Photo Credit: A Vahanvati @ Flickr (CC)
Joshua Project was created in 1995 to bring information about ethnic people groups of the world with the fewest followers of Christ to the public attention. Those behind Joshua Project believed it was important to understand which peoples were unreached to have the clearest perspective of the Great Commission and the task remaining, in order to fulfill it. Christ says in Matthew 24:14 (NLT), “And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come.” There’s been much speculation about what “all nations” means, but many scholars believe that “all nations” are all the global people groups differentiated by ethnicity, language or culture.
Joshua Project collects and shares information about the different people groups of the world and the work efforts of different missions organizations tied to them. Joshua Project works hard to keep the data accurate and up to date. Among the people groups identified, there is a subgroup considered “Unreached” which means that less than 2% are Evangelical Christians and less than 5% identify themselves as a follower of the Christian religion in any form. This identification helps focus Gospel efforts towards those who are the least-reached.
“And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come” Matthew 24:14 (NLT).
Today, Joshua Project is ever expanding on the methods they use to bring the information about global people groups to the public. Joshua Project recently published a mobile app available for both iPhone and Android. The app, called “Unreached of the Day”, shares information about a different unreached people group each day and encourages those who use the app to join in prayer with other believers around the world for the expansion of the Kingdom of God. You can download the app in the App Store or in the Google Play store.
In addition to praying for unreached people groups, you can also take a step further by learning more about a specific people group and sharing your passion for them with others, equipping your church by connecting with missionaries who are serving elsewhere, financially supporting a missionary or church planting effort, and also by interacting with people of different people groups in your own city, such as international students. There are so many way to be involved in reaching the unreached but the best first step is prayer.
For more information please visit Joshuaproject.net
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