Unreached people group

In Christianity, an unreached people group refers to an ethnic group without an indigenous, self-propagating Christian church movement.[1] Any ethnic or ethnolinguistic nation without enough Christians to evangelize the rest of the nation is an "unreached people group". It is a missiological[2] term used by Evangelical Christians.[3][4] The Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization defines a people group as "the largest group within which the Gospel can spread as a church planting movement without encountering barriers of understanding or acceptance."[5][6] "Nation" is sometimes used interchangeably for "people group". The term is sometimes applied to ethnic groups in which less than 2% of the population is Evangelical Christian.[7][8]

The Great Commission of Christianity is a Biblical mandate to make Christian disciples in every nation of the world. According to the Biblical books of Matthew, Mark and Luke, these were the final instructions of Jesus Christ before He ascended into Heaven. This is a basic tenet of Evangelical Christianity.[9] Therefore, spreading Christianity to the remaining people groups without access to it is a goal of some adherents of the faith today.

Critics of Evangelical Christianity believe that this mindset is harmful to the traditional culture of areas in particular traditional religions.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Unreached People Groups". Lausanne Global Conversation. Lausanne Committee on Global Evangelization. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
  2. ↑ Morreau, A. S. "Missiology." Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. Ed. Walter A. Elwell. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2001. 780-83. Print
  3. ↑ "Unreached Peoples Initiatives". Christian Aid Mission: Unreached Peoples. Christian Aid Mission. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
  4. ↑ "Getting There: a journey to impact an unreached world". IMBresources. International Mission Board. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
  5. ↑ Parks, S. Kent, John Scott. "Missing Peoples: The Unserved "One-Fourth" World: Especially Buddhists, Hindus & Muslims". Lausanne Global Conversation. Committee on World Evangelization. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
  6. ↑ "Ethnê06 . . . Launching A Global Prayer and Strategy Initiative Focused on the Least Reached Peoples". Lausanne Reports. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
  7. ↑ "Unengaged Unreached People Groups". Global Research, International Mission Board, SBC. International Mission Board, SBC. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
  8. ↑ Morgan, Timothy. "Mr. Jabez Goes to Africa". Christianity Today. Christianity Today International. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
  9. ↑ The Holy Bible, New International Version. Matthew 28: Biblica. 2011.

External links

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