"The Great Commission is unequivocal: we are to disciple all the ethnic groups in the world! For 25 years we have struggled to define, classify and list the world’s people groups. Only in the last six years have we had in our hands reasonably complete, published lists of the people groups of the world. The results are extraordinary, but complex.." ... Continue

"Much has been written over the past 25 years on the application of contextualization in ministry among Muslims. In 1998 I (John) wrote an article for the Evangelical Missions Quarterly in which I presented a model for comparing six different types of ekklesia or congregations (which I refer to as "Christ-centered communities") found in the Muslim world today (Travis 1998). These six types of Christ-centered communities are differentiated in terms of three factors: language, cultural forms, and religious identity." ... Continue

"I have been pondering a possible relationship between the minimizing of the Bible in so-called seeker-driven churches and in some of the radical forms of contextualization that have emerged in missions. Perhaps there isn’t any connection. But I wonder. The common denominator that I am pondering is the loss of confidence that declaring what the Bible says in the power of the Holy Spirit can create and sustain the church of Christ. ... Continue

Those with a heart for unreached peoples have the choice to pursue certain behaviors that have the potential to accelerate the spread of the gospel. These "accelerators" may help a new fellowship in an unreached people group become a large-scale movement to Christ. By contrast, we may consciously or inadvertently deploy "inhibitors" that may make it difficult for that fellowship to ever become a movement. ... Continue