Cherrydale Baptist Church [+] Spreading a passion to love God and people above all else

There are an estimated 6,739 Unreached People Groups (UPGs) in the world today. That is nearly 10 UPGs for every member of Cherrydale Baptist Church . . . obviously a bit more than we can handle. However, we can make a difference in one. With this in mind, CBC will be focusing on one UPG for the next four years, with the desire of making an eternal impact. Our FOCUS FOR FOUR UPG is the Azerbaijani People Group.

 

We will attempt to Focus on the Azerbaijani People Group by:

 

1.     Learning about and appreciating this people and their culture.

2.     Praying for them.

3.     Sending short-term teams to Azerbaijan.

4.     Asking the Lord to raise up someone from our congregation to serve long-term among this UPG.

 

The UN estimates there are as many as 30 million Azerbaijani in Iran, 7 million in Azerbaijan, and 3.5 million in countries like Iraq, Turkey, and Russia.

 

Just 15 years ago there were only 50 known Azerbaijani Christian believers in the world. Now there are thought to be approximately 7,000. With only 0.02% of the nearly forty million Azerbaijanis as known believers, they remain one of the largest unreached people groups in the world.

 

The Azerbaijani culture is a blend of Turkic roots, Russian rule, and Persian influences (including Shiite Islam). They are also heavily influenced by Zoroastrianism, which had its birth in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan means “The Land of Fire”.  Every year Azerbaijanis celebrate Noruz, the Zoroastrian New Year. They jump through the flames of a fire in an attempt to be cleansed their sins.