2009 World Mandate 12 UPGs [unreached people groups]
INDIA
Country Facts:
- More than 1 billion people live in this huge country which dominates south Asia. Recently, India has suffered unusual weather patterns, the 2004 tsunami and the 2005 earthquake. Many people are still without homes and continue to be displaced.
- India is the spiritual home of Hinduism. Of the 820 million people in the world who follow Hinduism – 96% of them live in India. The whole of Indian society is based on Hinduism, which divides everyone into different ‘castes’ (classes). Hindu ways of thinking even effect parts of the church and faith of some Christians.
- India’s economy has grown quickly in the last ten years, and India is now a nuclear power, but it is home to many of the world’s poorest people. Over 600 million people in India live in deep poverty and another 300 million don’t have enough to live on each day. Yet, in the past 10 years poverty has been reduced by 10%.
Youth Facts:
- There are 4 million orphans in India alone.
- Half the children and young people of India live in poverty and many more are malnourished. Millions of children work in sweatshops or are sold into slavery to pay off their parents’ debts. There is also a growing trade in child prostitution–buying children from neighboring Nepal and Bangladesh.
[1] Unreached People Group: Shaikh (Kannada)
Geographic location (of all Shaikhs): Indian sub-continent
Population: 2 million
Religion/beliefs: 99.5% Muslim
Bible translation status: Complete as of 1998
Jesus Film: Yes
UPG status: Engaged with church planting
About the Shaikh: The word sheikh in the Arabic language denotes a person who does "justice," and is a general term of courstesy equivalent to the English term "esquire." In South Asia, after the advent of Islam, many high caste Hindus converted to Islam and adopted the title of Shaikh to become part of the elite Islamic Sultanate. Traditionally, Shaikhs have been urban and non-agriculturist with a reputation for business acumen.During the Muslim Sultanate the majority of munsis (accountants) were Shaikhs. Today, the Shaikh community has entrepreneurs, scholars, whit-collar workers, teachers, administrators, engineers and doctors. Formal education is favored for both boys and girls. Shaikhs are non-vegetarians who eat both beef and buffalo meat. Their staple food is rice. Marriages between parallel cousins are permitted in the community and dowry is given in cash. Women wear lachchas (a type of Indian two-piece dress) and a finger ring as symbols of marriage. The widow, widower and divorcee are permitted to remarry within the community.
How do we pray?
The Kannada-speaking Shaikhs now have some known believers but no church yet exists.
- Would you agree with us that a movement of indigenous house churches would begin during this year?
- Pray for God to reveal Himself in dreams and visions to these people as He has before so many other Muslims throughout the world.
[2] Unreached People Group: Tigala
Geographic location: India
Population: 627,900
Religion/beliefs: 100% Hinduism
Bible translation status: Complete as of 2005
Jesus Film: Yes
UUPG status: Least reached; no one is reaching this people group
About the Tigala: The traditional and present-day occupation of the Tigala is agriculture and growing flowers. Their main goddess is Draupadi, and their main festival, the Karaga, has been celebrated for many centuries in the city of Bangalore in reverence to this goddess. The Karaga, after which the festival gets its name, is a floral structure which is carried on the head of a man selected to be the Karaga carrier. As fire walking and frenzied dancing takes place outside the temple, the Karaga carrier emerges from inside the temple. Since the Karaga actually represents the goddess Draupadi, the crowd waiting outside the temple goes berserk trying to catch a glimpse of the goddess. Those involved in the fire walking outside the temple strike their swords against their bare chests over and over. If blood should ooze out, it is considered an indication of the fire walker's failure to adhere to the religious standards required for the celebration to the goddess. For the Karaga carrier, the swords have a menacing significance because by tradition the carrier is supposed to be stabbed if he should lose his balance and fall. Fortunately, this has never happened in the long history of this festival. Other custome of the Tigala include being non-vegetarian, with rice and ragi being their staple cereals.
How do we pray? Pray for churches and missions to be involved in holistically transforming this group.
[3] Unreached People Group: Balija Geographic location: India
Population: 1,491,000
Religion/beliefs: 99.96% Hinduism
Bible translation status: Complete as of 2002
Jesus Film: Yes
UPG Status: Engaged with church planting
How do we pray? The Balija people are exclusively Hindu and reside as an ethnic minority with only a small political voice in domestic and governmental affairs. They may marry outside the clan but only within their caste. Generally, they are not vegetarians and are allowed to drink alcohol, two factors that indicate a low caste status. Pray for them to find their identity as Jesus is revealed to them.
