he Amazon Basin of South America.
r
ica
NOTT
me
Consider 30 million people that live in
i
L
K
an almost inaccessible area the size of
in A
T
pH
at the United States. Much of the region can only
By
or L be reached by plane or boat. It is so vast and
remote that some of the indigenous people
ions f
groups would be completely unknown, if they
p
e
r
at
hadn’t been spotted by satellite. Among 270
f
O
of those groups, less than two percent of the
“It is so vast and remote that
t
or o
population is evangelical and about 85 are
ec
some of the indigenous people
ir completely isolated from the outside world.
D
After decades of missionary work, the
groups would be completely Amazon Basin remains one of the world’s
unknown, if they hadn’t been
most unevangelized regions. In the Amazon
areas of Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, and
spotted by satellite.” Colombia, an estimated 30,000 river towns
and villages have no evangelical church.
Why is this true?
• Difficult and sometimes dangerous
areas to access. Thousands of miles of
dense jungle form an immense wall for those
wanting to take the Gospel to this area.
Areas are remote, and travel is slow with
many hazards along the way.
The Amazon Basin of
• Governments limit or prohibit access.
South America is one
Some indigenous groups are kept isolated
seeking to preserve their culture. A missionary
of the most isolated wrote, “They don’t want them to hear the
areas in the world, but
Gospel. The government a lot of times sees
indigenous peoples as museum pieces–
the BMAA is using
something they can show. They are actively
innovative ministries
against indigenous peoples being educated ...
to reach the unreached.
having choices.”
• Cultural barriers. Many indigenous
groups are resistant to change. Among the
11,000 Kogi people of Colombia, there are
only about 100 believers. In non-Indian
communities, there is often a culture of
unbelief. Subsistence farmers live from day
to day with little regard for spiritual things
or even their own future.
• Guerilla warfare and drug traffic.
Remote areas have historically given cover
and refuge to militant political groups and
illicit trade. These real and present dangers
often obstruct mission work.
continued >
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