The Unreached
Of the billions of people who don’t know Jesus, we are laser-focused on those who have little or no access to the gospel—the unreached. The unreached are likely to be born, live, and die without ever hearing the truth of the gospel. We are gripped by God’s heartbreak for the unreached. We’ve seen his passion for them in Scripture, and we believe he deserves worship from every nation, tribe, people, and language. We are Together for the Unreached.
Defining the Unreached
No Bible
available in their heart language
No believers
to share the gospel with them
No body of Christ
to disciple them
People group
“For evangelization purposes, a people group is the largest group within which the Gospel can spread as a church planting movement without encountering barriers of understanding or acceptance” (1982 Lausanne Committee Chicago meeting). Understanding or acceptance barriers include things like ethnicity, religion, culture, and language.
Unreached people group
No indigenous community of believers; less than 2% of the population is a professing Christian
Unengaged people group
No known church planting or gospel initiatives taking place
% unreached people groups
7,295
Unreached People Groups
17,415
Total People Groups
% unreached people
3.56 bn
Total Unreached People
8.19 bn
World Population
Source:
Hard-to-reach
Hardest-to-reach
This map identifies the countries with the most urgent physical and spiritual needs according to the Stratus Index.
Unreached for a Reason
With thousands of missionaries and millions of dollars given each year, why is it that roughly 42% of the world has still never heard the gospel?
Physical, cultural, and political barriers stand between the body of Christ—those actively giving to missions—and those who have not heard.
- In Nepal, not only is it illegal to share the gospel, but the Himalayan mountains and extreme weather isolate many villages from the gospel.
- In many Middle Eastern nations, harsh regimes persecute believers and try to block access to gospel resources.
- In North Africa, regional conflicts and famine make parts of it a harsh and dangerous place to live, preventing many from sharing the gospel.
TRIAD is committed to overcoming these barriers in order to see the gospel go forth. By mobilizing believers across the globe to play their part, training and deploying fully-equipped gospel workers to unreached areas, and partnering with indigenous church movements, TRIAD is directing more resources into the hardest-to-reach places.
The Great Imbalance
Despite Christ’s call to “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to every creature,” less than 2% of missional resources and approximately 3% of cross-cultural workers go to serve among unreached people groups. This is what missiologists refer to as The Great Imbalance. This disparity of missional resources results in the gospel rich getting richer at the expense of the gospel poor.
WHAT SCRIPTURE SAYS ABOUT THE UNREACHED
Reaching the unreached is not just a mission strategy, its roots are found in the Bible. From Genesis to Revelation, the ultimate desire of God is revealed for his name to be known and his glory enjoyed among all the nations of the world.
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WHAT SCRIPTURE SAYS ABOUT THE UNREACHED
Reaching the unreached is not just a mission strategy, its roots are found in the Bible. From Genesis to Revelation, the ultimate desire of God is revealed for his name to be known and his glory enjoyed among all the nations of the world.
- “The LORD reigns, let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad!” (Ps. 97:1).
- “Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations I will be exalted in the earth” (Ps. 46:10).
- “Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!” (Ps. 67:5).
- “Declare His glory among the nations his marvelous works among all the peoples” (Ps. 96:3).
- “Praise the LORD, all nations! Extol him, all peoples!” (Ps. 117:1).
- “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea” (Hab. 2:14).
- “Yes, LORD, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts” (Isa. 26:8).
- “I am the Lord; that is my name, my glory I give to no other” (Isa. 42:8).
- “Everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made” (Isa. 43:7).
- “Ascribe to the LORD, O families of nations, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength, ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name. Bring an offering and come before him; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness” (1 Chron. 16:28-29).
- “Behold, a great multitude that no one could number from every nation, from all tribes, peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb … crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’” (Rev. 7:9-10).
Our Approach
Get to know our holistic approach to reaching the unreached, and learn about our strategic initiatives that are laser-focused on taking the gospel to the hardest-to-reach places.
