Unreached peoples! How can it be that there are still people groups in our modern world who have never heard about the Saviour, who do not have even a portion of the Bible in their language? Mission and Bible translation and distribution agencies tell us with considerable urgency that many such groups still remain on planet Earth.

I do not wish to detract anything from the urgency of that concern. Nor do I wish to distract us from the worthy goal of reaching all those groups with the gospel. But while we are doing that, I wish that we could all take a look at the people around us, right here in our own land. One hundred years ago, most everyone in Canada would have had some grasp of the tenets of Christianity. The majority of homes would have had a Bible somewhere in the house, often in plain view, though perhaps seldom read.

None of that is true anymore. One has only to read newspaper reports of controversies about Christian activities to realize that we are living in a different era. The incomprehension of the reporters about what motivates Christians is strikingly evident to Christians; judging by the responses, or the lack of response, to these articles most readers are no better informed than the reporters.

I am going to suggest that most segments of Canadian society have become unreached people groups. I recently quoted a statistic that said 50% of Canadians have never read anything in the Bible. I would be surprised if even 25% of Canadian homes contained a Bible today. So I will lump all Canadians into four unreached people groups.

First are the aboriginal peoples: Indians, Métis and Inuit. At one time, many of these peoples would have professed some form of Christianity, but now the great majority have openly returned to their native spirituality or shamanism. Some try to mix Christianity and shamanism, but Christianity plus something else is no longer Christianity. There are some bright lights here and there, but the overall picture is of great darkness.

The second group is the recent immigrants. Those who come from first world countries tend to be mostly agnostics or atheists. From third world countries we have many people of Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist and other Eastern religions. Here is our opportunity to reach out to these people with the gospel of Jesus Christ. There are a few reports of successful missions to these people, but in reality very little is being done. Among the recent immigrants from Africa there are many Christians. They could add some vitality to the Canadian religious scene, but often they establish congregations of their own.

The third group would be the French-Canadians, who at one time were solidly Roman Catholic. Unfortunately, during the time when the Roman Catholic Church controlled the schools and so many other facets of French-Canadian society, they did their best to keep people from reading the Bible. Now that most French-Canadians have abandoned the church; there is no lingering reservoir of Bible knowledge. There are many evangelical congregations established among the French-Canadian people, but their impact still touches a very small minority of the people.

The last group would be the Anglo-Canadians – English-speaking Canadians of various ethnic backgrounds. (It should be noted that Québec is also a melting pot – many French-Canadians are not of French ethnic heritage.) Anglo-Canadians were resolutely Christian at one time, at least in name. But society has changed, and many of the once dominant denominations tried to change with the times, watering down the gospel in the process. People have abandoned those denominations in droves. Anglo-Canadians still represent the largest concentration of evangelical Christians in Canada, both in percentage and actual numbers. But their influence on the mores and values of our society has greatly diminished. The great majority of young people today know nothing about the Bible or about the real meaning of Christian faith.

My hope is that when we talk about unreached people groups we wouldn’t only think of people in countries somewhere across the sea. There is a great need in those countries. There is also a great need right here on our doorstep where we might be able to have an impact on the lives of people without major organization or expenditure. If all true Christians would be alert to the little opportunities to speak a word for Jesus, the results might amaze us.