Four Nations, 12 Unreached People Groups, One Gospel

Billions of people around the world are dying without ever having heard the gospel or even the name of Jesus. Let’s join together in prayer for these unreached people. Pray for God to prepare hearts to hear and receive the gospel and for believers to obey His call to go to them.

Most of the following unreached people groups are considered a frontier people group, meaning there are anywhere from zero to a negligible number of known Christians in their numbers.



Fall 2023 | Praying for India


October | Dhobi – 12.5 million | 99.8% Hindu, Unknown Evangelical

Traditionally, the Dhobi people were the ones who washed laundry in the Hindu world. When a Dhobi girl marries, her dowry usually contains just a few items, almost always including an iron. After the men wash the customers’ clothes, the women iron them and keep the money they earn to pay for household expenses. Mothers teach the girls to iron at an early age, and boys help their fathers by washing the smaller articles of clothing and by delivering packages of clean clothes to their owners.

Most of the Dhobis follow popular Hinduism and worship local gods as well as the washing stones. The vast majority remain Hindu, but they have contact with other communities. Hindus have a pragmatic view of the spirit world. Therefore, the Dhobi people often worship whatever spiritual force they believe will help them in practical ways. Since many of their customers are starting to use washing machines, many Dhobi are facing unemployment. They need job security and job training.

How to Pray:
  • Pray that the Dhobi people will hear the gospel and discover that only Jesus Christ can wash away their sins.
  • Pray for workers to go to the Dhobi people in India.
  • Pray that the Holy Spirit will give the Dhobi people such spiritual hunger that they will not be satisfied until they taste and see that the Lord is good.
  • Pray for a disciple-making movement among the Dhobi people in both India and Nepal.

November | Teli – 22 million | 99.9% Hindu, Unknown Evangelical

The Teli community once did the labor-intensive job of pressing and extracting oil, but now that job is done by mechanical means. For this reason, they have mainly resorted to farming or animal husbandry. A smaller number of them are businessmen or hotel managers, metal workers, cart pullers, or common laborers. Many of them work in government jobs, and they are active in politics.

The Teli are mainly Hindus who have special celebrations at weddings and the birth of a child. They cremate the dead and scatter the ashes in a river, preferably the Ganges, a river Hindus consider to be holy. They worship their ancestors and seek protection from evil spirits. This people group is pragmatic in their spiritual practices. They worship a “wish-fulfilling goddess” whom they hope will answer their prayers. The perception of Christianity as an invading influence that breaks up families and promotes many social problems is a serious obstacle to Teli families and communities humbly accepting God’s blessing for their families.

How to Pray:
  • Pray that the Teli people will develop a hunger for the true God.
  • Pray that believers will reach out to these people with the blessings of Christ.
  • Pray that soon the oil of the Holy Spirit would anoint Teli community leaders and lead them to throw open the doors for their people to follow Jesus.
  • Pray for the Lord to raise up Teli believers who will disciple others and begin the process of starting a disciple-making movement among this people group.

December | Yadav – 41 million | 99.9% Hindu, Unknown Evangelical

The Yadav are a caste comprised of dairymen, cattle producers, and laborers. Their traditional occupation is animal husbandry and selling its products. The Yadav consist of both landowning and landless people. Some Yadav are businessmen, teachers, doctors, engineers, and political leaders.

The Yadav participate in local traditional and socio-religious festivals. They have expertise in oral traditions and group singing in praise of the gods Vishnu, Krishna, or one of the many other gods that they worship. Similarly, they are good at musical dance, wrestling, and mock-fighting with swords. Boys are favored for formal education. They are known to have more faith in astrology and talismans rather than in the services of a doctor. They often pray to Singaji for the protection of their cattle from disease and often give thank offerings of butter, unripe mangoes, and sugar.

How to Pray:
  • Pray for the salvation of the Yadav people.
  • Pray for short- and long-term workers or teams to come and pioneer new ministries among them.
  • Pray for new focused evangelism efforts and church planting ministries.
  • Pray for literacy and community development work.
  • Pray for the practice of child labor to end.
  • Pray for education to be made available to girls as well as to boys.

Want to learn more about unreached people groups?

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How can we pray for them?

  • Ask the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into Myanmar (Burma) to minister to these people groups.
  • Ask the Holy Spirit to grant wisdom and favor to mission agencies focusing on these people.
  • Pray that God will give Burmese believers boldness to share Christ with their own people.
  • Ask God to raise up prayer teams who will begin breaking up the spiritual soil through worship and intercession.
  • Ask the Lord to bring forth strong and growing Mon, Rakhine, and Rohingya Christian fellowships for the glory of His name.
  • Ask for more Christian aid to reach the people living in refugee camps, and that their difficult circumstances would make them more receptive to the gospel.

WHAT IS A PEOPLE GROUP?


Members of a people group share the same ethnic identity. They typically have a common language, a common religion, and a common history. People groups often cross political borders and live in more than one country.

WHAT IS AN UNREACHED PEOPLE GROUP?


A people group is considered unreached when there is no indigenous community of believing Christians able to engage this people group with church planting. Typically the percentage of Evangelical Christians is less than 2%.

HOW MANY UNREACHED PEOPLE GROUPS ARE THERE?


There are 11, 747 People Groups totaling 7.3 billion people in the world.

There are 7,037 Unreached People Groups totaling 4.3 billion people.

Did you know you can engage an unreached people group here?

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