Tag: Mapping

Mapping Churches & Tribes in Africa

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Beginning in early 2026, I have been heavily focused on mapping tribal people groups and language divisions across the 20+ countries where Gospelink facilitates indigenous missionaries to make disciples and establish Biblically-sound churches. While continuing this work in South America (for nearly 20 years!), I am now applying my investigative mapping skills to uncover the ethnolinguistic landscape of Eastern Africa. Gospelink has been engaged in many of these countries since 1998, the fruit of which… Continue reading

Mapping the Tribes of Zambia

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The African continent is extremely rich in native tribal cultures and languages. One of my projects with Gospelink has been to map the tribal divisions of Zambia. The Zambian government officially recognizes 73 distinct tribes across its 10 provinces. There are, however, other tribes present that have migrated from neighboring countries. As with other such ethnolinguistic mapping projects, this was a challenging assignment, requiring research into many data sources. Gospelink partners with indigenous pastors and… Continue reading

Mapping the Tribes of Colombia’s Pacific Region

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Ethnolinguistic Map of Indigenous Tribes in the Pacific Region of Colombia.

This region is home to many tribes speaking a wide variety of indigenous languages. Most of these tribes can trace their ancestral roots to this region since Pre-Columbian times. Today they live as unique nations (ethne) within communities dispersed widely throughout the jungles, mountains, and Pacific coastline. Their communication with the outside world often remains limited. Unfortunately, this geographical region favors both production and transportation of illicit drugs, among other criminal enterprises. Many have fallen… Continue reading

Colombia’s Unreached Tribes

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Deep within the dense jungles and vast savannah regions of Colombia are nearly a hundred different tribes, each one a unique ethnos – an ethnolinguistic nation created by God. Most have little to no knowledge of Biblical Christianity and have never heard the gospel. The majority of these tribes still maintain their indigenous native American languages so some extent, though Spanish has increasingly been adopted. They vary in population size, from tens of thousands to… Continue reading

The People Groups of Nepal

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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

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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

Research & Mapping in South America

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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

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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

Hidden Tribe Emerges from the Jungle

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Video footage was released recently by FUNAI (Brazil’s National Indian Foundation) of a formerly hidden tribe emerging from the jungle in the State of Acre near Brazil’s border with Peru. This tribe has been living in voluntary isolation, possibly since the Amazon rubber boom of the late 1800’s, perhaps longer. Speaking a language from the Panoan linguistic family, interpreters brought in by FUNAI were able to communicate with the group of three young men. Transcripts of… Continue reading