Unreached people groups (UPGs) are generally defined as people groups that have less than two percent evangelical Christian representation and less than five percent nominal Christian presence. In a practical sense, they are people groups and places where Christ is largely unknown and there is not a church with adequate resource to help make him known in the broader population without outside help.

According to the Traveling Team, UPGs make up 42.2% of the world’s population, or more than 3.14 billion people. The vast majority of them are Muslims, Buddhists, and Hindus living in the 10/40 Window, and 86% of them have never had a meaningful conversation or relationship with a Christian. Yet the staggering reality is that less than three percent of foreign missionaries work among this massive segment of humanity.

By the evaluation of Finishing the Task, there are 218 UPGs that are both unengaged and unreached, meaning that they have no church accessible to them, and no missionary or mission agency working among them. They are truly the least-reached ethnic groups, and represent more than five million individuals in need of the saving knowledge of Christ.

There is also remarkable overlap between the poorest countries of the world and those that are least evangelized. Barriers to reaching people groups in these places are diverse, such as physical distance, lack of infrastructure, or limited resources in their languages, or spiritual challenges such as hostility or significant gaps in comprehension of a loving, present, and personally-invested Savior.

Because of these challenges, in as many cases as possible, it is our goal to come alongside local believers or in support of a local church, to help with its church-planting efforts, as they can be more effective in winning their neighbors and communities to Christ in their context. The Live Global ministry arm of ABWE focuses on partnering with national missionaries working predominantly in countries that are inaccessible to ABWE missionaries, often in the 10/40 Window.

Your Passion for Reaching the Unreached

UPGs are often hard to get to, can be difficult to live among, and require patience, perseverance and good training to see churches planted among them. But it can be done, and the joy of seeing such fruit is great! There are many ways to minister to unreached people groups on the mission field, including:

• Art & Crafts
• Bible Studies
• Children’s Ministries
• Church Revitalization
• English Clubs
• Evangelism/Discipleship/Church Planting
• Healthcare
• Orphan Ministries
• Refugee Relief
• Small Business Ministry
• Women’s Ministry
• Youth Ministries

Perhaps God is calling you to take up the cause of reaching the unreached and unengaged—those who are truly without a gospel witness. Join us in making disciples of every nation, tribe and tongue.