Crafted Prayer for the Balija: Lord, I thank You that You are the God of truth, and that Your Word says, “you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” Thank You for the freedom that You bring in every area of our lives. Right now, I ask You to release a yearning and a restlessness within the Balija, a real spiritual hunger that won’t settle for a substitute.
[4] Unreached People Group: Bhovi (Vaddar)
Geographic location: India
Population: 1,180,147
Religion/beliefs: 100% Hindu
Bible translation status: Complete Bible as of 2002
Jesus Film: Yes
UPG status: Engaged with church planting
How do we pray? Bhovi women are restricted to 18 husbands. The Bhovi people have a custom of changing marriage partners freely by negotiation. Polygamy and child marriage are common, with betrothal as early as one year. Consummation of the marriage takes place upon puberty. Pray for education that will create awareness about marriage and family.
These nomadic people change places of residence even more frequently than they change spouses. They claim to have descended from Bhagirath, a great king in Hindu mythology who vowed never to drink from the same well twice. Because many work in road construction and masonry, their jobs encourage a nomadic lifestyle.
- Pray for the Bhovi people to embrace the changeless Father and find security in Him.
- Pray for the government and non-profit organizations to assist in setting up education and developmental programs.
- Pray for churches to be involved in holistically reaching the Bhovi people.
[5] Unreached People Group: Koshti Geographic location: Southern India
Population: 1,451,000 total
Religion/beliefs: 99.48% Hinduism
Bible translation status: Complete as of 2000
Jesus Film: Yes
UPG status: Engaged with church planting
How do we see God at work? The Koshti now have at least some known believers. This is one of the first big hurdles to seeing a church-planting movement.
How do we pray? There are no known churches at this time.
- Pray the first gatherings of believers into existence.
- Antioch has a team living among this people group. Ask for God to give our team favor with these people.
INDONESIA
Country Facts:
- Indonesia is a string of 17,000 islands, which stretches between Thailand and the northern tip of Australia in the Indian Ocean.
- Current issues include: alleviating poverty, preventing terrorism, consolidating democracy after four decades of authoritarianism, implementing financial sector reforms, stemming corruption, and holding the military and police accountable for human rights violations.
- Indonesia is troubled by deep racial divides, and the situation recently worsened in the north of Sumatra where the situation for Christians and Christian organizations has become precarious. There are 170 million Muslims compared to the 30 million Christian minorities in Indonesia. While there is a large Christian population, they are systematically and socially discriminated against. Many Christians are in jail under false or unlawful charges.
- Everyone must choose to follow one of five recognized religions: Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, or Catholicism.
- There are strong movements for independence in many of the islands, particularly in East Timor (Timor Lorosae).
- The country was badly affected by the Asian economic crisis in 1997; nearly half the population now lives under the poverty line. Indonesia is plagued by natural disasters. The 2004 tsunami had greatest impact on Indonesia, particularly in the northern hostile region of Acech. 45,000 children were killed in Indonesia alone. Estimates show that 417,124 displaced people, 55 percent of whom are children, still live in temporary shelters and camps.
Youth Country Facts:
At least 30% of Indonesia’s 1.5 million students are Christians.
[6] Unreached People Group: Jambi
Geographic Location: Jambi Province in Sumatra, Indonesia
Population: 800,000
Religion/beliefs: Nearly 100% Muslim
Bible translation status: No
Jesus Film: No
UUPG status: Unreached
How do we pray?
- Pray that God would call out many people around the world to pray for the Jambi and for the Lord of the Harvest that He will thrust forth laborers among them.
- Pray that God will break the yoke of spiritual bondage among the Jambi.
- Pray that Bible translation work will be completed quickly.
- Pray that the Lord would anoint new converts among the Jambi and mature them quickly in order to reap a great harvest among their own people.
- Pray that the Lord will bless the efforts of those seeking to reach the Jambi.
[7] Unreached People Group: Kerinci Geographic location: Bukit Barisan Mtns, Sumatra, Indonesia
Population: 300,000
Religion/beliefs: Islam, Animism
Bible translation status: Not done
Jesus Film: No
UUPG status: Highly unreached
How do we pray?
- Pray small number of Christians living among the Kerinci will remain steadfast in their commitment to the Lord.
- Ask God to raise up loving Indonesian Christians willing to share the Gospel with Kerinci. Pray that these laborers will learn how to communicate the Gospel across cultural and religious barriers.
- Ask God to eliminate the difficulty for Christians to obtain work permits.
- Pray that the hostility towards Christians will cease and that they will be allowed to freely preach the Gospel. Pray that the non-Kerinci Christians living in the area will be given open doors and opportunities to share Christ with the Kerinci.
