This document outlines Bethany's GAP Strategy to reach unreached people groups through developing Global Access Platforms. The strategy has 4 keys: working with the local church in each region, partnering with existing regional ministries, providing compassion and relief work, and training cross-cultural workers from similar ethnic groups. The development of each GAP follows stages, beginning with surveying a strategic region, analyzing the local context, mobilizing and training the local church, building training facilities, developing relief programs, commissioning workers, and continually improving and expanding the work.

1. GAP STRATEGY
Global Access Platforms

2. For 2000 years the light of Christ has
advanced throughout the earth …

3. … yet, half of the world has yet to hear
of the Good News.

4. How can this be?

5. The harder half has yet to hear.

6. Bethany has been developing,
equipping and sending missionaries
everywhere for 70 years.

7. Our focus has been partnership with
the local church in nations bordering
regions and countries without a
Christian witness;
also known as the Unreached.

8. Unreached People Group:
a people with less than 2% evangelical population.
When adding in populations which are 5% or less
evangelical, we find half of the earth hasn’t heard,
and likely is not about to.

9. The GAP Strategy
GAP stands for Global Access Platforms.
GAP Strategy seeks to assist in the completion of this
monumental task. Through this holistic strategy we seek to
regionally develop platforms with unity of vision but diversity of
ministries. No Global Access Platform is like another in expression,
but shared principles for development and strategic access.

10. There are 4 Keys to Successful GAP Development

11. Working with the Local Church
When we strategically analyze a region in light of concentrated
pockets of unreached people groups, we are looking to develop
partnerships first with the local churches of the region whenever
possible. The local church is our bedrock for developing a
relevant harvest force. The people of a geographically focused
region will often carry the proper ethnic makeup, language
similarity, cultural awareness, and medical immunity.

12. Regional Ministry Partners
At each site we will prepare research which includes work already
being done by other ministries in efforts to communicate to avoid
redundancies and rather generate synergy. If we discover God
calling us to a region and work is already successfully underway,
we will strategically seek to come alongside existing foundations
and assist accordingly.

13. Compassion and Relief Work
The Gospel is clear that we are to love God, and love our
neighbors… to care for them and their needs. We will prepare
thorough research to understand the most relevant needs of a
region or group we are praying to reach in order to employ
effective resources useful in meeting their physical needs as well
as their spiritual needs.

14. We Train Cross-Cultural Workers
It is important to understand that we are rarely so blessed to
know an individual who has received Christ from an unreached
people group… rather, we are typically required to train unrelated
people groups who have some similarity in ethnicity, immunity
and language to cross borders to reach an unreached group.
Before sending new workers there is often great training in
language, cultural assimilation, and customs preparation.

15. 1. Survey for strategic regional platform placement
2. Analysis of local church, language, and cultural
context
3. Trainers sent to begin mobilizing local church
4. Build training facility for equipping
5. Develop compassion and relief work funds
6. Workers commissioned
7. Audit work, improve practices, continue sending
8. Expand into new platform
Development Stages of Global Access Platforms: