Unreached People Group
UNREACHED PEOPLE THE MAZANDERANI OF IRAN
BY
FELTON WOODSON
GLOBAL STUDIES SURVEY
GLST 500
DR. DANIEL SHEARD
March 2013
CONTENTS
ABSTRACT 3
BACKGROUND INFORMATION………………………………………………………5
A SURVEY OF MISSIONS WORK………...……………………………………………8
PROPOSED STRATEGY…………………..………………………………………...…12
CONCLUSION………….…………………..………………………………………...…15
WORKS CITED 17
ABSTRACT
Just imagine yourself as a foreign missionary. You have a heart for an unreached Islamic people group in Iran. The Caspian Sea’s coast is the backdrop to the community in which you would like to reach with the gospel. This is an unreached people group with a high Christian persecution rate. They have a Russian and Mongolian background but the worship of Allah is of upmost importance. They have no written language even though it is closely tied to the official language of Iran, Farsi. This is a place where agriculture dominates the economy and a mix of Russians, Armenians, and Turks make up this people group.
When it comes to sharing the gospel in the context of missions most people tend to focus on the 10/40 Window. This is where the majority of the clusters of unreached people groups are located. The Mazanderani of Iran is among those clusters. With a population of zero percent Christians the Mazanderani of Iran is one of the most unreached people groups. How would one begin when trying to reach the Mazanderani? Some would say it is not possible or it is too dangerous. These are some questions that this paper addresses.
With the seemingly largest roadblock to reaching the Mazanderani being that there is no real written language, some would argue that discipleship, Bible study and reading of the scripture is impossible. Would a mission’s team be able to live and disciple among the lost people of the Mazanderani? If so, what nontraditional methods need to be employed to reach the goal of spreading the gospel and discipling in this Northern Iranian community? One method that could be employed
BY
FELTON WOODSON
GLOBAL STUDIES SURVEY
GLST 500
DR. DANIEL SHEARD
March 2013
CONTENTS
ABSTRACT 3
BACKGROUND INFORMATION………………………………………………………5
A SURVEY OF MISSIONS WORK………...……………………………………………8
PROPOSED STRATEGY…………………..………………………………………...…12
CONCLUSION………….…………………..………………………………………...…15
WORKS CITED 17
ABSTRACT
Just imagine yourself as a foreign missionary. You have a heart for an unreached Islamic people group in Iran. The Caspian Sea’s coast is the backdrop to the community in which you would like to reach with the gospel. This is an unreached people group with a high Christian persecution rate. They have a Russian and Mongolian background but the worship of Allah is of upmost importance. They have no written language even though it is closely tied to the official language of Iran, Farsi. This is a place where agriculture dominates the economy and a mix of Russians, Armenians, and Turks make up this people group.
When it comes to sharing the gospel in the context of missions most people tend to focus on the 10/40 Window. This is where the majority of the clusters of unreached people groups are located. The Mazanderani of Iran is among those clusters. With a population of zero percent Christians the Mazanderani of Iran is one of the most unreached people groups. How would one begin when trying to reach the Mazanderani? Some would say it is not possible or it is too dangerous. These are some questions that this paper addresses.
With the seemingly largest roadblock to reaching the Mazanderani being that there is no real written language, some would argue that discipleship, Bible study and reading of the scripture is impossible. Would a mission’s team be able to live and disciple among the lost people of the Mazanderani? If so, what nontraditional methods need to be employed to reach the goal of spreading the gospel and discipling in this Northern Iranian community? One method that could be employed
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