The Mission- John Chau, Martyrdom, and the Eternal Destiny of Unreached People Groups

A new documentary was recently released called, “The Mission” tells the story of John Chau. In 2018, Chau, a young American missionary, was killed by arrows while attempting to contact one of the world’s most isolated Indigenous peoples on remote North Sentinel Island off the coast of India.

The Sentinelese tribe are one of the six native and often reclusive peoples of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (just off the coast of India). Unlike the others, the Sentinelese appear to have consistently refused any interaction with the outside world. They are hostile to outsiders and have killed people who approached or landed on the island. In 1956, the Government of India declared North Sentinel Island a tribal reserve and prohibited travel within 3 nautical miles of it. It further maintains a constant armed patrol in the surrounding waters to prevent intrusions by outsiders.

In spite of all this, John Chau expressed a clear desire to convert the tribe and was aware of the legal and mortal risks he was taking by his efforts, writing in his diary, "Lord, is this island Satan's last stronghold, where none have heard or even had the chance to hear your name?", "The eternal lives of this tribe is at hand", and "I think it's worthwhile to declare Jesus to these people. Please do not be angry at them or at God if I get killed ... Don't retrieve my body."

Chau’s death was a tragedy, but it raised some very important ethical, spiritual, and theological questions. Why did John Chau go to the Sentinelese, even though he knew that they didn’t wish to be contacted and it could cost him his life? Was what John Chau did ethical? Was there a wiser approach maybe he could’ve taken? What happens to people who have never heard the gospel? Should we as Christians be attempting to convert those from unreached tribes and indigenous people groups?