What is a “people group”?

You will often hear the term “people group” when describing what Jesus meant when He said, “…make disciples of all nations…” The word for nations is “ethnos,” which can be translated “a tribe, nation, or people group.”

In 1982, the Lausanne Movement, a global movement that mobilizes Christian leaders to collaborate to reach the world for Christ, defined 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” … i.e., language, culture, etc.

According to Joshua Project, there are approximately 17,428 unique people groups in the world with 7,400+ of them considered unreached. The vast majority (85%) of these least-reached groups exist in the 10/40 window and less than 10% of missionary work is done among these people.

Of these 7,400 unreached people groups, 2,200 (30%) are in India. We must pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest in India.

Pray for HBI as the training of leaders continues to give everyone an opportunity to hear, understand, and respond to the gospel and be discipled into communities of believers within their own context so that they may radiate a demonstration of Christ and His kingdom.

On the first day of each month, you will receive one of two brief emails, alternating each month. “DID YOU KNOW” will highlight interesting facts about India or missions in general. “3 THINGS” will highlight three brief happenings at HBI India. These are in addition to the mid-month letter that you already receive reporting on current projects and stories of what God is doing to advance His vision for India and beyond.