“A Church for Every People and the Gospel for Every Person”
The Great Commission is a two-fold command. In Matthew 28:19,20 Jesus commands us to “Go and make disciples
of all nations (peoples)”. The focus is to establish disciples in mature fellowships among every people group.
In Mark 16:15 Jesus gave the task of preaching the gospel to every person. The focus here is to present the
Gospel to every individual. The watchword of “a church for every people and the Gospel for every person” sums
up this two-fold command.
The tables and graphs following represent the progress and status of these two commands. For
further details see the text of Patrick Johnstone’s Celebrate Messiah 2000 Plenary address in the CM2000 Handbook
on our web site, after the conference.
Status of A Church for Every People Group
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations” Matthew 28:19
The Joshua Project (JP) list of ‘least reached peoples’ was developed as a tool for measurement and mobilization.
It establishes those peoples over 10,000 in number, and below 2% Evangelical or 5% Christian adherents, as most
likely to need a church planting initiative. Approximately 1600 least reached peoples fit these criteria. The
Joshua Project list has helped draw the attention of the Church to the neediest, most ignored, least resourced,
and most challenging part of the unfinished task of world evangelization. (See accompanying charts.)
Praying Through the (10/40) Window initiatives were followed by specific commitments of church planting agencies
to focus ministry on these peoples. Over the years the list became shorter, and at Amsterdam 2000 this year all
the remaining peoples were embraced. About 99% of the world’s population live in a people group that has a
commitment for church planting team in the near future.
The vision is for a mission-minded church within every people. Given the short timeframe a goal was established
as a basic minimum of a vital, witnessing congregation of at least 100 individuals within each people group. There
are reports of such congregations in nearly 1/3 of the JP peoples.
People Group Criteria
Number of Groups
Rounded Population
Population Percent
Above 10,000 population > 2% Evangelical or > 5% Christian
6,000
3,620 million
60.3%
Above 10,000 population < 2% Evangelical and < 5% Christian
1,600
2,350 million
39.2%
Below 10,000 population
~ 5,400
30 million
0.5%
World Totals
~ 13,000
6,000 million
100%
Key Observation: There are approximately 13,000 total people groups, more than 40% of which are smaller than 10,000 in population.
Key Observation: The Joshua Project list represents about 2.3 billion individuals living in about 1,600 people groups that are less than 2% Evangelical and less than 5% Christian
Church Planting Status
Population
Population Percentage
Commitment for Church Planting by mid-2002
6,000 million
100%
Commitment for Church Planting by Dec 31, 2000
5,925 million
98.8%
Church Planting Team Currently on-site
5,889 million>
98.2%
Reported Fellowship of at least 100 Indigenous Believers
5,620 million
93.7%
World Totals
6,000 million
100%
Joshua Project — Least Reached Peoples Only
Church Planting Progress
% of People Groups
1990
Oct 1997
Oct 2000
Commitment for Church Planting by mid-2002
66%
77%
100%
Commitment for Church Planting by Dec 31, 2000
66%
77%
85%
Church Planting Team Currently on-site
39%
43%
68%
Reported Fellowship of at least 100 Indigenous Believers
Not Available
4%
31%
Key Observation: By December 31, 2000, there will have been over 4.1 billion viewers of the Jesus Film and it will be available in languages known by 99% of the world’s population
“Church for Every People” Summary: By December 31, 2000, nearly 99% of the world’s population will live in a people group that has an actual or planned on-site church planting team.
Status of The Gospel for Every Person
“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” Mark 16:15
We can never know whether we have attained the goal of each person effectively hearing the Gospel. However, we
can measure the accessibility of the Gospel through multiple ministries – personal witness, literature,
Scripture translation, Christian video, cassette, television and radio availability, the use of the Internet and
many other tools God has given us today. (See accompanying charts.)
Patrick Johnstone suggests that 15-25% of the world’s population have not sufficient exposure to have a valid
opportunity to make a decision for or against Christ. This means 1.2 billion people on earth today, are yet to
be evangelized.
Key Observation: By December 31, 2000, Christian radio broadcasts will cover an estimated 99% of the world’s population
Key Observation: By December 31, 2000, there will have been over 4.1 billion viewers of the Jesus Film and it will be available in languages known by 99% of the world’s population
Key Observation: By December 31, 2000, 8 out of every 10 people will have access to the entire Bible in their own language. 94 out of 100 will have access to the New Testament.
“Gospel for Every Person” Summary: By December 31, 2000, between 75-85% of the population of the world would have heard the Gospel.
