GFA Missionaries: Making Disciples of All Nations
Making disciples of all nations was the point of Jesus’s last command before He ascended into heaven. Nations look different today than they did when Jesus walked the Earth, but His command remains. In order to reach as many people as possible, Christians now ask the question: Who are the unengaged people groups?
Instead of focusing on a political or geographical nation or state, Christians now recognize that within any given country there many be several people groups. What are people groups? The evangelical organization People Groups defines them as, “an ethnolinguistic group with a common self-identity that is shared by the various members. There are two parts to that word: ethno and linguistic. Language is a primary and dominant identifying factor of a people group. But there are other factors that determine or are associated with ethnicity.”[1]
Likewise, we need to ask, “What are frontier groups?” This is even more narrow. The Joshua Project defines a frontier group as “an Unengaged People Group (UPG), with virtually no followers of Jesus and no known movements to Jesus, still needing pioneer cross-cultural workers.”[2]
There are an estimated 4,848 frontier people groups, with a total population of 2,007,922,000.[3] According to East-West, “of the approximately 8 billion people on planet Earth, about 3.2 billion are considered [unengaged] or least reached. More than 7,000 people groups are classified as [unengaged]. That’s more than 40% of the total population.”[4]
There are 683 people groups in 11 countries in Southeast Asia with little to no gospel witness. Africa’s massive continent is host to 460 groups that have not been reached.[5] These alone are two massive mission fields needing workers to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ and serve the people with love and compassion. This must be done with intentionality, grace, understanding and sensitivity. The language and cultural barriers alone are enough to stop the spread of the Good News. Yet, Jesus would not have left this command for us if there were no way to fulfill it.
GFA World is committed to serving the least of these in impoverished places in the world and bringing the Good News of Jesus Christ to the far corners of the world, to those who would not hear about Jesus without missionaries being the hands and feet of Jesus. Our national missionary program works to train, equip and send indigenous people to serve those in their own country. This immediately eliminates language and culture barriers.
One such missionary has a long and miraculous story, led to faith through the loving service of another GFA pastor. Sundar was born blind into a poor family, his father battling his own physical limitations. His family’s life was extremely difficult. After trying temples and witch doctors to try to heal Sundar’s blindness, his family heard of a Christian prayer service. Desperate for a cure, they went. The believers prayed over Sundar in the name of Jesus, and he was healed.[6]
Sundar’s father gave his life to Jesus and committed himself to helping serve people in the village and nearby areas to help the local GFA pastor. Then one night as he was praying for a man in pain, Sundar’s father was brutally murdered. As a young man, Sundar had to grapple with the grief of losing his father but also with his own faith. What did he believe, and what might it cost him? He spent some time with a GFA pastor and his wife, grieving and trying to make sense of God and what he believed. He then came to see the truth of who Jesus was and what He had done for him. Sundar then committed his life to God and went to Bible college.
Sundar became a GFA national missionary, serving in villages just like where he grew up. He knew the language and the culture, these could not hinder his mission. He now rides from village to village on his bicycle, bringing the Good News to those who have never heard it.
Pray about sponsoring a GFA missionary for just $30 per month. They are ready to serve God in places where others may not be welcomed or even spoken to. They are trained to care for the people with compassion and care. You can choose a missionary to sponsor, or you can give to the national fund that supports these precious people.
Jesus fully expects us to continue making disciples of all nations. We may not be personally called to the remotest parts of the earth, but we can support those who are. These men and women hear the call of God on their lives, and we can hear the call of God on ours to partner with them financially in the Great Commission of Jesus Christ. Sundar’s miraculous story led him to answer “Yes” to Jesus. Would you please partner with us today?
Learn more about how to sponsor a family for Christmas
[1] “What is a People Group?” People Groups. Accessed July 30, 2023. https://www.peoplegroups.org/understand/313.aspx.
[2] “Frontier Unreached Peoples.” Joshua Project. Accessed July 30, 2023. https://joshuaproject.net/frontier.
[3] Ibid.
[4] “What is an Unreached People Group?” East West. Accessed July 30, 2023. https://blog.eastwest.org/what-is-an-unreached-people-group#:~:text=Of%20the%20approximately%208%20billion,40%25%20of%20the%20total%20population.
[5] “People Groups: Regions.” Joshua Project. Accessed July 30, 2023. https://joshuaproject.net/regions/8.
[6] “The Birth of a Missionary.” GFA World. Accessed July 30, 2023. https://www.gfa.org/news/articles/the-birth-of-a-missionary-wfr20-08/.