A Picture of UUPG’s Around the World

Unreached unengaged people groups (UUPGs) are groups with people of shared cultures and languages who have no local church and no active attempts to establish one. Many of the world’s UUPG’s are found in Asia because of the large concentration of people there. But, all around the world, there are pockets of UUPG’s. In our state, we experience a large amount of access to the Gospel and many local churches in the area. In other places in the world, these UUPG’s are unreached for a reason: access. On a recent trip to South Africa, our team truly understood why these are people still unreached and unengaged with the Gospel.

A small group of 6 people decided to go overseas to engage the unengaged with people who have spent a considerable amount of time getting to know the culture and its language. After a 2 hour drive to ATL amid Hurricane Helene, the team got on their first flight. They flew out on a 13.5-hour flight and a 5-hour flight. When they got off these two, they needed to make their private flight into a more remote area. They traveled 2.5 more hours before driving another 8 hours by car to reach their final destination.

While the team had some time to rest, the travel wasn’t the only strenuous part of their journey. While traveling to the people they were sent to work with, they carried a heavy load of supplies with them. Think of it like a backpacking trip, the team carried with them their place to rest, the water they needed to stay hydrated, and the tools they needed to build some shelters where they went. In their backpacks, they took in camping gear like tents, sleeping bags, sleeping pads, their own clothes, and 200 L of water for their four days there. The team brought in construction tools and materials to build with, too. However, this required extra planning and two additional trips by the long-term workers to get everything they needed to the people. Along with this, they brought wood, tin sheet roofing, screws, nails, and bags of cement. Some other unique difficulties included limited resources, lands without rain since 2008, and homes made of mud hut material or metal frames.

After arriving back home on a similar amount of time, flying but on a very rerouted way to travel back, it is no wonder this people group has been given the nickname, the People at the End of the Road. The detailed travel itinerary, the limited travel into the areas, and the amount of items carried into this community show how much planning is needed to go to a place like this. Not to mention the significant amount of language learning it would take to live here for a long time to share the Gospel with the people there.

Rocky Creek desires to be partnered with places around the world with little access to the Gospel! We have sent many through the church who will get to work with differing groups of UUPG’s. Will you pray for this UUPG’s and others like it around the world?