Author: Steinar Opheim

 How Are We Doing on Finishing the Task?

/ Steinar Opheim
Persecution of Christians is on the rise around the world. This makes it more difficult to fulfill the great commission. The number of unreached people groups is still declining.

The number of unreached people groups is finally declining

The number of unreached people groups in the world is finally falling. There is still much work to be done before the great commission has been fulfilled.

It has been frustrating to follow the statistics published by the Joshua Project, one of the main mission reference centers, for those wanting to finish the task of bringing the gospel to all people groups. Over the years, the number of unreached groups has increased instead of declining. Partly, this is due to the people group definition Joshua Project uses. Still, their overview has given a feeling of the worldwide church being further and further away from finishing the task Jesus gave. 

Now, it finally looks like the numbers are on a steady decline. One year ago, the total number of unreached groups was 7,425. Today, the comparable number is 7,276. India remains the center of gravity when it comes to unreached. In January last year, India had 2,135 groups of people defined as unreached. Now, 13 months later, the number is 2,048. 

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Faroe Islands Mobilize to Reach the Unreached

/ Steinar Opheim
Jakúp Brúsá, the new general secretary of the Faroe Islands domestic mission, looks forward to mobilizing people for foreign missions. Training and sending businesspeople and professionals will be a main strategy.

Small islands making excessive plans for missions

The Faroe Islands are far away from almost everywhere. Still, new and comprehensive plans are being made to mobilize numerous people from the islands for missions.

“Tithing is an established principle among followers of Jesus worldwide. I want to apply it to a new sector in our church work. My desire is to see 10 percent of our church members go to share Jesus around the world,” says Jakúp Brúsá. 

A few years ago, the young Faroese started a digital marketing company in the capital, Torshavn. However, his life took a new turn when he recently signed up as the general secretary or CEO of the nation’s domestic mission – in the local language named “Kirkjuliga Heimamissiónin.”  Even if the organization mainly focuses on domestic affairs, Brúsá assures that foreign missions and unreached people groups will be high on the agenda in the coming years. Sending professionals, businesspeople, and students as tentmakers will be the primary way of getting people going. 

“We will also reach out to Faroese people already living and working abroad. It should be possible to mobilize many of them as ambassadors for God’s kingdom,” says the general secretary.

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 Ethiopian Church Mobilizes for Tentmaking

/ Steinar Opheim
In November leaders from 17 synods in the Ethiopian Mekane Yesus Church attended a seminar in Hawassa, Ethiopia on how to mobilize and send professionals and businesspeople. With its 11 million members, the Mekane Yesus church is regarded as the world’s biggest Lutheran church. 

Leaders from 17 synods in the Mekane Yesus Church in Ethiopia are now focusing on recruiting and sending workers, businesspeople and professionals who will serve Jesus among unreached people groups. “The teaching we have received on this has been an eye-opener for us. Now we are ready to do the job,” says head of the church’s mission department, Tilaye Daba. 

Mekane Yesus is regarded as the world’s largest Lutheran church. As of today, the church has around 11 million members, and the numbers are growing rapidly. 

“Growth is part of our DNA. Already when I took confirmation classes, I learned how I was responsible for sharing the gospel with people around me. Our obligation to bring the message about Jesus to new areas and people groups has however not been clearly communicated. We want to do something about this now, says the mission leader. 

Leader conference 

Last year he was among the representatives when leaders from Mekane Yesus and from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT) met in Nairobi. Their aim was to develop ideas on how they can send more professionals and businesspeople to other nations. Norwegian Lutheran Mission (NLM), which is the biggest mission agency in Norway, initiated the conference, and participated with several leaders. Victor Agbonkpolor from Tent Nigeria and Steinar Opheim from Tent International served as main teachers.  

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Mobilizing West Africa for Tentmaking

/ Steinar Opheim

All 16 West African nations are expected to have representatives at the conference that will be held in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, in February. Photo: Adobestock.

Aims at mobilizing West African professionals

Mobilizing tentmakers from West Africa is the main aim when Tent and collaborating partners gather leaders for a West Africa Tentmaking Conference in Nigeria next year. “We must activate the whole, global church if we are to fulfill the great commission,” says Tent Nigeria’s leader, Victor Agbonkpolor. 

All 16 West African nations are expected to have representatives at the conference that will be held in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, in February.

“Promotion is starting now, and we expect that the conference will fill up quickly,”

says Agbonkpolor.
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