What you can do in this stage:

• End-visioning: Start with the end in sight . . . one particular people group around the throne of heaven worshipping (Rev. 7:9), because you were obedient to GO!

• Unity and excitement from the pastor and senior leadership team of the church should begin to permeate through the church body. The goal leadership should be moving toward is for the church, as a whole, to own the overall mission with passion. Although excitement of one church member is important, the pastor has to be the one who says, “AMEN!” to the adoption. Don’t go any further for now if he is not with you. (Just keep praying!)

• Enter into times of individual and corporate prayer as a church for choosing the right country, people group, and strategy on the field.

• Learn all you can about mission as it relates to Unreached People Groups. Begin to understand the progress of world evangelization to date (See RESOURCES). Also see our list of 70 nations (Saving of the 70) to get you started! Then check out the website Joshua Project (www.joshuaproject.net) to see what peoples are located in some of those particular countries. We found that people buy into the country first, and then the understanding of their people groups slowly settles in.

• Start to research several people groups that you may be interested in. Narrow it down to no more than three countries, and begin to research the ones you are interested in.

• There are several ways to choose a people group. Here are a few:

Five Practical Ways a Local Church Can Choose an Unreached People Group for Adoption/Church Planting

1. 1. Macedonian Call
   a. God supernaturally gives a dream or vision inspiring a holy call and holy commitment to that people, Acts 16:9,10.
   b. Usually a mission mature church with resources

2. 2. Mission Bridge
   a. Mission relationships already exist in that country, near or among that people group
   b. Could be a current network emphasis or missionaries/nationals you already support
   c. Could be a people group God has placed in your geographical region, near your local church (ethnic enclave)
   d. You already have a heart interest in a nation (e.g., China, Egypt, India), or a religious block (THUMB: Tribal, Hindu, Unreligious, Muslim, Buddhist)

3. 3. Pure Pioneer
   a. God has birthed faith in the leadership and congregation to begin something from the beginning (Romans15:20).
   b. Usually a mature local church with a proven apostolic track record

4. 4. Bandwagon Approach
   a. Join other churches that are already initiating church planting activities among a target people group and learn the ropes.
   b. You will be mentored by observing a model at work.
   c. Excellent for local churches involved for the first time

5. 5. Strategic Recommendation
   Let us recommend a people group to you based on your gifting and the opportunities on the field.

• Giving is one way that is easy to begin. Start a "war chest" for trips to your future people group or begin to support a missionary you know that is working in the group or close by.

• Two to three key leaders (including the pastor, if possible) should take a short-term trip to the people group to learn about the culture and see the receptivity of the group to the Gospel. Is this group “white unto harvest?” Did you sense the leading of the Holy Spirit while you were there? Were some key contacts made? Did you come back excited and ready to jump in? These are all good questions to ask.

Bring back lots of information about the people as well as cultural items that those in the church would be interested in (their dress, art, pictures, etc.). Upon the team’s return, a final decision can more easily be made, and excitement should be running high! If this is your people group, you will be able to say like Joshua, “Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able . . . ”(Numbers 13:30). If you don’t sense this group is the Lord for your church, go back to the beginning and explore the options of the other two groups that you looked at. Continue to pray for wisdom, and don’t be discouraged!

END THIS STAGE BY CHOOSING AN UNREACED PEOPLE GROUP TO ADOPT.

• Have a time when the whole church comes together to commit to and formalize the adoption.

You need to be equipped and strategically prepared to adopt!

What you can do in this stage:

• Continue to pray! There should be a sense that "We have heard the Lord." Now you can begin to ask to reveal the next steps in the process and give you wisdom all throughout Stage 2.

• Continue as much research as possible for this people group. Network with those who also have an interest in the group. Find out what they are doing, so you won’t duplicate your efforts. Also research the needs of the group and what may be a way to reach them. Don’t be afraid to ask help from others who may have been doing this for quite a while.

• Strategize your approach. Come up with a list of all the possible things that your church can offer the people group or a network. DREAM BIG while still being practical! Look at things that you are already successfully doing that can be used on the field. You don’t want to export what is not working at home. Do you have teachers in your church? Construction crews? Medical personnel? Do you have a Bible College?

• Continue to give. Begin to monthly support a missionary that is already working in or close to that group. You may want to fly that missionary in for a mission conference or a weekend with a mission emphasis. Trust God for the finances that you will need to be strategic in reaching this group. Raise the funds to send your team, once it is formed, for a “spy out the land” trip.

• Research what kind of evangelistic tools are available for your group. A wise builder is prepared! Does the people group have Bibles or literature in their own language? A Jesus Film? Mission agencies that already have workers in a particular group would be a good source of help for you with this. Also a good source would be Wycliffe Bible Translators. World Missionary Press might also be a good reference point.

