“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…” —Matthew 28:19
When Jesus commissioned His followers to make disciples of all nations, He wasn’t referring to the boundaries of geopolitical nations. The Greek word used for nation is ethnē, from which the word ethnic is derived. Ethnē was sometimes used to refer to non-Jewish people, but when combined with the word all, its most common meaning is “an ethnic or cultural people group.”
The United Nations recognizes 197 countries and territories in the world today. Missiologists and anthropologists, however, have identified more than 17,000 distinct ethnic groups! Each is composed of people who share a common identity defined by a variety of factors: linguistic, cultural, social, economic, geographic, religious and political.
Because the world is such a big and diverse place, we wonder: how far does the Gospel need to travel before it hits a barrier of understanding or acceptance? The answer is simple: as far as it takes, for this is where we find least-reached people groups.
More than 6,500 people groups are still waiting to hear the Good News of Jesus. Read Isaiah 60:1-3 and ask God to reveal Jesus as the Light of the world and the hope for all ethnē.
“Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For darkness shall cover the earth…but the Lord will arise upon you…Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.” —Isaiah 60:1-3
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