August 01, 1985 by

Hidden, Unreached, and Unevangelized: What's What?

It's great to get Mission Frontiers and find out that Fm not the only one whom the Lord has suited up and shifted to the frondines through your work.As a two year short termer, I help in administration, youth work, and conducting an evangelistic survey.

Vaglas, Walas, Gonjas and Borifors are all listed in Unrecrched Peoples '80, But rather than 'Hidden Peoples,' they have been in theforefront of the 'view and.,, conventional outreach" of WEC since 1940.

In surveying 500 people, I've found S that had not heard of Christ In contrast, 75 percent could tell me that Christ died for our sins and rose again. Even Muslims tell me 50!

From memory, UP80 lists as "unreached" a few dozen tribes in Ghana totalling 3 million people. Yet only two (totalling 30,000) have not yet had representatives for Revelation 5:9 chosen.

From experience among nine different peoples, nearly every village has had years of Gospel witness. Nearly every one of these groups has been entered by Wycliffc (SIL), SIM, WEC, or denominational missions (esp. BMM, AG and Presby), so in no way can these be said to be "hidden from our view and the conventional outreach of existing churches and mission agencies" (4fF, vol. 6, no, 4, p. 3).

They may be described as "under' missioned" (in the sense that we can't place trained preachers in every village even in those villages that have asked for one), but not "unreached,"

Even with their wide coverage, UP8O lists only 1,100 groups. Where does the figure of 16,750 come from? I've seen it quoted in almost every MF but never explained.

And how do we know that less than ten percent of missionaries and five percent of mission money are focused on these groups?

Nick Gitlard WEC Mission

Accra North, GHANA, West Africa

Ed.: This is just a great letter. Nick not only demonstrates his excitement and interest in the unfinished task. He asks, for all our readers, questions that no doubt many have had and may have "been afraid to ask." He points up several key widespread misunderstandings about unreached peoples.

First of all, World Vision's superb Unreached Peoples '80 carefully indicates nine levels of "validity" and openly acknowledges that more conclusive evidence is often necessary. Specifically, each of the 30 peoples they mention for Ghana on pages 333 and 334 need to be looked up in the main directory. There you can check the "validity code" for each one.

Secondly, what is tote today is quite different from what was true in 1980, to be sure. For example, the almost 1/3 million Frafra, unreached then, are reached today!

Thirdly, the definition of "unreached people" in the 1980 book is now outmoded by a very widespread acceptance of a new and somewhat different definition that has nothing to do with a "percentage Christian' but the presence or absence of "a viable, indigenous, evangelizing church movement." See the article by Holzmann on p. 2, or my two chapters in Conn's book Reaching the Unreached (Order on p.31,)

What does NOT define (although may often describe) an Unreached or Hidden or Frontier people are such phrases as "not heard Christ" "in the forefront of' some mission's concern, "entered' by this or that mission, "undermissioned."

The main point is that "exposure" to the Gospel is not enough, To reach a people in the way most missions today are now talking, it is necessary to plant "a viable, indigenous, evangelizing church movement,"

Finally, the "17,000," while far from fanciful, is merely a "best estimate" just like the 10% and 5% figures are. We welcome other estimates. What's yours?By the way, talk to Bill Chapman of your mission, lie lives up in Kumasi and is a tot closer to the realities of Northern Ghana,

Life Begins at 45... or 61

My age is 41 and it was exciting to read about lifetime commitment at age 45 (Jan Mar '85, p.23).

(Mr.) Lauri Koipinen Vantaa, FINLAND

Thank you for the articles this month on retirees (July '85, pp. 2!, 23).

I am so excited to think that God might enable me to be more strategically placed somewhere in the field of missions   even at age 61. It has been my prayer for 10 years!

You have indeed been an encourager of my faith that my days of usefulness will not be over (at retirement).

Elaine Hansford Phoenix, AZ

Dusting It Off

Enclosed is what was left in my Berkeley savings account. With your interest as high as it is now (July '85, p. 20), it doesn't make much sense to leave the money collecting dust in Berkeley while I'm in Omaha.

I wonder if our present economic troubles aren't God's judgment for our greed, so I'm glad you are encouraging us to give more  and by example, and not just by word,

Dave Hitchcock Omaha, NE

Thanks for another excellent issue of Mission Frontiers (Apr Jun. '85).

I want to express my appreciation for your bringing to the attention of Christians in the United States and Canada the benefits of being a part of ACMC.

(Rev.) Charles E. Koch Perrine, FL