The Question: Which unreached people groups is God askin

1
Adopt-A-People

• How you can strategically impact an
• unreached people group.

2
Blessed churches

• Dr Mike Buehlers of Westminsters Presbyterian
  Church says concerning the churches adopting of
  the Zoque people of Chiapas, Mexico As we have
  given ourselves and our resources to these
  people, our giving and our attendance have
  increased. Our missions budget has increased over
  40 percent because people have had a chance to
  get a hands-on experience in reaching people from
  another culture for Christ and they see the
  needs

3
Discovering Gods plan for your church

• The Question Which unreached people groups is
  God asking your church to accept responsibility
  for?

4
Term and definitions. What do we mean by
Adoption?

• The Adopt-A-People program is a church-to-field
  partnering program designed to develop strong
  identification and involvement between a church
  and an unreached people. Adoption itself is the
  commitment of the church and its members to see
  the establishment of a strong and growing church
  movement among a specific unreached people group.
• This program can go by many names Focus On A
  People, Serve a people, People group
  partnering, ministry partnership, etc.

5
Term and definitions. What do we mean by
Adoption?

• People Group (or people) A significantly large
  ethnic or sociological grouping of individuals
  who perceive themselves to have a common affinity
  with one another. For evangelistic purposes, it
  is the largest group within which the gospel can
  spread as a church planting movement without
  encountering barriers of understanding or
  acceptance.
• Unreached People (sometimes called Hidden
  Peoples) a people group which has no indigenous
  community of believing Christians with adequate
  numbers and resources to finish evangelizing
  their community without further
  outside/cross-cultural assistance.

6
Adopting a people group isA way to get directly
involved, A way to focus.

• Caring for a people
• Different than yourself
• Who dont have a strong church yet
• More than just caring for a missionary
• Commitment
• To Gods program for the world
• To an unreached people group
• To do everything possible to see this people
  reached

7
Adopting a people group isA way to get directly
involved, A way to focus.

• Involvement
• Directly with a people group
• All members of the church in the lives of this
  people
• Partnership With
• Mission agencies
• Missionaries on the field
• Other churches and individuals with a similar
  commitment

8
A successful adoption requires

• 1. A champion
• 2. Enthusiastic support of the pastoral staff
• 3. Knowledge of missions and frontier missions in
  particular
• 4. The involvement of the congregation in all
  phases of the adoption

9
A successful adoption requires

• 5. Waiting on the Lord for His direction
• 6. A look at the congregation itself,
• Who you are
• What God is doing through you already?
• What you believe God wants to do through you.
• 7. A partnership with a mission agency and their
  mission field personal

10
Getting Started

• Not one set way to do this
• This happens in many different and wonderful ways
  in different churches.
• Theres a lot of room here for a creative person
  to become involved
• The program normally begins with a church getting
  introduced to the concept through
• A missionary, pastor, a people group advocate or
  missions speaker who brings the idea
• From taking a Perspective Class or other
  curriculum like the Vision for the Nations class.
  
• Hearing about the blessing of an adoption in
  another church

11
How it normally begins

• 1 An interested person takes up the cause to
  promote it in the church and in the process
  become the people group champion to lead the
  program
• Or this interested person inspires, encourages,
  and motivates another to become the people group
  champion in the church
• 2 This champion sees that the foundations for a
  successful program are present or are developed.
  Some of these are
• The pastor and pastoral staff understands and
  fully supports the program.
• The proper governing structures in the church
  consider and support the program
• On going education of the congregation in
  frontier missions and the adoption strategy.

12
Beginning

• 1. Evaluation of the church, what God is doing in
  it and what He wants to do.
• 2. Relationships are established with mission
  sending agencies seeking help, information ad
  guidance in this program including names of
  people groups for possible adoption
• 3. Contact is made with the AAP assisting
  agencies seeking information, assistance and AAP
  resources.
• 4. The concept of adoption is introduced to the
  congregation at large.
• 5. A list of potential people groups to adopt is
  developed
• 6. The church consider what kind of adoption it
  want to be involved in and how.

13
Determining the people group for the church

• 1. This is determined largely by the churchs
  evaluation of who they are and what they believe
  God wants them to do.
• 2. Extensive prayer is given by the church
  leaders and the congregation based on information
  they are learning about missions and people
  groups.
• 3. Consideration of the bridges to people
  groups that exist already within the congregation.

14
Bridges

• a. Missionaries that the church already supports
  or may support.
• b. The vision or burden of the pastor
• c. Denominational relationship and loyalties
• d. Mission agencies the church already has
  relations with
• e. People of other nationalities that God has
  brought to be a part of the church or live in the
  vicinity of the church
• f. The country or people-group interests that
  already exist in the church
• g. The people or nations the church has make
  contact with while on short-term mission trips
• h. Successful sister church adoption
• i. Occupational or geographic closeness

15
Developing

• Communicate to the congregation the different
  stages the planning group is going through
• At this stage a vision building trip to the
  targeted people group is often helpful
• A critical mass needs to develop in the
  congregation concerning which group is right for
  them

16
Formal adoption

• Notify your partnering mission agency of your
  selection.
• Conduct a formal adoption service.
• Notify the Adopt-a-People Clearinghouse of your
  adoption

17
Recommended parts of an ongoing adoption

• 1. The people-group advocate is formally
  recognized
• a. with formal accountability to the proper
  governing body in the church
• b. is the point person for the people-group
  ministry in the church.
• c. A people-group committee should be formed
  which would work with this people-group advocate.
• 2. Establish a regular prayer fellowship for the
  group.
• a. The people-group advocate could lead this
• b. This advocate will have current information on
  what is happening in the group

18
Recommended parts of an ongoing adoption

• 3 Regularly involve the congregation at every
  possible level of what is happening in the group.
• 4. Network with others who relate to your people
  group (on the field and at home)
• 5. Become informed about the adopted people
  group. Become an expert on everything that
  relates to the people.

19
Parts of a maturing program

• 1. Recruit other churches to adopt this people
  group and to partner with you.
• 2. Send church members on short-term mission
  trips to minister to your people group.
• This in conjunction with the field missionaries
• 3. Look for members of this people group in the
  United States--or in your country and reach out
  to them.
• 4. Send the church's own permanent missionaries
  to this group.

20
Parts of a maturing program

• 5. Assist in seeing specific projects begun
  through the mission agencies and missionaries on
  the field.
• 6. Raise funds to support missionaries on the
  field and for their special projects.
• 7. Involve the members of the church. The more
  the members are involved, the more it will impact
  them and make a difference in their lives.

21
Resources to understand and promote adoption

• Videos
• Ordinary People Extraordinary Love by Caleb
  Project
• The Father's Love by the Adopt-A-People
  Clearinghouse
• Doing Your Bit by the Adopt-A-People Campaign
  USCWM
• CDs
• Adoption Guidance Program by the AD 2000 and
  Beyond Movement
• Book
• Adoption A Practical Guide by the
  Adopt-A-People Campaign USCWM
• Videos and books
• by various denominations and missions agencies
  explaining their adoption programs

22
Agencies to assist in adoption

• Mission agencies you are familiar with
• Your Denominations mission board
• Adopt-A-People service agencies
• Adopt-a-People Clearinghouse
• Adopt-a-People Campaign USCWM
• Antiock Network
• Caleb Project
• Emerging Young leaders
• Issachar Frontier Mission Strategies
• For contact information and agencies
• See Adopt-A-People.org