How can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?
LIVE DEAD
is dying to self that the unreached might live for Jesus. Live Dead launched in 2011 in East Africa with a team working among the unreached in Sudan. Leaders met to discuss the strength and power of this model and how to apply it to finish the task ahead.
Live Dead is a response to the issue that forty percent of the world’s population remains unreached and without adequate access to the gospel. The unreached peoples of the earth are unreached for a reason: They are difficult to reach physically and are sometimes even hostile to the gospel. However, we go so that Jesus may be glorified by every tribe, nation, and tongue. We live dead with Christ as our sole focus to reach them.
Thank you for taking the time to learn about Live Dead and the part you can play in the mission. Romans 10:14 says, “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?” We all have a part. What is yours—will you pray, give, go?
What is Live Dead?
Live Dead is a grassroots initiative that partners with the global body of Christ to plant churches among unreached people groups through teams. Our values are abide (extravagant time and intimacy with Jesus as in John 15), apostle (take the gospel to where Christ is not named as in Romans 15), and abandon (pay any price to see Jesus exalted everywhere as in Matthew 16).
Jesus, our model, gave His life to His church. Churches gather in brick and mortar structures, and they gather in homes spreading as underground movements. The church must be a thriving, Spirit-empowered, multiplying people that meets together regularly for fellowship, prayer, teaching, and the breaking of bread (Acts 2). It’s our commitment to plant the church where she, His bride, does not exist.
Church Planting Unreached People Groups
We establish churches where people do not have adequate access to the gospel. Forty percent of the world meets the standard of an unreached people group, an ethno-linguistic group with less than two percent evangelical witness and without the indigenous power to reach its own. We value every gospel work worldwide, but we strategize working and living among the unreached. That is why Jesus came—that His glory might cover the Earth—and that is why we live dead. Unreached peoples are our passionate pursuit.
Teams
The heavy task remains: How do we birth churches among unreached people groups? We do this in teams. This is modeled throughout Scripture: Moses and Aaron; David’s mighty men; Jesus and His disciples; and Paul and Barnabas and their apostolic bands. Reaching the unreached requires Jesus-glorifying, Spirit-enveloped communities that live in mission together. A team may be as few as four people or as many as ten or more.
Core Values
Live Dead is a character-based approach to planting churches among unreached people in teams. When we follow Jesus, we take up our cross, and as we follow Jesus, we die to our own desires. Jesus says, “If a kernel dies, it produces many seeds” (John 12:24). Paul adds, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live” (Gal. 2:20). The core of following Jesus is this call to live dead so that Christ lives in us.
ABIDING, SPIRIT EMPOWERMENT, CHARACTER, LEARNERS
Extravagant time with Jesus from whom all fruitful ministry flows. If we will be effective at reaching the unreached, it will be as a result of the work of Jesus in and through us. (John 15:4)
Abide Apostle
APOSTOLIC FUNCTION, TEAM, PIONEERING, PARTNERSHIP
We are committed to cutting the frontier of missions and taking the life transforming message of the gospel to places where the message of Jesus is not known. (Rom. 15:20-21)
If we are to accomplish this, we will need to live dead to our desires, our comforts, and our expectations. We take on the mind and eyes of Christ and willingly walk in obedience with Him, even when it means sacrifices that are uncomfortable. (Matt. 16:24)
Church Planting Team Life
While character development through our core values will always be of vital importance, the development of ministry competence through resourcing, training, and practice gives additional traction to the task of church planting. Live Dead teams follow these practical strategies.
FAST AND PRAY FOR MANY
In addition to daily personal abiding, we commit to extra seasons of prayer and fasting for mass movements of the unreached world to come to Jesus.
EQUIP AND ENCOURAGE
We place a high priority on language learning, cultural acquisition, and missiological training.
SOW BROADLY
We commit to share the good news of Jesus as broadly as possible—with neighbors, friends, shopkeepers, strangers—with everyone.
SOW INTENTIONALLY
We will endeavor to learn where people go when they are spiritually hungry and go there.
INVITE GOD’S INTERVENTION
We commit to believe for miracles, healing, and open hearts as we go about the business of sharing the good news of Jesus.
ARTICULATE THE GOSPEL
We will identify ourselves as Christ-followers early on in conversation and be aware of opportunities to direct our conversation to the gospel.
INVITE A RESPONSE TO THE GOSPEL
Rather than relegating conversations about Jesus to an interesting exchange of religious ideas, we commit to gently but boldly encourage the hearers of gospel to respond.
