How to Find Unreached People Groups in Your City with Google Maps
by Aaron Myers - Interim President/CEO
As followers of Christ committed to bringing the gospel to all peoples, we often look outward — to distant nations, remote villages, or unreached groups far away. But what if opportunities to engage unreached people groups are right in our own cities, neighborhoods, and courtyards? What if God has placed people with different cultures, languages, or faith backgrounds just around the corner — calling us to notice, learn and look for opportunities to bless them?
With this video tutorial, we’ll show you a simple strategy, using Google Maps, to identify the locations in your city where people from unreached people groups can be found.
Step-by-Step: Finding Unreached Groups in Your City Using Google Maps
Here’s the method we walk through in the video tutorial above:
Open Google Maps, ideally on desktop or in a browser where you can create a list of locations.
Search with targeted keywords that tend to lead to cultural and faith community hubs. Examples:
Ethnic grocery
Halal Meat
Ethnic restaurant
Mosque / Masjid
Temple
Shrine
Cultural center
Pin or add each location you find to your custom list / map. This lets you visualize clusters, travel distance, etc.
Go and see — visit some of those places (taste food, observe, introduce yourself kindly) and begin to listen, learn, and build trust.
What to Do Next
Visit: Stop by a grocery store or restaurant. Be curious and kind. Ask lots of good questions. Ask about the languages spoken by all the people who shop there. Practice the ministry of presence.
Learn: Use Joshua Project to see if the groups connected to these places are considered unreached.
Pray: Ask God to bless the people who own and frequent that location. Ask God to open doors for friendship and witness.
Engage: Build relationships that allow the love of Jesus to be seen and heard.
Take the First Step
This week, open Google Maps and do one search. See what God shows you. The unreached may be closer than you think.
Learn More about Unreach People Groups ›
Feel moved to act? We'd love to hear about it!
Contact Us and let us know what you tried and how it went!
