We (you and I) are God's agents to bring about world evangelization. We need to send missionaries to the unreached peoples and to pray the advance of the Gospel among the nations. We must claim the nations on our knees. God will delight in honoring this type of prayer. The motto for the early Benedictine order of the Catholic Church is: "pray and work."

Why...?

Because Jesus commands us to disciple all the peoples
When Jesus said, in Matthew 28:19, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations," the word translated "nations" is the Greek "ethne", the basis for our word "ethnic". It is not a political or geographical unit, but a people or tribe, defined by culture and language. God wants all "ethne" discipled.

Our affiliated ministry missionaries focus on reaching ethne because they are God's focus and He commissioned us to reach them. Adoption is a means to help us do this.

By "unreached people", we do not refer to one's unsaved neighbor, but those cultures which have no witness in their own language. To "adopt" means to commit to the people until there is a viable, reproducing church planted among them.

Because unreached people haven't heard the Gospel in their "heart" language
To adopt an unreached people is to focus on one particular people who have had little or no access to the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a language they understand. An unreached people is a "pocket of humanity" which has no existing native church in its midst. An unreached people is comprised of individuals who speak a common language and share a distinct culture, which often forms barriers to the penetration of the Gospel.

Because you and your church will be blessed
"The Lord said to Abram, 'Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.'" (Genesis 12:1-3) Adoption is a way to share in those blessings.

Because adoption into God's family is biblical
Adoption is effective because it is patterned after God, who is calling and adopting sons and daughters from every tribe, tongue and nation. "He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will." (Ephesians 1:5) When we adopt a people, we are His agents or ambassadors.

Because adoption is an effective way to reach the world
Adoption is effective because it makes sure that every people group has a group of Christians praying for and reaching out to them. Adopting a people is a "doable" piece of the Great Commission, where each church, large or small, can play a part. Within many countries there are people who have no witness in their language or culture. People adoption focuses primarily on the goal of reaching the people, rather than only on the means.

Benefits of Cooperation

The Great Commission will not be fulfilled by chance. It can only be fulfilled through Godly unity and cooperation. ECOG calls such cooperative efforts partnerships, whether they have a formal written constitution, or merely a general agreement concerning mutual Kingdom goals.

In both kinds of partnership, the needs of field ministries must drive the decisions.

Why Partner?

• It is hard to build a house if the builders do not work together.
• It is hard to build a church if ministry specialties do not work together.

The Place of Prayer

The monumental task of motivating the church to fulfill the Great Commission can be overwhelming. However, Jesus taught us that He is the burden-bearer. It is our duty and privilege to pray and to discuss these overwhelming responsibilities with Him. Yet, we are to be specific in our prayers. We are to pray...

• for the harvest workers (Matthew 9:36-38).
• for the needed changes in ourselves that He wants to accomplish for His purposes (2 Peter 3:14-18).
• that we will see the world through God's love and compassion.

Primarily, though,we must remember that this is a spiritual battle, for which prayer is the only answer.