Adoption is a commitment made by a church or a group who would say, “Together, we will use our resources to take responsibility for a particular UUPG. We will pray, give, and act until this group (for example, the Amazigh in Djerba) no longer remains unengaged and unreached with the Gospel.” To be clear, adoption does not equate engagement but can function as a first step leading towards it.

These UUPGs will remain unengaged until obedient Christ followers send, go and preach the Gospel (Romans 10:14).

Here is an example of an adoption process a group could go through:

  1. Get Informed: The need for churches and fellowships to focus on unengaged, unreached people groups is not widely known nor understood. Advocate for your fellowship, especially your leadership, to take a strategic mission course like Perspectives or Kairos to help enhance the vision of how a fellowship can aid in fulfilling the Great Commission.
  2. Sign Up for Vision 2020: If you haven’t already, sign up or invite others in your fellowship to sign up for Vision 2020 to receive a series of emails laying out the problem, solutions, and the first steps for seeing all of Tunisia engaged with the Gospel.
  1. Reflection: Pray and consider 1 to 5 UUPGs for potential adoption and ask the Lord to show you which ones your fellowship could adopt. Watch their personalized videos for help.
  2. Gather Basic Info: Discover what informational resources are available for the particular UUPG(s) to learn more about their needs, urgency, and status of engagement.
  3. Involve Leadership: Someone would need to share and present the importance of adopting to engage a UUPG in order to secure leadership’s commitment.
  1. Connect: Talk with a mission agency or field worker to inform them of your interest in adoption and to learn even more about the UUPG(s). We recommend agencies that are focused on church or disciple making movements strategy.
  2. Choose UUPG(s): With extensive prayer and united as a fellowship, say, “Yes, this is the group God wants us to adopt and see engaged with the Gospel.”
  3. Make it Official: Notify the agency and/or field worker(s) of official commitment. Consider hosting an adoption ceremony as a fellowship and signing a covenant contract.
  1. Designate Champion(s): Someone or a group of people would take responsibility for seeing their fellowship achieve their vision of seeing the UUPG engaged and reached.
  2. Initiate Prayer: Create and implement a fellowship wide consistent prayer strategy. Check out some of these extraordinary prayer ideas.
  3. Learn: Try and become an expert on the UUPG learning all you can about them. What needs do they have? Is there Scripture in their hear language? Do they have a Jesus Film? Get started at Joshua Project.
  4. Advocate: Be a spokesperson for the UUPG by increasing the awareness of their need for engagement and inviting others to join the campaign.
  1. Vision Trip and Prayer Journey: Send team from fellowship including leadership to visit the UUPG in accordance with field workers and/or agency. Learn more about how to take a prayer journey here.
  2. Create Engagement Plan: Design the strategy, in accordance to known field recommendations, in how your fellowship will see to it that the UUPG is engaged and reached.
  3. Recruit and Partner: Initiate and launch a network of other churches, agencies, groups, potential field workers to join in committing to engaging this UUPG. Vision Synergy is a great place to get started with this.
  1. Support: Raise funds, support workers, participate in projects needed to engage and reach the UUPG.
  2. Encourage Training: We highly recommend every follower of Jesus go through some kind of Disciple Making Movements training in order to learn how ordinary men and women can make multiplying disciples. Check out course options here.
  3. Send long-term workers: Rise up within your fellowship, or somewhere else, and launch disciple makers committed to meeting all 4 of the engagement criteria.
Find more info about adoption at Adopt-a-people-group.org

If your fellowship is considering or has already decided to adopt one of Tunisia’s UUPGs to see them engaged with the Gospel, let us know!