Introduction

AD2000 & Beyond Movement: A worldwide movement of organizations and individuals dedicated to the goal of "a church for every people and the gospel for every person by the year 2000." While remaining committed to doing everything possible to achieve this goal, the movement is not predicting "closure' or the completion of the Great Commission by end of the year 2000.
Affinity Bloc: Families of peoples related by aspects such as religion, culture, history, politics, and geography. All the peoples in the Joshua Project list, are broadly grouped into 13 blocs with affinities based on the above aspects. In nearly every bloc there are widely dissimilar and unrelated linguistic minorities, but often there is one particular culture that is dominant.
Adherent: A follower of a particular religion, church or philosophy.  This is the broadest possible category of such followers and includes professing and affiliated adults and also their children (practicing and non-practicing) who may reside in a given area or country.  As it refers to those who, if not under coercion, would claim to have a religion even if their adherence is only nominal, it is the only figure that can be used to adequately compare the relative numbers of followers of different religions and Christian traditions.
Adoption (of an unreached people): Making a commitment to an unreached people until there is an indigenous, reproducing church established among them.  Aspects may include prayer, research, and networking toward church planting. Sometimes called "people group adoption" or adopt-a-people.
Advocate: People group advocates, also known as people specific advocates (PSAs) are individuals who have committed themselves to one specific people group (ethnic group)� to learn about them, their environment, culture, demographics, status. They pray about how churches can be established among them. They may network and partner with others to encourage their involvement.
Church: In lower case, means a local church or congregation of believers.  Capitalized, it refers to: 1) all believers from creation to consummation; 2) the whole company of the redeemed on earth at the present time; 3) the whole visible Church on earth including all who call themselves Christian.
Church planting: Missionary role of evangelism, discipleship and training of leaders for the establishment of a body of believers, or a church.  Does not refer to a physical building.
Closed Country: Countries that limit or prevent Christian ministry by expatriates as missionaries.  Alternatively they are called creative-access countries, restricted access country, closing country, restrictive country, sensitive country.
Cluster: Grouping of peoples within each affinity bloc, which are closely related peoples and, for strategic purposes, may be clustered together. These relationships are often based on a common identity of language and name, but sometimes on the basis of culture, religion, economy, or dominance of one group over another. Most peoples in the Joshua Project List may be grouped in people "clusters" and almost all clusters have total populations of over one million.
Collaboration: To combine forces to meet a common goal.
Computer conference: Use of electronic mail for communication by those interested in the same subject.
Contextualization: Adapting something (a biblical concept, mission method, etc.) to make it understood within the context of an ethnic culture.  See Lausanne for a series of articles on contextualization in missions.
Email: Electronic messages sent from one computer to another computer over a computer network, usually utilizes existing telephone lines.
Ethnolinguistic People: An ethnic or racial group speaking its own language. A people group distinguished by its self-identity with traditions of common descent, history, customs and language. Also known as a people.
Evangelicals: The subdivision of Protestantism which generally emphasizes: 1) the Lord Jesus Christ as the sole source of salvation through faith in him; 2) Personal faith and conversion with regeneration by the Holy Spirit; 3) A recognition of the inspired Word of God as the only basis for faith and Christian living; 4) Commitment to biblical preaching and evangelism that brings others to faith in Christ.
Evangelism: Activity of sharing the message of redemption in Christ.
Expatriate: One who has taken up residence in a foreign country.
Facilitator: A network facilitator provides leadership to a network: 1) by being a champion for the cause, 2) by calling, organizing and presiding over the meetings, 3) recognizing and encouraging member's resources, gifts and concerns, 4) with the end result of making it as easy as possible for a diverse group to work together harmoniously.
Fax: Facsimile transmission of digitized pictures or text over telephone lines using fax machines or fax-enabled computers.
Field: The location where ministry/church planting/evangelism takes place.
Field-based or Field-driven: Strategy determined by those on the field, rather than from those at the 'home," sending, or resource base.
Frontier: Pertaining to unreached areas or peoples.
Great Commission: Matthew 28:18-20.  Jesus' final instructions to his followers to go everywhere to make disciples among every people.
Harvest Field: All who are not true Christians; not part of the Body of Christ.
Harvest Force: Those of the Body of Christ who are involved in a direct or indirect way in helping to bring in the harvest of souls.
Indigenous peoples or persons: Those individuals or groups who originate in a particular area, a national, a native.
Joshua Project 2000 Unreached Peoples List: A listing of "country-distinct" peoples each over 10,000 in population that were chosen, by their ethnolinguistic distinction and their status of being less than 2% Evangelical and less that 5% Christian adherents.
Martyr: A Christian believer who dies in a situation of witness as a result of human hostility.
Mission: The loving work of God to bring humankind to himself as the Church.  Secondarily, the overall ministry of the Church for world evangelization.
Missionary: One who is sent with a message.  The Christian missionary is one commissioned by a local church to evangelize, plant churches and disciple people away from his home area, often among people of a different race, culture or language.
