Balancing people and place in missions
In the mid-20th century, some evangelical Christians believed we were on the cusp of fulfilling the Great Commission because there were Christians located in almost every country in the world. But at the First International Congress on World Evangelisation in July 1974 in Lausanne, Switzerland, Ralph Winter warned triumphant Christians about “people-blindness” and “hidden peoples.” He recognised that some geographic countries simultaneously contain both very evangelised and completely unevangelised groups of people (e.g., China). Winter’s recognition prompted a significant paradigm shift in missions strategy that placed the focus on so-called “unreached people groups” (UPGs) around the world. More than 40 years after his strategy-altering address at Lausanne, the conversation continues today. I want to provide some historical context, express some caution, and highlight a corrective to the unreached-people-group strategy that dictates so much global-mission strategy today. Contex...