VIDEO: What is a UPG?

It is estimated that of the 8.00 billion people alive in the world today, 3.40 billion of them live in unreached people groups with little or no access to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. According to Joshua Project, there are approximately 17,446 unique people groups in the world with 7,391 of them considered unreached (over 42% of the world’s population)! The vast majority (85%) of these least reached groups exist in the 10/40 window and less than 3% of missionary work is done among these people. Watch this brief video to learn more!

[ People Group ] : an ethnolinguistic group with a common self-identity that is shared by the various members. The most dominant identifier of a people group is their language, but each unique people group also shares a common history and customs. For strategic purposes, a people group is the largest group through which the gospel can flow without encountering significant barriers of understanding and acceptance. In other words, a people group calls “us, us” and “them, them” by distinguishing insiders and outsiders. In the Bible, the Greek word “ethne” is often translated “nations” but really means ethnic groups or people groups.

[ Unreached People Group (UPG) ] or [ Least Reached People Group ] : an identifiable group of people distinguished by a distinct culture, language, or social class who lack a community of Christians able to evangelize the rest of the people group without outside help. The only opportunity for the people group to hear about salvation is through an “external witness.” Most missiologists consider 2% of the population becoming Christ followers as the “tipping point” at which the group is generally considered “reached” with the Gospel.

Revelation 7:9: “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands” (ESV). The apostle John gives us a glimpse of what worship in heaven will look like. The Bible clearly states that God will not be satisfied until people from every people group are represented in His heaven.

Jesus told us to “go into all the world and make disciples of all nations.” When we accomplish this task, He will return! Global Frontier Missions exists to mobilize, train, and multiply disciples and churches especially among unreached people groups. We would love to help you or your church “adopt” or engage with one of the remaining unreached people groups of the world.

For more research and information concerning unreached people groups, please visit Joshua Project or the IMB Global Research Department. Etnopedia offers resources in many languages for reaching UPGs. For information and research on people groups coming to the United States, where you can search by state or zip code, check out PeopleGroups.info.