Why Ethne?

Eth-nê is the Greek word Jesus used for “nation”—a word which means tribe, ethnic group or people. Our world today has 6.4 billion individuals living in 234 geo-political nations but over 16,000 ethnê, or people groups, by country. Of those ethnê, more than 6,900 groups remain least-reached. This simply means they are a people group lacking an indigenous community of believing Christians with adequate numbers and resources to evangelize their own people group. This means 1 in 4 people still remain without reasonable access to the gospel—the Forgotten One Fourth World.

Why Are They Least-Reached?

• CULTURAL BARRIERS: persecution, closed to change, Christianity viewed as a “foreign” religion.
• GEOGRAPHIC BARRIERS: remote, harsh climate, difficult access, or nomadic.
• LINGUISTIC BARRIERS: illiteracy, no scripture in their language, unwritten language, terminology confusion.
• POLITICAL BARRIERS: restricted access, evangelism forbidden, hostile environment (including war).
• RELIGIOUS BARRIERS: restrictive religious climate, no freedom of religion, persecution.
• UNRECOGNIZED: believers unaware of the need or the group, small in size, prejudice, isolated from the society in which they live.

Ethne to Ethne – Global, ongoing, multi-generational:

• The whole body: All ethnê joining together to reach the rest of the ethnê.
• Biblical language: reflecting global inclusion of allbelievers and peoples.
• Great Commission Transformation: As other ethnê respond, they will join us to continue the transformation of our nations and our world.