• Recruit your team.  Will you send one person through a mission agency to start with, or is your church large enough to send and support a whole team? If you are sending a team, we recommend having at least three units – a team leader, an associate who is spiritual but is also content to have a ministry of helps (practical helps is wonderful – the handyman type), and then someone who likes to teach and senses their gift is ministry to children and youth. Consider someone who could even home school the children on the team (if necessary). This could be a wonderful assignment for a single young woman. Of course, it’s always great if someone on the team can lead worship as well! Ethnic peoples are generally attracted to the music of a culture, as it is important to their culture as well.

• Team preparation. The team that goes should be well prepared, and it is important not to cut corners in this area. Do they need to go through Bible College? Maybe not for four years, but at least for one or two to have adequate training in the Word of God, cross cultural ministry, and church planting. We highly recommend Living Stones College. The team should learn basic conversational phrases in order to get by in the trade language of the people group. Perhaps classes are offered in a nearby university.

Decide when a realistic send off could be; set goals, but don’t be afraid to alter them if necessary. It’s also a great idea to send the team out to visit the people group on a short-term trip halfway through their training along with several other intercessors or key leaders from the church. This could be strategic for ongoing vision for the team and the church.

• Find out where in the U.S. this people group (or a closely related one) lives. (See Prayer – ETHNIC EMBRACE). You may be surprised that they are closer to your town than you may have thought. Send a small team for a weekend to prayerwalk and see what is being done with these peoples. Try to make contact with a local church in the area. Get involved in friendship evangelism with these people.

• A counting of the cost.  What is being considered here is an aggressive thrust into enemy territory in obedience to the mandate of Christ. There will be a significant price to pay, as passages like Hebrews 11 make clear. The stakes are high, and one cannot assume that there will be no losses from a human perspective. The church, led by its leaders, and in dependence upon the Lord, trusts Him for His grace, strength, protection, and provision in whatever the mission requires.

AN IMPORTANT MILESTONE FOR THE CHURCH AT THIS POINT IS FOR THE CHURCH, AS A WHOLE, TO REACH THE PLACE WHERE IT CAN FULLY EMBRACE THE IDEA OF FOCUSING ITS RESOURCES, GIFTINGS, ENERGIES, AND PRAYER TO REACH THEIR CHOSEN PEOPLE GROUP.

• At the end of this stage, the church should be well on their way with the adoption process, including the choosing of a team who is almost finished training or preparation to launch.

This stage begins with the establishment of an effective ministry among the people group and continues on until they are reached with the Gospel or until God leads the church to do otherwise. The challenge of this stage is maintaining focus and commitment over long periods of time when there may be very little to report in terms of tangible results. Church planting among Unreached Peoples is often a long and challenging process. That is why there are not churches standing in line to do this. Don’t get discouraged! You are well on your way!

Five Potential Forms of People Group Engagement

The church can . . .

1. 1. Send its own church planting team, facilitated through an organizational (apostolic) structure. See Strategic Alliances – NRP as an example.

2. 2. Send a church planting team in partnership with a mission agency focusing on that particular region of the world.

1. 3. Send some of its members as part of another church planting team already working on the field, either among or close to that people group. 

2. 4. Render financial resources and short-term help as requested from the field for a church planting initiative among the people group.

1. 5. Provide assistance to the emerging national church working in that people group through leadership training, business venture assistance, practical aid, and short-term trips as requested by the field (i.e., medical, construction, etc.)

2. • Pastoral care is critical for long-term field personnel. It is so important to keep in touch with them through emails, trips, and bringing them home for needed rest, encouragement, and relaxation every few years.

• Additional personnel will probably be needed from time to time . . . there is likelihood that the original team will change. As the initiative matures, a different gift and skill set may be needed among workers on the team. The training process can be ongoing, with new team members continually in preparation.

• New partnerships can be formed, especially as missionaries meet others who are working in the same area on the field.

• Don’t get weary in prayer support or your financial giving! Pray and give as if it were actually you yourself on the field. What would you want prayer for? What needs would you envision seeing met for the team?

 • If you would like to register your adoption of a people, click here.

• If you have adopted an Unreached People Group and would like to network with others adopting the same group, please click here. Note that networking information is only sent if a church has already adopted the people group.

The challenge of this stage is maintaining focus and commitment over long periods of time when there may be very little to report in terms of tangible results. Church planting among Unreached Peoples is often a long and challenging process. That is why there are not churches standing in line to do this! Please contact us if you need help in any of the stages of adoption that are mention here. God bless you as you receive his heart for the unreached and his passion to see the Great Commission become the Great Completion.

Our thanks to the Antioch Network for sharing some of their steps of adoption with us.  If you would like to give to the ongoing work of church planting among an Unreached People Group click here.