Bless Frontier Peoples + | Honorable Mention of the Remaining FPGs with >10,000,000 Population

Praise God for the discovery of self-sustaining movements to Jesus and more known believers in three of the original 31 Frontier People Groups (larger than 10 million) — the two Hausa groups and the Azerbaijani of Iran. Praise God that they are no longer considered Frontier People Groups without progress of the Good News! However, there are now 36 Frontier People Groups that have grown above 10 million; below are their short profiles as they are also significant groups that need prayer.

Afghan Tajiks in Afghanistan (TAH-jeek)

The Tajiks live in Tajikistan with a quarter of their population in Afghanistan. Like most Afghan peoples, they are Sunni Muslims, though they retain some folk or animistic practices. Tajik families are hospitable, large and close-knit, with city-dwellers retaining close ties with their rural relatives. The recent political crisis in Afghanistan makes faith in Jesus and relief for refugees more difficult.

Pray for courage for any believers to share God’s unconditional love with the Tajiks, especially those displaced from their homes.

Pray for access to Scripture and fervent faith will yield Tajik disciples who make disciples, spreading throughout the land.

Pray for families living in this time of war, famine and unstable leadership to find healing in the Prince of Peace. Ask God to touch the hearts of leaders in Afghanistan, bringing them to Himself along with food and peace for the people of Afghanistan.

Sylhet in Bangladesh (SIH-let)

There are over 11 million Sylhet Muslims in Bangladesh, who are Sunni Muslims (Hanafi and Sufi) but incorporate some Hindu practices into their traditions. They speak Bengali as a trade language, but Scripture portions, the JESUS Film, and audio resources do exist in the Sylheti language. The Sylheti province of Bangladesh is in the north-east, bordering on one of the most Christian areas of India, the tribal lands to the east of Bangladesh.

Pray that the Lord would call many Sylhet-speaking believers and believers from nearby Assam area to show His love and sacrifice to the Sylhet Muslims.

Pray for healings, visions and dreams to help the Sylhet Muslims see Jesus working among them and leading them to “worship in Spirit and Truth.” (John 4)

Lohar in India (LOW-har)

There are more than 11 million Hindu Lohar people in India, as well as Muslim and Sikh Lohar groups. Traditionally, the Lohar people of India were nomadic metalsmiths who traveled around to sell their goods. Formerly high-caste weapon makers of the Mewar Kingdom in India, they became poor nomads when the kingdom fell in 1568. Lohar see themselves as descendents of the god Vishwakarma, whom they worship. Many Hindu Lohar people live in the Indian state of Rajasthan and speak Hindi. Although their trade is not “unclean” like that of outcaste groups, it is hard for them to break into the modern workforce in new trades. Their nomadic lifestyle has made education difficult.

Pray for the Lohar whose trade is being pushed out by factory-made metal goods widely available.
Pray for God to send His love to them through believers who can help them with their economic problems. Ask Jesus to bless and heal their families, making them a light to many others.

Mappila in India (MAH-pee-lah)

Over 10 million Mappila Muslims live in India, mostly in the southern state of Kerala, including offshore islands, where they speak the state language of Malayalam. They were won to the Muslim faith by Sunni Muslim seafarers involved in the spice trade and Muslim missionaries. They are mostly part of the Salafi sect of Sunni Islam. They speak the same language as the Mar Thoma Christian Mappilas (won to Christ by the disciple Thomas in the 1st century).

Please pray that God would put a love for the Mappila Muslims in the heart of the many Mar Thoma Jesus followers, so that they could win them to Jesus without feeling they needed to become Mar Thoma-style Christians.

Pray that the many Mappila who diligently seek to obey God would read His Word, and be led to Jesus through dreams, visions, and healings, spreading the Good News to others.

Hijazi Arabs in Saudi Arabia (hee-JAH-zee)

On the Saudi Arabian side of the Red Sea live more than 11 million Hijazi-Arabic speakers, the form of Arabic also the most common in Medina and Mecca, which differs significantly from Modern Standard Arabic. Although they are difficult to access in Saudi Arabia, over 300,000 Hijazi-speaking Arabs work in the United Arab Emirates.

Pray for them to have oral and written scriptures in their heart language. Ask God to reveal to them His love through Isa al Massih (Jesus the Messiah) and draw them to those the Qur’anic passages that honor His virgin birth and healing ministry.

