many countries. They have their own distinct language, customs, religious beliefs, and dress. So simply put, a country can have many nations living within it! We call these people groups, and it is estimated that there are 16,500 in the world today.
When we read Scriptures like Revelation 5:9: And they sung a new song, saying, "Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof; for Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation (ethne) . . . ." or Revelation 7:9: "After this I beheld, and lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations (ethne), and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne and before the Lamb . . . " - these are the people groups the Apostle John was talking about!
What is an Unreached (or least reached) People Group (UPG)?
It's a group among which there is no indigenous community of believing Christians with adequate numbers and resources to evangelize the group and ensure the continuous multiplication of churches. It is considered "unreached" if it is less than two percent evangelical.
In our generation, there are 70 countries that have the majority of Unreached People Groups in them. Download a list of these countries here.
Sometimes God will first give you a love for (and interest in) a particular country of the world. That is a great place to start in mission! Then as you study and learn more about that country, you will soon realize that there's more than places in mission, it's all about faces - the faces of Unreached People Groups living in that country!
Consider choosing a nation from our list of 70 unreached nations for your mission focus and adopting an Unreached People Group from one of these most unreached countries of the world.
Learn more about unreached people groups at Joshua Project.net:
Joshua Project gathers, integrates, and shares people group information to encourage pioneer church-planting movements among every ethnic group and facilitates effective networking within those groups.
They seek to answer the questions that result from the Great Commission's call to make disciples among every nation or people group:
•Who are the ethnic people groups of the world?
•Which people groups still need an initial church-planting movement?
•What ministry resources are available to help outreach among the least-reached?
