Missions Taskforce Review and Proposal Pinyin people group Cameroon, West Africa

The missions taskforce has for over eighteen months prayed together, studied together, talked together and with missions facilitators (while also preparing themselves personally) to decide the unreached people group God would be pleased that Covenant Community Church adopt for reaching. We have researched approximately 60 missions agencies involved with unreached people groups. The number of unreached people groups themselves is too many to account for in this document.

It has been an experience in self-discovery as individuals and for us in relation to Covenant Community Church. It is our opinion that we would be wisest to take a short-term project such as the one proposed. This would be a first step of maybe three to five years. Then another group could be adopted that may involve a much more long-term commitment.

We see that we can offer to this task a church community that is passionate for Jesus Christ and in pursuit of Biblical Christianity. We are a congregation blessed with education and training in several career fields and skills. We have a priority on people and relationships with many family groups, singles, divorced, and widowed individuals as members. We are a very compassionate congregation. Within our congregation are people with skills and interests in gardening, computers, administration, domestic skills, medical support skills, parental skills, cooking, mechanical and building skills, accounting, engineering, and teaching skills to name a few. We are theologically diverse while united on the essentials of Christianity, enabling us to work with a great number of denominations, missions agencies, and church groups. We have a strong emphasis on Bible teaching and preaching with a number of well-equipped Bible teachers for adults and children. We are a Biblically literate church. We value commitment and faithfulness. We are a praying church. We are a generous church, even to the point of sacrifice. A very high percentage of our members are involved in some type of organized weekly ministry as well as individual ministry. This and more God has developed within us to offer to this calling for His glory.

We expect to see the level of commitment of individuals within our church rise to new levels while in this pursuit. We anticipate a "cross-pollination" effect as we are in more intimate contact with believers and unbelievers in other cultures. Our networking as a church will expand. Our relationships within the church will deepen and broaden, as well, as we work together.

While definitions of unreached people groups vary, for our purposes an unreached people group is a significantly large ethno-linguistic grouping of individuals who perceive themselves to have a common affinity to one another but are without an indigenous community of believing Christians with adequate numbers and resources to evangelize their group without outside assistance. This definition makes the establishing of an indigenous church the goal of evangelizing unreached people groups. An indigenous church is composed of identifiable believers firmly discipled through Scriptures in their native or heart language with the ability to evangelize others, both within and outside their own group. Only by the establishing of such a church is the task considered complete.

In order for a church to be established, to disciple believers, and to evangelize within its people group, it is imperative that Scripture be available in their language. Bible translation and church planting go hand-in-hand in the work of discipling the nations.

We are answering this call because it is that - a call we feel God has spoken to us. We have seen the Biblical truth of God being glorified as His fame spreads among the nations. We desire for the lost to come to saving faith in Jesus Christ. We want to see Christ treasured among the nations. We anticipate the fulfillment of John's vision,
And they sang a new song:

"You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
and with your blood you purchased men for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation.
You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
and they will reign on the earth."
Rev 5:9-10 (NIV)

"After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice:
"Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb."
Rev. 7:9-10 (NIV)

The following is proposed for an action plan for Covenant Community Church in regard to adopting an unreached people group.

Proposed adopted group: Pinyin of Cameroon.

Our Proposed Strategy's Components

Adopt the Pinyin group.
· Have a formal adoption ceremony during our 2006 mission convention.
· Report to Adopt-A-People Clearinghouse of our adoption.

Establish a prayer ministry/fellowship for the Pinyin

Join or start a network for reaching the Pinyin.

Establish a relationship with CABTAL (Cameroon Association For Bible Translation and Literacy) for the purpose of translating Scripture into the Pinyin's heart language.

Send and/or support a translator and church planter.

Locate members of the people group of Cameroon around us here at home.

A trip to the Pinyin:

Become aware of the Pinyin's felt and real needs.

When the translation project is complete and dedicated (either NT or entire Bible) and a self-supporting church is established, we will have fulfilled our calling to the Pinyin!