[8] Unreached People Group: Sundanese (Sumatra) Geographic location: Indonesia
Population: 900,000
Religion/beliefs: Islam, mixed with Animism
Bible translation status: Translated
UUPG status: Highly unreached
How do we see God at work?
The Sundanese, who are spread throughout the island of Sumatra, seem to be more open to the Gospel than the groups who are native to the island.
How do we pray?
- Ask that God would soften the hearts of these Muslims to hear the Gospel.
- Pray they would abandon their folk religion practices of Animism.
- These people were forcefully displaced by the government 30 years ago due to overpopulation on the island of Sumatra. Pray that this new generation growing up would experience the transforming power of Jesus.
[9] Unreached People Group: Javanese (Sumatra) Geographic location: Sumatra, Indonesia
Population: 5,000,000
Religion/beliefs: Predominantly Islam, Animism common
Bible translation status: Translated
UUPG status: No one currently church planting among them
How do we see God at work?
These 5 million people were all forcibly removed from their homes in Java in the 1970s and ‘80s because of overcrowding on that island. This means that they are living in a land that they haven’t known as home. The great news is that the Javanese of Sumatra seem to be more open than the other groups on the island.
How do we pray?
- People are relatively open, pray for opportunities to share the Gospel.
- Pray for a church-planting movement to spread quickly among the Javanese of Sumatra.
- Pray that God would use their difficult circumstances to draw them near to Himself.
[10] Unreached People Group: Minangkabau Geographic location: Southwestern coast of Indonesia
Population: 5,566,000
Religion/beliefs: Devout Muslims, mixed with Animism
Bible translation status: Translated into native language (Minang), but there is strong resistance to its distribution
UPG status: Highly unreached .02% Christian
“To Be Minangkabau is to be Muslim.” If a Minangkabau converts to another religion, he will be thrown out of his family and community as well as lose his job. Islam is embedded into their culture; therefore, they tenaciously resist Christianity. There has been strong resistance to the distribution of the scriptures.
How do we pray?
- Ask that God would pull back the veil of Islam that blinds the Minangkabau from the truth of the Gospel.
- Pray that God would soften their hearts and open their minds to hear.
CHINA
Country Facts:
- China is geographically the third largest nation in the world. One in five people in the world live in China.
- In 1949 Chairman Mao’s dictatorship imposed a “Cultural Revolution” on China – getting rid of anything that was opposed to Chinese Communism. Universities were closed; intellectuals and religious believers were imprisoned if they didn’t tow the party line. An estimated 20 million people lost their lives during this time.
- In 1989, students protesting against the Communist regime were massacred in Tiananmen Square.
- There is growing social unrest in China; poverty is widespread and 200 million people can’t find enough work to live on.
Youth Facts:
Most people planting churches are women in their teens.
[11] Unreached People Group: Lahu
Geographic location: Western Yunnan province, China
Population: 521,000
Religion/beliefs: 33% evangelical Christians (mix of Animism),
22% nominal Christian, 40% ethnic religions, 5% non-religious
Bible translation status: Completed
Jesus Film: Yes
How do we pray? At one time, the Lahu people were so hungry for the Gospel that they actually sent a delegation from China into Burma seeking the truth. Today, most of the Lahu, including the professing Christians, adhere to some form of Animism. This reality is particularly saddening because it was the Lahu believers who initially brought the Gospel to the neighboring Wa people group.
Christian workers are desperately needed to engage the Lahu with a church-planting movement strategy that will not only help return the Lahu to a biblical faith in Jesus Christ but will also help them become a mission sending force for all of the peoples of Southeast Asia and beyond.
UGANDA
Country Facts:
- Uganda has rebuilt itself after the crazed dictatorship of Idi Amin in the ‘70s and ‘80s when millions were killed through brutal and random murders and famine. Since 1986, President Museveni has brought a long needed peace to the country.
- The country’s economy was destroyed through the years of war but has been gradually improving. Uganda relies heavily on money from coffee crops – which make up 93% of its sales abroad.
- Under Idi Amin, Christians faced intense persecution, but there is now complete freedom for all religions to worship, meet and share their faith.
Youth Facts:
The Lord’s Resistance Army, fighting in the north, have abducted 10,000 children as child-soldiers or sex-slaves. Pray that they can be freed, protected, and cared for.
[12] Unreached People Group: AcholiGeographic location: Northern Uganda
Population: 1,296,000
Religion/beliefs: 80% Roman Catholic
Bible translation status: Completed in 1986
UPG status: No longer considered the least reached.
There is a widespread movement of house churches.
How do we pray?
- Pray for the house churches among these people to grow exponentially during 2009?
- Pray for believers to be bold in sharing their faith as they usher in the Kingdom of God to their own people.