FOLLOW UP IMMEDIATELY
We commit to follow up immediately with those who have responded positively to the gospel.
CULTIVATE ACTIVE PARTICIPATION IN THE FAITH
We commit to teach those on the journey of faith to not just be hearers, but to put His words into practice.
MODEL CHURCH WELL
We commit to model what it means to be a Christian community of faith in a way that is simple, natural, and culturally relevant so that believers can “be church” even if we are forced to leave or led to go to another pioneering context.
BE PATIENT AND GRACIOUS
We commit to being persistent in patience and generous in grace with believers and the newly forming church.
ASSESS AND ADAPT
We commit to continually assess our role in the process of church planting and adapt appropriately.
Learn to abide in Jesus while living among the unreached.
Work towards linguistic and cultural fluency. Study missiology and have the opportunity to study towards credentialing, if needed.
Learn to live together and work on a diverse team. Create a rhythm of life with the desire and ability to balance a lifelong commitment to live and work among the unreached.
God’s
authority on earth allows us to dare to go
to
all the nations.
His authority in Heaven gives us our only hope of success. And his presence with us leaves us no other choice.
- JOHN STOTT
Total World Population
Total People Groups
7.7 Billion 17,000
Total Unreached Population Total Unreached People Groups
3.1 Billion 7,100
Live Dead Region Unreached Population
Live Dead Region Unreached People Groups
2.61 Billion 5,600
Of the unreached globally, nearly 85% of the people, in 79% people groups exist in the areas of the world where Live Dead focuses its e orts.
How to Join
The work among the unreached requires singles, couples, and families to join our teams. Workers with vocational skills (education, sports, medicine, business, art, music, etc.) are all needed as well as those with ministry experience and training. If you feel called to live out your days using your giftings and passions for the glory of Jesus, we encourage you to join us in Live Dead.
Process
Visit www.livedead.org/go and fill out the GO form. A representative will be in touch with you.
Read our team guidelines and complete our mobilization devotional ( www.livedead.org/mobil-devo).
Connect with a Live Dead team.
Fill out the application.
Gather commitments and supporters to partner with you in both finances and prayer for the work.
SCAN THE QR CODE TO VIEW OUR MOBILIZATION DEVOTIONAL
Africa is a continent of contrasts. It is home to some of the greatest revivals in the world today with thousands of churches planted every year. It is also home to 3,687 people groups spread across a massive geographic landmass with people who are diverse not only in culture, but in access and receptivity to the gospel. In sub-Saharan Africa, there are 867 unreached people groups and over 200 million people living without adequate access to the gospel. While progress is made on some fronts, the injustice of the unfinished task calls us to engage the places and people groups who have yet to hear about Christ.
Here church planting among the unreached is best done by communities serving locally in community. With Live Dead Africa, you will serve on a team and exemplify what it means to be a community of Christ. Within this community we commit to walk with you on a journey of growth, both to equip you with the tools you need to plant the church (such as learning language and culture, sharing Jesus with Muslim friends, and discipling a Muslim background believer) and to help you grow personally both in your spiritual walk and in leadership.
867 MILLION POPULATION
UNREACHED PEOPLE GROUPS
Our teams live in community and build long-term friendships with locals to give you opportunities to share your faith journey with them as you help to plant a church. The diversity of our context allows us a variety of different platforms ranging from English centers to primary schools and farms. There is room for people with a variety of skill sets and interests.
Is your heart stirred to join Live Dead Africa? Connect with us via
GO@LIVEDEAD.ORG
Perhaps you’ve been stirred to engage in other ways, like prayer or giving. Start a conversation with us at
Arab World
ALGERIA, BAHRAIN, EGYPT, IRAQ, JORDAN, KUWAIT, LEBANON, LIBYA, MOROCCO, OMAN, QATAR, SAUDI ARABIA, SYRIA, TUNISIA, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES & YEMEN
The great unfinished task of around 400 million unreached Muslims awaits us in the Arab world, and the possibilities to reach them are significant. The heart of Islam sits in the Arab world. This is where Islam was born and from where it is still funded. It is home to the financial center (petrol dollars), the emotional/ religious center (Mecca), and the ideological center (Cairo) of Islam. Think of the global impact on missions if the wealth of Qatar is used to advance the gospel! Think of what could happen if revival comes to Saudi Arabia and churches are planted in Mecca! Think of the missionary force that could reach the world if the 100 million people of Egypt were saved and mobilized to proclaim the gospel of Jesus! If we can reach the Arab world, there will be a significant impact on the globe.