Also pray that God’s Spirit would pour out onto those seeking Him through pilgrimages to Medina and Mecca, giving them dreams and visions of the Messiah.

Pray for witnesses to be able to share their testimonies with the Hijazi Arabs working in the UAE.

Make a difference in the lives of the people living within FPGs!

God’s unchanging purpose was, is, and always will be to bless all the families of the earth: every nation, tribe, people and language. We can see that’s exactly what happens according to Revelation 5:9 and 7:9-10.

Jesus has all authority over all nations and has told us He will go with us even to the ends of the earth and time, helping us to make disciples of all peoples (Matthew 28:18-20). So be courageous! Pray, learn, go, tell others or give so that God’s blessing of forgiveness and eternal life will reach all families of the earth—- especially in the people groups where there are no Jesus movements yet.

Become an Advocate for ONE Frontier People Group

Ask the Lord to give you a Frontier People Group for whom you can become an advocate—embracing them in your heart and prayers, and asking the Holy Spirit to lead your family or small group in blessing that Frontier People Group. You can pick one of the largest neediest groups in this booklet or you can search on the Joshua Project by country to find groups there that are Frontier People Groups. Go to the interactive map at www.joshuaproject.net/frontier/interactive to pick a Frontier People Group by language, religion or size. Find others involved with your people group at www.getinvolved.com/.

Please pray about making one or more of the following commitments:

I’ll pray. I’ll pray specifically for His will to be done on earth, that every people group may hear, and that laborers will be thrust forth into the harvest (Matt 9:37-38). Give this prayer guide to others to pray (go31.org).
I’ll live according to God’s purpose. I’ll evaluate my priorities and begin to adjust my lifestyle in light of God’s purpose (Matt 6:24-33; 10:37-39).
I’ll give. I’ll support those working at home or abroad on behalf of the frontier peoples.
I’ll serve. I’ll serve at a mission organization at home or abroad, utilizing my skills in the most strategic way possible to reach the frontier peoples.
I’ll study. I’ll learn all I can about God’s global purpose in Scripture (Luke 24:45-47) and what is happening in the world today, especially among Frontier People Groups. I will look into taking the Perspectives on the World Christian Movement course (www.perspectives.org).
I’ll link up. I’ll become accountable to other believers to pray, study, give, grow, send or go as I play my part in God’s plan (Heb 10:24-25).
I’ll share this vision. I’ll help spread the news of what God is doing and the needs of Frontier Peoples worldwide.
I’ll challenge my home fellowship. I’ll see that a global worldview gets into every level of my church and that the members know how they can each fit into the overall task of reaching all peoples.. I’ll encourage my fellowship and global outreach ministry to designate funds toward efforts to serve the Frontier Peoples.
I’ll give my time. I’ll devote 5 or 10 hours every week helping my church or fellowship reach out to the Frontier Peoples of the world.
I’ll mobilize. I’ll serve the churches in my area making them aware of opportunities, resources, training classes and tools that exist to help them catch the vision of finishing world evangelization.
I’ll advocate “adopting” Frontier People Groups. I’ll encourage others churches and individuals to “adopt” one of the remaining Frontier People Groups (see www.getinvolved.com)
I’ll obey. I commit to be part of God’s work to disciple the “nations,” the people groups of the world (Matt 28:19). I will obey Jesus, who said “go unto all the world and make disciples of all peoples/families/nations.”

We look forward to rejoicing with you before the throne of God along with people from every tribe, language, people and nation. Learn More about Frontier Peoples at JoshuaProject.net/frontier, a collaborative research hub highlighting the least-reached people groups of the world to finish the Great Commission.

Pray for all the Frontier Peoples: Population by Region

Frontier People Groups are the least reached peoples in the world—with virtually no access to the gospel! This graph and map show the distribution of all the Frontier People Groups by population and percentage in different regions. The vast majority of them live in South Asia and the rest are mostly in Muslim-majority countries.

Pray for self-sustaining Jesus movements to begin in all these groups, filling the earth with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. (Hab. 2:14). Pray that every million people in each of these FPGs will have at least two prayer teams advocating for them, and two engagement teams sharing God’s love and the freedom that comes from knowing Jesus with them.