A recent meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota, focused on hastening the spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ among targeted Unreached People Groups (UPGs), learning from each other, and increasing stewardship of ministry resources by eliminating ministry duplication.

John Quam, National Facilitator of International Ministries for the Mission America Coalition, says 32 lay people and ministry leaders met together to prayerfully consider whether better coordination was needed by North American groups involved in UPG ministry. The meeting was the result of more than two years of dialogue and prayer, according to Quam.

The leaders, representing 12 networks that collaborate in UPG partnerships, were from churches and ministries focused on Indonesia, Iran and Iraq, and the Wolof, Uygur and Azerbaijani people groups. Expressing concern that many UPG partnerships are now struggling, a missions pastor at a large Midwestern church asked, “How can we pool our resources and properly respond so that these [UPG] partnerships will flourish?”

After two days of intensive discussion and prayer, leaders felt God’s call to develop the North American Unreached People’s Network (NAUPN) to help coordinate the work of North American UPG ministry. Organizers say NAUPN will be a forum where connections, information, models and partnership in prayer and discernment will enhance the urgency and capacity of every UPG network. NAUPN will also help catalyze new UPG networks and connect with global south Christian leaders.

The leadership team of Mark Snelling (Antioch Network), Allen McClellan (Impact), John Quam (Mission America Coalition) and Bill Sunderland (visionSynergy) that organized the Minneapolis meeting, along with help from six others, will serve the newly formed NAUPN.

Additionally, four task forces will develop a follow-up consultation addressing UPG partnership formation/operation, developing non-western partnerships/networks and accessing the status of work among UPGs. The consultation, open to anyone in North America involved in UPG work, is scheduled for November 27-29, 2007 in Dallas, TX.

To learn more about NAUPN, email John Quam at johnq@missionamerica.org  or info@powerofconnecting.net.   

** Michael Ireland is an international British freelance journalist. A former reporter with a London newspaper, Michael is the Chief Correspondent for ASSIST News Service of Lake Forest, California. Michael immigrated to the United States in 1982 and became a US citizen in September, 1995. He is married with two children. Michael has also been a frequent contributor to UCB Europe, a British Christian radio station.