UNREACHED PEOPLE GROUPS
Fruitful ministry often begins after ten years on the field; yet the average worker leaves the Arab world after only seven. Our desire is that you live in a state of healthy long-term service for God’s kingdom in the Arab world, so we place a strong emphasis on learning language, culture, and missiology even as you establish a sustainable long-term rhythm of life.
Your first appointment will most likely be at one of three church planting Launch Teams in either Morocco, Egypt, or Jordan.
There you will learn Arabic and how to balance life and ministry as you begin a life focused on the proclamation of the gospel and the planting of the church among the unreached. 400 330 MILLION POPULATION
Is the Lord stirring you to serve in the heart of Islam, in the Arab world? Contact us at
Perhaps you’ve been stirred to engage in other ways, like prayer or giving. Start a conversation with us at
Almost there, just a bit further, we are close to the moment we’ve been waiting for. All the effort of uprooting ourselves from our home nation saw this ahead in anticipation. The grit and discipline needed to study Hindi and learn the nuances of our host culture was persevered to get to this moment. The daily work of training in a CrossFit gym, serving coffee and cleaning in a cafe, teaching music, or coaching soccer, the routine of keeping a schedule, following a leader, joining the tasks of a team are about to pay off. We’re almost there.
India is home to over 1.4 billion people. Perhaps a better way to understand the vastness of India’s population is to consider it as nations within a nation. By this we mean to communicate the distinctiveness of each state’s language, customs, religious expression, and ideals. India’s most populated states of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Bihar each have more than 100 million residents! Fifty million is the number of people in Andra Pradesh, ranked ten out of 27 Indian states. Each state is like a separate “nation” co-existing together as a single great country–India. What would it take to reach one of these “nations”?
UNREACHED PEOPLE GROUPS
1.4 2,135 BILLION POPULATION
The truth is, none of us can reach a nation, and those of us living here in India aren’t trying. But we have programmed our minds to introduce people to Jesus. All of us, through our actions and words, are every day inviting the unreached people of India into our homes, into our lives, to belong and be with us in Jesus’ community. We are here to introduce our Indian friends to Jesus. And we wait for the sweet-sounding response to our invitation: “Teak hai. me aa-rahawhon.” (Alright, I am coming.)
Ready to introduce new Indian friends to Jesus with Live Dead India? Contact us at
GO@LIVEDEAD.ORG
Perhaps you’ve been stirred to engage in other ways, like prayer or giving. Start a conversation with us at
ADVOCACY@LIVEDEAD.ORG
Iran is the land of a proud people and heritage. They developed road systems, postal services, algebra, and a book that led the world in medicine for 700 years. It was the home of the great kings Cyrus and Darius. Islamic invaders conquered and converted the Persians, but the Persians refused to lose their culture, language, and identity. The message of Christ first came to their land in the second century. It was never snuffed out. A witness has remained. And now the Christian church in Iran is, perhaps, the fastest growing witness and church of Christ in the world.
Iran has nearly 84 million people, and 98.9 percent of them, spread across 85 people groups, are unreached, while 1.1 percent have now heard and believe. There is an underground church in Iran which has grown from an estimated 500 believers from a Muslim background in 1979 to an estimated 1,000,000 believers in 2020. The people of Iran are searching for hope even as their government struggles to maintain autocratic control. The good news of Jesus is spreading and churches are multiplying. And yet, 83,000,000 remain unreached.
83
85 MILLION POPULATION
UNREACHED PEOPLE GROUPS
God is calling people to respond to the difficult but ready harvest field of Iran. The Live Dead Iran team works from two locations near the border of Iran, but not inside the country, to evangelize, disciple, and plant the church through Iranian believers who live inside their country but come into two cities on holiday. Harvest fields need laborers who are passionate and willing to be prepared. Live Dead Iran teams and partners are actively church planting while also training and empowering new workers to form more teams that reach into the harvest field.
Origins
ISRAEL, PALESTINE & WEST BANK / GAZA
Live Dead Origins covers the geographic areas of Israel and Palestine which represent approximately 13 million people. There is less than 0.25 percent believers in Israel, with few churches and even fewer with effective outreach or healthy missional theology. One of the unique challenges of the area centers around the unhealthy marriage of theology and politics within the believing communities. We seek to operate outside the influence of these forces which tend to overshadow Jesus and the message of the cross.
We identified and focus on eight unreached people groups within this area. The major religions are Judaism and Islam, with a major element of secularism that affects both, though particularly on the Jewish side. A third major religious group is the Druze.
