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Helpful Definitions
The world is divided into political countries, but the Bible shows that God sees the world as many families and people groups speaking different languages, with different histories. India, for example, is one political COUNTRY but it has over 3,000 different people groups (ethnē). These people groups each have their own special identity, languages, cultural traditions, marry within their group and resist outside influences. To reach all these people groups, researchers and strategists have developed the following terminology to help
identify where the need for additional laborers and resources is greatest.
People Group or Nation (ethne):
A family line seeking to preserve its generational identity (shared history and ancestry, like the people or nation of Israel in the Bible). To preserve this identity, nations maintain their traditions, intermarry, and resist outside influences (often, including the gospel). In urban areas ethnic identities are sometimes replaced by affinity groups, as people still need a group to belong to and be identified with, but such groups are not as strong or enduring as blood lineages.
Frontier People Groups (FPGs):
A Frontier People Group (FPG) is a UPG with virtually no followers of Jesus and NO known movements, still needing pioneer cross-cultural workers. For data purposes, FPGs are approximated as groups with 0.1% or fewer Christian Adherents and no confirmed, sustained movements to Jesus. 60% of the UPGs still fall into this least-reached FPG category, though some have had gospel witnesses for many years. Most people in FPGs will never meet someone from their own people group who knows Jesus. The gospel needs to be implanted in families so God’s blessing in Jesus can multiply throughout the group.
Unreached People Groups (UPGs):
UPGs are no more than 5% Christian of any kind and no more than 2% Evangelical (2 out of every 100 people), so the message of Jesus is not widely known and has little impact on the people group. However, many of these groups now have movements to Jesus underway. In the 40% of UPGs that aren’t FPGs it is possible to partner with national believers.
Unengaged Unreached People Groups (UUPGs):
“Unengaged” people groups are UPGs or FPGs with no known laborers among them seeking to start Jesus movements. This metric of effort is independent of the FPG metric of response.
Reached People Groups:
Reached groups have enough believers living among them that people know about Jesus and can choose to follow Him. They have Bibles they can read and communities of believers that can reach out to them who speak their own language. They have more than two evangelicals for every 100 people (2%), or at least 5% who identify as Christian.
Evangelicals:
Researchers count these by denominational adherence to Biblical faith. This guide uses published figures for Evangelicals, Charismatics and Pentecostals to estimate a global count for Spirit-led Christ-followers–who want others to share the blessing they enjoy, of a loving relationship with God based on faith in Jesus.
Jesus Movement:
Disciples making disciples, multiplying rapidly through households and other existing relational networks, empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Pioneer Workers:
When there are no known believers, pioneer workers seek to establish the first “household of peace” (Lk. 10) or first community of believing households within an FPG so that others can see that they can also follow Christ without betraying their people.