The Pech Indians
Recently during our training trip to La Ceiba, Honduras, we found out that 32 Discovery Bible Studies had been started among the Pech tribe. We had no idea that any of our catalyzed groups were targeting them in any way.
That is how it happens in a church multiplying movement.....the work multiplies and enters new areas before the strategists even know that a group is targeted. A couple of years ago when I was in western Honduras with Randy Travis, we were in a very rural area where a well was being drilled. During our time there, Randy pointed to a distant mountain and told me that there was a remote village there that one of our church planting catalysts was planning to reach. A few days after I arrived back in the states, Randy told me that when Adiel finally got to the village (to which he had to walk since there were no roads there) he found a Discovery Bible Study already happening.....I seem to remember that it was a 3rd generation study from one of our earlier groups.....and our leader had no idea that anyone from earlier groups were planning on spreading the word in that direction!
So it is with the Pech. This is a very small tribe, that was a much larger tribe in the past, but through the history of the last few centuries has been greatly reduced. The Joshua project lists that there are less than 1 percent evangelicals among them, although there may be more than that. As is the case in many remote tribes and groups, there is conflicting information regarding the Pech. Some data suggests that there are only a little over 1,700 people in this group, and others suggest as many as 3,800. There may be 6 evangelical churches among the group, according to my research, and if this is the case, the percentage of evangelicals is higher than reported by the Joshua project. We do know that there has been some evangelization of this group, because one of the early pioneers with this people group was our own strategy coordinator, Randy Travis, who evangelized among them and planted at least 1 church in the 1980s. So Randy was 1 of the early pioneers of the gospel in those days, and now it seems that the work is moving forward....the church planting movement that he is catalyzing has sent disciplers among the Pech and 32 new groups have been birthed since December!
Please join us in prayer for this group. The Christian Fellowship School is having their Missions Emphasis Week this week, and they are adopting the Pech as their project for this year. They hope to raise some funds for some megavoice machines to be used to help start and multiply DBS groups among the Pech. Pray that the people in these studies will come to faith and obedience in Christ and that they will be the seed of a church planting movement that will completely evangelize this people group.
As always, we are finding that it is all God's work, and we are joining Him in it!
That is how it happens in a church multiplying movement.....the work multiplies and enters new areas before the strategists even know that a group is targeted. A couple of years ago when I was in western Honduras with Randy Travis, we were in a very rural area where a well was being drilled. During our time there, Randy pointed to a distant mountain and told me that there was a remote village there that one of our church planting catalysts was planning to reach. A few days after I arrived back in the states, Randy told me that when Adiel finally got to the village (to which he had to walk since there were no roads there) he found a Discovery Bible Study already happening.....I seem to remember that it was a 3rd generation study from one of our earlier groups.....and our leader had no idea that anyone from earlier groups were planning on spreading the word in that direction!
So it is with the Pech. This is a very small tribe, that was a much larger tribe in the past, but through the history of the last few centuries has been greatly reduced. The Joshua project lists that there are less than 1 percent evangelicals among them, although there may be more than that. As is the case in many remote tribes and groups, there is conflicting information regarding the Pech. Some data suggests that there are only a little over 1,700 people in this group, and others suggest as many as 3,800. There may be 6 evangelical churches among the group, according to my research, and if this is the case, the percentage of evangelicals is higher than reported by the Joshua project. We do know that there has been some evangelization of this group, because one of the early pioneers with this people group was our own strategy coordinator, Randy Travis, who evangelized among them and planted at least 1 church in the 1980s. So Randy was 1 of the early pioneers of the gospel in those days, and now it seems that the work is moving forward....the church planting movement that he is catalyzing has sent disciplers among the Pech and 32 new groups have been birthed since December!
Please join us in prayer for this group. The Christian Fellowship School is having their Missions Emphasis Week this week, and they are adopting the Pech as their project for this year. They hope to raise some funds for some megavoice machines to be used to help start and multiply DBS groups among the Pech. Pray that the people in these studies will come to faith and obedience in Christ and that they will be the seed of a church planting movement that will completely evangelize this people group.
As always, we are finding that it is all God's work, and we are joining Him in it!
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