Asia (MNN) — You may have heard a lot of talk about unreached, unengaged people groups, or UUPGs. There’s even a day dedicated to the topic called the International Day for the Unreached. More about that here.
Usually, headlines focus on need, but today we’ve got a praise report from Bibles For The World. President John Pudaite says their Asian partners recently met a believer from one of the UUPGs they adopted last year.
“We’ve asked them to take on that role of discipleship, of guiding him and bringing him into their fold – at least for a time – so that they can… prepare him to go back into his village and be able to share the Gospel.”
Making headway…
As described here, UUPGs have millions of people, no known believers, and no one is actively trying to reach them for Christ. Download the Great Commission Action Guide to learn more.
(Photo by Artem Beliaikin from Pexels)
Bibles For The World met the “engaged” criteria when they adopted the people group last year. To protect current and future Gospel work, Pudaite won’t name the people group or describe its specific location.
“It’s a country where things are a little bit in flux; there is freedom of religion in their constitution but there [are] also statements about the country’s character being aligned with a certain religion,” Pudaite explains.
“This makes it a little bit difficult, a little bit challenging, and [it’s] something that we want to try to navigate as carefully as we can.”
Additionally, “there is no Scripture that we’re aware of in that language,” Pudaite confirms. It’s one of the initiatives Bibles For The World is trying to launch, but they need partners.
“Perhaps we can work together on getting some… translation work going… so that we can start to help him reach his own people.”
Progress, but not completion
It’s great to find a believer, Pudaite agrees, but this story is far from over. In fact, it’s only just beginning.
“It’s just one person right now, but it’s a start. From my own experience with my tribe in northeast India, we started with just five believers and within a generation, we were entirely evangelized,” Pudaite says.
(Photo courtesy of Bibles For The World)
“So, this is still possible… as the Holy Spirit leads, guides, and moves, and God provides all our needs for this effort.”
Contact Bibles For The World today and mention this article to find your place in the story. Most importantly, pray. “Each step of the way needs prayer because there are just so many potential obstacles,” Pudaite says.
“There [are] so many little steps along the way: finding the right national partners that have an interest, maybe have a similar calling to reaching the unreached in their nation… mobilizing them to get out there… finding the right strategies… and then, how do we resource that?”
Header image courtesy of Bibles For The World.
