Brazil's Vanished Tribe Highlights Gospel Urgency

A remote indigenous tribe in the Brazilian Amazon apparently has been destroyed following a possible assault by drug traffickers -- a development that emphasizes the urgency of taking the Gospel to those who have never heard, Baptist Press reports.

First revealed to the world in February through stunning aerial images, the tribe -- whose name is unknown -- was protected by a government guard post. Survival International, a nonprofit organization focused on protecting the rights of tribal peoples, reported Aug. 8, however, that the post had been "overrun by heavily armed men" suspected to be drug traffickers. Concern about the tribe's well-being grew when a search by the Brazilian government's Indian affairs department (FUNAI) revealed no trace of the tribe but discovered a broken arrow in a rucksack allegedly belonging to one of the traffickers. A FUNAI official said such arrows are "the identity card of uncontacted Indians" and described the incident as a catastrophe.

The news emphasizes the urgency of the Great Commission and should spur Southern Baptists' missions efforts, said Tom Elliff, president of the International Mission Board. "This event is another very chilling reminder of the urgent nature of our mission endeavors," Elliff said. "We must reach out with the Gospel now, especially to the world's unengaged, unreached people groups. Our Lord's sobering reminder that 'night comes, when no man can work' is a call for faithfulness at a time when 'the fields are white unto harvest.'"

Though the IMB had no work among this tribe (Brazilian law prohibits it), Southern Baptist missionaries are legally sharing the Gospel with indigenous peoples in some South American countries.