FRONTIER PEOPLE GROUPS
Frontier People Groups (FPGs) are:
- a subset of Unreached People Groups
- with no sustained Jesus movement
- evidenced by less than 1 in 1,000 (0.1%) identifying with Jesus in any way.
1 in 4 people (25%) live in a Frontier Unreached People Group (FPG), where:
- 1 in 9,000 identify with Jesus in any way.
- 1 in 16,000 are estimated to follow Jesus.
- 1 in 100 cross-cultural laborers is found.
UNDERSTANDING UNREACHED PEOPLE GROUPS
- Responsive UPGs—where the gospel seed has been established—a contagious community of believing households is demonstrating what it looks like to follow Jesus within their: These believers have become a living witness to their people of what the kingdom of God looks like in their context, helping others in their people group realize it is possible to follow Jesus within their people group.
- Frontier UPGs, or FPGs—where no seed has yet been established—where no contagious community of believing households is yet demonstrating what it looks like to follow Jesus within that culture, and where the people group as a whole perceives following Jesus as a betrayal of their identity.
Frontier People Groups live in isolation from believers, and perceive Jesus to be only for “Christian” peoples. When individualsfollow Jesus in this context, their family and community tends to put up barriers to hinder further witness. 
Among “Reached” People Groups, the gospel has had significant impact, many identify as Christian, and some openly follow Jesus. Here, leading individuals to follow Jesus tends to make it easier to lead others to Jesus, rather than harder. Most missionaries to Unreached People Groups work strategically with believers and churches in the responsive groups to help the believers there reach more of their people. There is always more to do in this never-ending task of helping Christ’s body grow where it already exists.
However one quarter of the world lives in Frontier People Groups (sixty percent of all Unreached People Groups)——where the seed of the gospel has not yet been established and the inhabitants of these groups have no chance of knowing a believer or hearing the good news about Jesus before they die.
Until Jesus’ followers unite in obeying His commission, the families in these FPGs will live and die …
- without ever knowing a believer
- without ever being prayed for by name
- without knowing the Father who longs to embrace and bless them
These Frontier People Groups are growing rapidly in population. Until Jesus’ followers unite in obeying His commission, FPG populations will continue to increase faster than the gospel is spreading.