January 30, 2023
Much is written about the “unreached” who have yet to hear the Gospel. Unreached People Groups (UPG) refers to people groups who do not have Gospel preaching churches among them. Most of those who are a member of a UPG have never met a Christian. The Joshua Project estimates there are a total of 17,429 people groups worldwide and that 7,417 (42%) are unreached.
Boys in India
Our Strategy
ODBM’s strategy to “poke holes in the darkness” and make disciples and plant indigenous churches among some Unreached People Groups is outlined below:
Praying for Laborers
Serving American churches to encourage, train and send pioneering missionaries.
Utilizing BAM models to prepare marketplace ministers to advance the Gospel in the darkest regions
Partnering with national churches to help them establish indigenous mission agencies to train and send national laborers
Read more about each category below.
ODBM staff prayer meeting
1. Prayer
Our ODBM staff prays weekly for our missionaries and their children by name for God’s protection and blessing their efforts to bear fruit for God’s glory. We pray asking the Lord of the Harvest to send new laborers to the harvest fields and to lead us to the ones He would have us to serve.
A girl burning incense in South Asia
2. Serving American Churches in Sending Missionaries
ODBM’s mission statement and goal is to “serve churches in impacting the nations for the glory of God.” Our desire is to serve Morningside Baptist Church and other like minded churches in sending pioneering missionaries. We do this by encouraging, preparing and assisting new missionaries to endure hardness as good soldiers and to be skillful laborers in making disciples and planting “selfish” churches,
Paul & Melinda Schlehlein and their 8 children serve among the Tsonga people of rural South Africa.
3. Preparing Marketplace Ministers
Mission agencies and leaders invest time, energy and resources on exploring and developing strategies to advance the Gospel and make disciples among UPGs. Business as Mission (BAM) or Marketplace Ministries are growing strategies to enable gospel ministers to live in closed countries to work and/or start businesses as a means of making disciples and advancing the Gospel. ODBM conducts an annual BAM retreat for college students to introduce them to BAM principles and give them opportunities to interact with those who are serving cross-culturally in the marketplace.
2022 BAM RETREAT PHOTOS
4. Partnering with National Churches
Another key strategy in reaching the unreached is partnering with national laborers. A popular model has been for national believers to come to the US for Bible and missions training and then return to their home country as missionaries serving under US mission agencies. A new model that has even greater potential is national churches working together to start their own mission agencies to train, send and facilitate national missionaries to reach UPGs.
These national laborers have greater access and familiarity with the UPGs and are often more effective. US churches, mission agencies and individuals still have great opportunities to assist with projects. We love working with national partners in unreached regions. We provide guidance to national mission leaders, assistance with projects, and training for national missionaries.
National missionaries in Myanmar
Thank you for partnering with ODBM to make disciples of all nations for the glory of God! Pray that God will give us wisdom and that Holy Spirit will bless the preaching and teaching of His Word with lasting fruit for His glory!
Dave - Open Door Baptist Missions
SERVING CHURCHES TO IMPACT THE NATIONS FOR THE GLORY OF GOD.
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