Missionary Sending Agency: Agency which facilitates the sending, placement and supervision of missionaries.
Missions: Any activity in which Christians are involved for world evangelization.
Missions Resource Organization: These agencies support the work of field missions and missionaries by offering information, resources, materials, and mobilization of the Church.
Network: An extended group of people with similar interests or concerns who interact and remain in informal contact for mutual assistance or support (see also People Specific Network).
Network, Computer: Two or more computers connected for the purposed of exchanging messages and sharing data and system resources.
Non-Resident Missionary (NRM): Professional career missionary who is working towards the evangelization of a particular people or cluster, but resides outside the group, usually in a city with good international communications facilities and no surveillance.
Partnership: An association of two or more autonomous bodies who have formed a trusting relationship and fulfill agreed upon expectations by sharing complementary strengths and resources, to reach their mutual goal.
People: In the context of this program, the word people refers to ethnolinguistic peoples (See also Joshua Project 2000 Unreached Peoples List, ethnolinguistic and people group.).
People Group: A significantly large sociological grouping of individuals who perceive themselves to have a common affinity with one another.  From the viewpoint of evangelization, this is the largest possible group within which the gospel can be spread without encountering barriers of understanding or acceptance.  There are basically three types: 1) Ethnolinguistic people group, which defines a person's identity and primary loyalty according to language and/or ethnicity (see Joshua Project 2000 Unreached Peoples List). AD2000 & Beyond has reserved the word "people" rather than "people group" for this type.  Cross-cultural church-planting teams of missionaries are needed for peoples in this category.  Of the estimated 12,000 ethnolinguistic peoples, probably over 9,000 already have at least one or two viable indigenous churches within their culture.  2) Sociological people group, which is defined by its long-term relation to the rest of society, such as by migration or traditional occupation or class, but not having a self-contained culture or identity as an ethnic group.  In most cases local church outreach is required -- either to plant daughter churches or to incorporate converts into multi-social congregations.  There are probably hundreds of thousands of such people groups; 3) Incidental people groups, which are casual associations of individuals which may be temporary and usually the result of circumstances rather than personal choice. Examples of such groups are high-rise flat dwellers, drug addicts, occupational groupings, commuters, etc.  These groupings present unique problems and opportunities for evangelism, but only rarely will it be appropriate for specific churches to be planted for the sole benefit of such groups.
People Group Advocate: See Advocate
People-Specific: Referring to one particular people or people group
People-Specific Advocate: See Advocate
People-Specific Resource Network (PSRN): Network of organizations and individuals committed to reaching a particular people
Pioneer: See Frontier
Prayer journey: A trip to pray on location for the lost. Team members may spend extended time prayerwalking, asking God to bring the Gospel to that unreached people group. Does not entail evangelism or mercy ministries (See Praying Through the Window).
Praying Through the Window: Prayer initiatives developed for the purpose of worldwide focused prayer for the countries and peoples in the 10/40 Window.
Prayerwalking: Praying "on-site with insight"-- taking prayers outside the church walls as we walk through an area. Praying in the very places we expect to see God bring forth His answers. Usually low profile and unobtrusive in appearance.
Reached/unreached: A term that is widely used today to describe people groups and areas that have or have not responded to the preaching of the gospel.  The use of the term has continued despite the faultiness of the terminology.  Strictly, it should be a measure of the exposure of a people group to the gospel and not a measure of the response.
Resource-based: Emanating from the country sending mission resources and personnel, i.e., the "home" base.  Opposite is "field-based."
Restricted-access country: See Closed Country
Security: The protection of individuals, property, organizations and nations from espionage, opposition, theft, and other dangers.  Information that could identify national believers and mission strategies is particularly important to protect.
Sending Agency: See Missionary Sending Agency
Sensitive Country: See Closed Country
Strategic: Important or essential in relation to a plan of action.  Highly important to an intended objective.
Strategy Coordinator: One who develops and implements a strategy to reach a people group, working with a team or network.
Synergy: The interaction of two or more agents or forces so that their combined effect is greater than the sum of their individual effects. Cooperative interaction among groups that creates an enhanced combined effect.
10/40 Window: The area of the world between latitudes 10 degrees and 40 degrees north of the equator in the Eastern hemisphere, covering North Africa, Middle East and Asia.  The window has in view most of the world's areas of greatest physical and spiritual need, most of the world's least-reached peoples and most of the governments that oppose Christianity.
Unreached People, Unreached People Group (UPG): A people or people group among whom there is no viable indigenous community of believing Christians with adequate numbers and resources to evangelize their own people without outside (cross-cultural) assistance.  Other researchers have adopted the terms "hidden people" or "frontier people group." See Joshua Project 2000 Unreached Peoples List.
World Evangelization: The whole Church taking the whole gospel to the whole world.  The goal of giving every person the opportunity to hear the gospel in a way they understand, to become disciples of Christ, and to join with others in fellowship without leaving their own culture or people.

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4/19/00