13
45 MILLION POPULATION
UNREACHED PEOPLE GROUPS
The first years on a Live Dead Origins team will focus on the acquisition of language and culture. This will be done through the lens of church planting work. Active engagement in church planting work will happen from the very start. Those who join church planting teams will need the ability to engage in the platform work which the team has chosen for residency purposes. Those church planting teams operating in Arabic will work in a partnership with the national church among the Arabs.
There are also opportunities for short-term teams (2-6 weeks) and they can expect exposure to a wide spectrum of culture and engagement in pre-arranged creative outreach activities.
Is the Lord calling you to embrace the unique challenges and opportunities with Live Dead Origins? Contact us at
GO@LIVEDEAD.ORG
Perhaps you’ve been stirred to engage in other ways, like prayer or giving. Start a conversation with us at
The largest country in the world, Russia stretches across eleven time zones. And though Orthodox Christianity is the majority religion among Slavic Russians, the country also has 88 unreached people groups representing other religions. Many of these people groups are indigenous to Russia with no diaspora anywhere else in the world: The Shamanist groups on Siberia’s frozen plains offer sacrifices to the spirits of rivers and trees; Muslim groups in the Caucasus mountains kneel in prayer five times a day; and migrant workers from Central Asia clean the streets in the shadow of beautiful cathedrals in Russia’s major cities. None have heard the message of Jesus or met a true believer.
Through bold broad sowing, obedience-based discipleship, and house churches, we believe we will see the multiplication of followers of Jesus among these unreached people. We believe that we will see former Muslims pouring their hearts out in worship back in their villages. We believe that we will see church planting movements start among the migrant workers, spreading like unstoppable wildfire, making its way back to their Muslim countries. We believe the nomadic Siberian herders will study the Scriptures around a campfire on the tundra, making plans to reach neighboring tribes.
Is God calling you to be a part of planting His church where it currently does not exist in Russia? Experience church planting in Russia and come for a short-term intensive. Spend ten days with a Live Dead Russia church planting team. We will train you in how to share the gospel with Muslims, Buddhists, and Shamanists, and share strategies for multiplying disciples and planting house churches. Most importantly, you will join us in prayer and proclamation, walking through unreached villages and urban areas, sharing your personal testimony and the message of Jesus with the unreached.
Is the Lord stirring you to serve the unreached peoples of Russia? Contact us at
GO@LIVEDEAD.ORG
Perhaps you’ve been stirred to engage in other ways, like prayer or giving. Start a conversation with us at
ADVOCACY@LIVEDEAD.ORG
Silk Road
AFGHANISTAN, AZERBAIJAN, KAZAKHSTAN, KYRGYZSTAN, PAKISTAN, TAJIKISTAN, TURKEY, TURKMENISTAN & UZBEKISTAN
The Silk Road was a network of trade routes connecting East and West. Today, Live Dead Silk Road connects nine countries containing 425 million people and 729 UPGs. Our vision is to see churches everywhere so the gospel is accessible and understandable to every single person along our Silk Road.
Seeing the widespread presence of the church here will require commitment and time. We use Launch Teams to build fundamental skills and practices and to shape character and devotional patterns so we can flourish and be fruitful among these millions of lost Muslims. Joining the Silk Road involves 1 to 2 years of immersion in language, culture, and ministry in partnership with other new workers and experienced guides. We emphasize growing in character and in relationship with Jesus while studying the Bible and sharing your faith with the people around you. We want you to grow in confidence and faith as you share the gospel with Muslims. Check out the map on our website for Launch Team locations across the Silk Road.
425
729 MILLION POPULATION
UNREACHED PEOPLE GROUPS
Our church planting teams serve everyone that God opens doors to.. We are in rural and in urban contexts, working with young and old from across the social spectrum. Reaching the unreached requires more than lone rangers; it requires Jesus-glorifying, Spirit-enveloped people on mission together in team. Most of our teams are located in places where the church barely exists and there are only a handful of believers.
EEE, tiene el firme propósito de servir como plataforma de entrenamiento y lanzamiento para obreros de habla hispana que se unirán a la tarea de ver un movimiento de plantación de iglesias realizarse en medio de los 729 Pueblos No Alcanzados que se encuentran a lo largo de la Ruta de la Seda. Mas información gustavo@silkroadexpat.com
TO LEARN MORE, SCAN THE QR CODE
Southern Asia
BANGLADESH, BHUTAN, MALDIVES, NEPAL & SRI LANKA
An assault of the five senses. A fitting description of Southern Asia. It can be difficult to distinguish the call to prayer from the chanting through the temple loudspeaker accompanied by the incessant honking of buses. Offensive smells, extreme tropical heat, bone chilling cold, and frantic unfamiliarity in multiple languages, cultures, and religions exist in the same city and region. Visually the Himalayan mountains inspire, sun-soaked beaches promote serenity, and the bustling cities mesmerize with their unique color and flair.
