Billions of people around the world are dying without ever having heard the gospel or even the name of Jesus. Let’s join together in prayer for these unreached people. Pray for God to prepare hearts to hear and receive the gospel and for believers to obey His call to go to them.
Most of the following unreached people groups are considered a frontier people group, meaning there are anywhere from zero to a negligible number of known Christians in their numbers.
Traditionally, the Dhobi people were the ones who washed laundry in the Hindu world. When a Dhobi girl marries, her dowry usually contains just a few items, almost always including an iron. After the men wash the customers’ clothes, the women iron them and keep the money they earn to pay for household expenses. Mothers teach the girls to iron at an early age, and boys help their fathers by washing the smaller articles of clothing and by delivering packages of clean clothes to their owners.
Most of the Dhobis follow popular Hinduism and worship local gods as well as the washing stones. The vast majority remain Hindu, but they have contact with other communities. Hindus have a pragmatic view of the spirit world. Therefore, the Dhobi people often worship whatever spiritual force they believe will help them in practical ways. Since many of their customers are starting to use washing machines, many Dhobi are facing unemployment. They need job security and job training.
The Teli community once did the labor-intensive job of pressing and extracting oil, but now that job is done by mechanical means. For this reason, they have mainly resorted to farming or animal husbandry. A smaller number of them are businessmen or hotel managers, metal workers, cart pullers, or common laborers. Many of them work in government jobs, and they are active in politics.
The Teli are mainly Hindus who have special celebrations at weddings and the birth of a child. They cremate the dead and scatter the ashes in a river, preferably the Ganges, a river Hindus consider to be holy. They worship their ancestors and seek protection from evil spirits. This people group is pragmatic in their spiritual practices. They worship a “wish-fulfilling goddess” whom they hope will answer their prayers. The perception of Christianity as an invading influence that breaks up families and promotes many social problems is a serious obstacle to Teli families and communities humbly accepting God’s blessing for their families.
The Yadav are a caste comprised of dairymen, cattle producers, and laborers. Their traditional occupation is animal husbandry and selling its products. The Yadav consist of both landowning and landless people. Some Yadav are businessmen, teachers, doctors, engineers, and political leaders.
The Yadav participate in local traditional and socio-religious festivals. They have expertise in oral traditions and group singing in praise of the gods Vishnu, Krishna, or one of the many other gods that they worship. Similarly, they are good at musical dance, wrestling, and mock-fighting with swords. Boys are favored for formal education. They are known to have more faith in astrology and talismans rather than in the services of a doctor. They often pray to Singaji for the protection of their cattle from disease and often give thank offerings of butter, unripe mangoes, and sugar.
Coby, Bailey, and Naomi Neal have been a part of our Lockeland Springs family for several years and are being sent out to engage the unreached refugee population in Birmingham, England. They will also minister to university students, young professionals, and families who live around them. Pray for this time of transition for their family, safe travels, and provision for funding and housing. Pray for strong relationships with ministry partners and for God to prepare the hearts of people they will encounter.
