10 Reasons Why Frontier People Groups Should Be Our Priority:
Chris Clayman of the Joshua Project, an organization that highlights peoples and places with the least access or response to the gospel shared at the Beyond Us Conference in October 2025.
1. God is gathering worshippers from all peoples and commands us to join Him.
“I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” – Genesis 22:17-18
“Offspring” in this passage is singular. This means through the messiah.
“And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” – Matthew 24:14
ETHNOS/ETHNE
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” – Matthew 28:19-20
“Goyim” = nations = “ethne” = ethnic groups = Gentiles
2. This needs to be a priority because it has not yet happened.
There are seats missing at the wedding banquet.
“After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.” – Revelation 7:9
An unreached people group are those without enough followers of Jesus to advance the gospel.
Unreached people group defined = a people group among which there is no indigenous community of believing
Christians with adequate numbers and resources to evangelize this people group without outside assistance.
There are 10,397 people groups.
- Unreached (Not Frontier) – 12%
- Not Unreached – 57%
- Frontier (Not Unreached) – 31%
- Primary propagation of the gospel happens through the church.
- Many mission efforts work primarily with existing churches, diverting focus away from frontier peoples needing cross-cultural efforts.
- Most missionaries go where they are invited, not to frontier people groups.
- Frontier people groups make up the largest portion of unreached people groups.
24% of the world’s population are in FPGs
Paul set an example of not building on someone else’s foundation
- We have clarity in where the greatest church planting needs are in the world, and populations there are growing rapidly.
- There is a great imbalance and injustice of opportunity for those born into FPGs.
- Frontier people groups require highly intentional, difficult, cross-cultural mission efforts.
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:
- How do your existing missions or ministry efforts impact the greatest gap of gospel access in the world among frontier people groups?
- What steps should you take to address the need among FPGs?
For an interview with Chris Clayman:
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