Colombia’s Unreached Tribes

In Colombia have the pleasure of working alongside a special movement of exclusively Amazonian tribal Christian leaders known as LICAC (Indigenous Christian Leaders of the Colombian Amazon) as they prepare and mobilize missionaries from their churches to go and engage some of that country’s most inaccessible tribes with the gospel. The map below is an initial overview of Colombia’s unreached jungle tribes. As their work progresses to the expeditionary phase I will facilitate them by… Continue reading

The People Groups of Nepal

Nepal is a country as varied ethnoliguistically as it is geographically. With an estimated population of over 30 million, it is home to hundreds of indigenous People Groups, most of whom are unreached with the gospel. I began my research into Nepal’s People Groups a decade ago as part of a larger project through Etnopedia which can be viewed at the Etnopedia Nepal page (a work in progress). As my research focus for the last… Continue reading

Mapping the People Groups of Cambodia

This map is the product of research I conducted to identify and locate Cambodia’s Unreached People Groups (UPGs) for the purpose of providing a country-wide overview for a network of indigenous Cambodian church planting missionaries. I have traveled previously through Cambodia, and expect to revisit again soon as I work through Gospelink to develop a research strategy for these missionaries. Cambodia’s population is estimated at almost 17 million of which there are between 18-23 indigenous… Continue reading

Mango Maps and South America Research

In the fall of 2022, I began splitting my time in research and mapping of Ethnic People Groups between the needs of ALTECO in South America and Gospelink in 16 countries across several continents. To accommodate the massive new demands, my focus on the Amazon jungle region has had to narrow (become more refined) somewhat. I worked out as a goal with our South America team that for the first half of 2023 I would… Continue reading

Mapping the People Groups of Mozambique

For the last ten years, my focus has been to help missionaries in South America leverage research as a practical tool for ministry planning and outreach in the most remote and difficult to access regions of the Amazon jungle. While that focus has not changed, now that I also serve with Gospelink, the scope this work extends worldwide. A country of over 31 million, the Republic of Mozambique is located in southeastern Africa. As the… Continue reading

What is Etnopedia and why is it so important?

We are encouraged by all the questions we get about this important project that we first started working with full time in 2011 as we lived in Oaxaca, Mexico, and continued to be a part of through the years since while serving with ALTECO and now also with Gospelink. While on its surface, Etnopedia.org is an editable website, it is in fact much more. Etnopedia is a multi-lingual, international community of Evangelical Christians vested in… Continue reading

Equipping Leaders in Colombia!

At the heart of ALTECO is the desire to prepare indigenous Christian leaders to succeed in a uniquely difficult ministry. Making disciples, planting churches, and shepherding those churches to maturity deep in the Amazon jungle requires a special type of leader, one who is both called AND equipped. In keeping with this vision, ALTECO has partnered with Lead555 to bring a select group of leaders through a 3-year program that (in their words) “is not just about training, but journeying with leaders from idea to… Continue reading

Total lockdown in Panama

Total lock-down. We are in our second month of one of the most restrictive quarantine regimes in the Western Hemisphere. Though home-bound, our ministry has not abated; rather we find ourselves catching up on projects and preparing for upcoming field work, all the while managing a delicate balance between work and family needs. We liken this season to a months-long journey aboard a sailboat on the high seas. Responsibilities continue onboard; our ship is in… Continue reading

“Ides of March” upon us

As lockdown measures were announced here in Panama, I for some reason recalled the famous line by Shakespeare, “Beware the ides of March.” I must say, the timing is interesting. We know that in all circumstances the Lord is faithful. Not knowing where this crisis we now find ourselves in will lead, we are thankful for some very productive months leading to this new season under lockdown. In January, February and early March, Drake and other… Continue reading

Field Update – Bolivia

The purpose of ALTECO is to equip tribal Christian leaders of the Amazon and lowland regions of South America to effectively make disciples within their own communities and among other unreached tribes. We accomplish this by partnering with the local church (or churches); they are expected to lead while we assist them as necessary. Given the vastness of the region, local churches can be few and far between. Finding them is an arduous process, much… Continue reading