A Southern Asia church planting team visited a home and noticed a picture of Jesus on a shelf alongside dozens of other gods representing the majority religion in that country. As the wife of the home prepared tea, the team asked her who was in that picture on the shelf. She replied that someone passed through her village and shared that this man was a god, but she did not know his name. Our hearts long to share with this woman and millions like her what Paul shared in Athens when he encountered an altar to an unknown god in Athens: Our God does not live in temples made by human hands, and He gives life, breath, and everything to all people (Acts 17:23–25).
Just one percent of the over 230 million people that call Southern Asia home follow Jesus. That means over 227 million people have most likely never heard the redemptive story of Jesus even once, let alone have the chance to respond to this good news. Our vision is to see every community in Southern Asia transformed by the gospel.
MILLION POPULATION
UNREACHED PEOPLE GROUPS
The mission before us: to provide gospel access to every community in Southern Asia by establishing teams that model Christ, serve those in need, and make disciples.
Are you ready to engage your five senses and the gospel to see lives transformed in Southern Asia? Contact us at
GO@LIVEDEAD.ORG
Perhaps you’ve been stirred to engage in other ways, like prayer or giving. Start a conversation with us at
The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.
Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.
- LUKE 10:2
Live Dead Advocacy
Not all are called to live out their days living among the unreached, but we are all called to engage as the Lord leads us and to participate to see the gospel reach every people group. We seek to mobilize advocates, both individuals and churches, to pray, speak, give, and go for the sake of unreached people groups. Some distinct opportunities to advocate for Live Dead:
Partner with a specific church planting team through Live Dead Pray (page 41).
Send short-term teams through Live Dead Go (page 39).
Raise up and mobilize workers from your local ministry to join our teams on the ground.
Host a Live Dead Summit at your church. Live Dead workers will come to your church to engage with you for a 1-day summit (Friday night and Saturday morning). Summits are designed to help your church and those around you cultivate a heart for reaching the unreached. You will hear real stories, see real pictures, meet real people, and catch a vision for how God is calling you to respond to the great need of access to the gospel.
Become a primary partner and adopt a Live Dead team. This includes helping to start businesses with things like registrations, property rentals, and equipment purchases. You can also help provide what is needed for team spaces where we meet and develop for church planting.
Raise your voice, plug in, and advocate for the unreached.
Email us: advocacy@livedead.org
Live Dead Go
We believe that every person is called to GO. We have multiple ways for you to go for the purpose of praying about lifelong service on the field. Here are some ways you can do short-term ministry among the unreached with Live Dead:
INTENSIVES:
These 7-10 day trips expose you to a new perspective on work and life among the unreached as you participate in intense learning, focused intercession, and bold proclamation.
INTERNSHIPS:
These 4-8 week trips expose you to a deeper look at our language-learning process, the faith and lifestyle of the local culture, and the realities of life on a church planting team among the unreached.
IMMERSIONS:
These 1-2 year terms give you the opportunity to study language, culture, and missiology, and prepare for fruitful ministry among the unreached.
Through each opportunity, you will gain practical experience in what it takes to live among unreached people groups and in how we strive to prioritize abiding in Jesus in all that we do. From language learning to missiology, these trips expose you to the unreached and to encourage you to commit to lifelong missionary service.
Live Dead Pray
Too often we forget the power of prayer because of its simplicity, but your prayers affect change in the church being planted among unreached people! We hope that as you partner to pray consistently and strategically with us, you will feel more connected to the work we do and to the outcomes we celebrate.
Starting a Pray Band
When you partner with us through Live Dead Pray, we ask that you do it like we do everything—in a team. That means you and at least two others commit to meet at least once a month to pray together. We desire to fuel your prayer by providing you with resources. You will receive updates from us each month with timely and accurate prayer requests from teams on the ground. These updates may be emails, videos, or blogs, and it is our hope that through them, you develop a connection with your team to engage in prayer on a much more personal level.
I have but one passion - it is He, it is He alone.
The world is the field and the field is the world; and henceforth that country shall be my home where I can be most used in winning souls for Christ.
