The Basics of Adopting an Unreached People Group and Carrying the Gospel to Them

By Clint B.

Focus group: church members and pastors.

Last night, my wife and I attended a banquet hosted by Tribal Frontier Missions, highlighting their work in Peru’s jungles. As we sat at a table with three other couples, making small talk, a staff member from a large local church asked me, “With your experience in Africa, would you say there are still unreached people groups (UPGs) there?” My answer was immediate and clear: “Yes!”

According to the Joshua Project, there are 972 unreached people groups in Africa and approximately 7,186 globally. The need is immense, yet it is estimated that 99% of the missionaries sent out by agencies and churches do not go to the unreached people groups of this world. As a result, most UPGs lack any planned effort to bring them the Gospel. The question remains: What can we do?

The scale of the task is daunting, and it’s unlikely we’ll ever have enough fully funded missionaries to meet the need. However, as in the New Testament, I believe the solution lies in lay believers partnering with those specifically called out to spread the Gospel to the unreached groups and areas of the world. Many church members and even pastors feel unequipped to engage UPGs, but this challenge can be overcome through intentional training and support.

My wife and I spent several years leading a team tasked with researching, verifying the need, and then engaging the hundreds of unreached (and often unengaged) people groups in West Africa with the Gospel. Alongside experienced missionaries and local laypeople, we developed strategies to empower others. One key initiative was a 12-hour training program called Base Camp, where churches in the U.S. were equipped to take on the mission of reaching UPGs.

The thing about these trainings is that they were the same ones being given to missionary strategists around the world to engage the lostness of the unreached and unengaged world. As one experienced church planter put it, “It’s not rocket science, folks.” Laypeople and pastors were being trained with the same concepts and strategies that full-time missionaries were using! And then they were trusted to apply that training to engage unreached people groups, often being “coached” from afar by a full-time missionary who was working in another area. This training is available to any Christian church that feels called to engage in this mission, and Global Gates is ready to partner with, and provide the training you need.

At Global Gates, we focus on finding UPGs in North American and Global Gateway Cities, sharing the Gospel with them, and discipling new believers to reach their families and friends with the message of Jesus. Through this interaction, we hope doors will open for the Gospel to spread back into their homelands. This is the goal we are working toward, and we are seeing progress. Would you like to join in that effort?

In the coming months, I’ll share a series of posts covering key training points for engaging UPGs. These will include insights into foundational strategies and potential pitfalls that could derail your efforts early on. In the meantime, I recommend reading Strangers Next Door: Immigration, Migration, and Mission by J.D. Payne for further context. The need is great, but the opportunity to make an eternal impact is even greater. Will you join us in bringing the Gospel to the unreached?