The Great Commission and Evangelization Statistics

(From GAP-FTT, Global Alliance for Church Planting among Unreached People Groups)

For the Great Commission of Jesus to be fulfilled, the gospel must be preached to all nations, peoples, tribes, and languages on Earth, and churches must be established among every people group. Since Jesus gave this task more than 2,000 years ago, much progress has been made, but we have not yet fully preached the gospel everywhere (Romans 15:19-21). Today, the top priority of the global church is to plant churches among those who are still unreached, by proclaiming the gospel of the Kingdom and making disciples, especially those who have not yet heard the good news of Christ (Matthew 28:18-20).

It is important to note that different missionary organizations may have slightly different criteria for defining terms such as “unreached people groups,” “least-reached,” or “unengaged” groups. Therefore, it is not easy to provide uniform statistical data. However, one clear fact is that these groups are all thoroughly isolated from the gospel.

Unreached People Group (UPG)

Currently, among the world’s population of about 7.8 billion, there are approximately 17,000 people groups. “Unreached People Group” refers to those people groups whose evangelization rate is less than 2%. Since their evangelization rate is below 2%, it is unlikely that the gospel will spread naturally or that churches will be planted within these groups without external assistance.

There are about 7,400 unreached people groups worldwide. (Please note that the exact number of people groups or unreached people groups may vary slightly depending on how different research organizations define them. The above figure is based on data from the Joshua Project.)

Unengaged Unreached People Group (UUPG)

“Unengaged Unreached People Group” refers to people groups with an evangelization rate of 0%. This means there are no believers, no missionaries or workers, no churches, and no translated scriptures in their own language.

Currently, there are around 100 UUPGs in the world. As mentioned earlier, 20 years ago, there were about 3,400 UUPGs, but thanks to the Frontier Mission Movement (FTT), the number has decreased to around 100.

The International Mission Board (IMB) has stricter criteria for defining UUPGs. According to IMB, there are still about 3,000 UUPGs remaining, with a combined population of approximately 270 million. However, FTT removes a group from the UUPG list once at least a few local workers or a few churches have been established, meaning that the gospel has been preached. Monitoring continues, but according to FTT, among the 3,000 UUPGs mentioned by IMB, about 2,800 are now classified as Under-Engaged Unreached People Groups (UUPG) in FTT’s lists.

Most Unreached People Group (MUPG)

The “Most Unreached People Group” refers to people groups with an evangelization rate of less than 0.1%. Currently, there are about 5,000 such groups in 130 countries, with a total population of about 1.9 billion people. While the gospel has been introduced to these groups, the majority of the population still remains in spiritual darkness. The Joshua Project also refers to these as “Frontier Peoples.”

Although almost all unengaged unreached people groups (UUPG) have now been reached, it is still crucial to continue focusing on the most unreached people groups (MUPG). The fact that an unengaged group has been reached only means that the initial phase has started.

The global church’s top priority is to disciple the 5,000 MUPGs that remain. The global church must unite to plant churches and raise up local workers within these groups. While they may no longer be “unengaged,” they are still in the “most unreached” category.