He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation." (Mark 16:15)Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20)
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. (Acts 1:8-9)
Who are these "ends of the earth" people?
We call these people the "unreached peoples", those who do not have an indigenous community of believing Christians, a church, which is capable of evangelizing its own people group. These "unreached peoples" are different ethnic groups which are usually found among the Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist, Chinese, Animist, and other world religions. They are located in large cities and in rural farming communities. Most of the unreached are living in poverty, while some are wealthy. They may be found in the cold high mountains or on the hot desert plains.
The one thing that the unreached people have in common is that they do not know Jesus Christ. They have not heard the good news that their sins are forgiven and that they can be reconciled to God. We are seeking to bring them this message of hope. Will you join us?
What Can Be Done About the Unreached Peoples?
Christian researchers continually work to identify which cultural groups have a church planting effort and which do not, which people groups are reached and which are not. It is estimated that of all the ethnic groups in the world, perhaps as many as 8,000 could be considered unreached. Eight thousand ethnic groups of different colors and sizes; peoples with different religions, languages, and ways of life.
The Global Goal: To ensure that all unreached people groups are reached (i.e. that each has a self-reproducing and self-governing church among it which is capable of evangelizing its own ethnic group). The goal of world evangelization is enormous! Christian denominations and mission agencies are strategizing about their part in completing this huge global task.
Youth With A Mission's Goal: To partner in 1000 unreached people group adoptions. Youth With A Mission (YWAM) was founded to help bring the good news of Jesus Christ to those who don't know Him. YWAM affirms that partnership with other organizations and local churches in the global Body of Christ is an absolute requisite to accomplish this task.
You, your church or group's goal: To partner with Youth With A Mission to reach one unreached people group.
The strategy: Throughout the years many strategies have been created to ensure that the entire world is evangelized. However, each church, denomination, and mission agency seemed to be working on its own to accomplish this huge task.
Today the priority in world missions is targeting the unreached peoples and beginning churches amongst them. Recently, the Lord has brought unprecedented cooperation towards completing this task through a strategy called "Adopt-A-People".