
Pray for Peoples of the World
peoples
Praying for peoples of the world who most lack access to the Gospel is a practical and effective way Alliance people can help fulfill the Great Commission.
Below are descriptions of seven people group clusters and listings of the specific groups within those clusters. Click on the name of individual people groups to learn about them and pray for their need of gospel access. See where the seven clusters are located on our Pray for Peoples Map. Purchase a set of cluster group Prayer Cards so you can pray on the go.
Mediterranean Peoples
This area includes peoples in the Middle East and North African nations. But are you surprised to know that there are also many Middle Eastern and North African peoples living north of the Mediterranean Sea? Because of significant migration of Middle Eastern and North African people to Southern Europe historically and in the last several decades, Muslim peoples all around the Mediterranean are in need of Good News. As well, Jewish people in Israel and throughout Europe are under-reached.
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16 PEOPLES OF SPECIAL PRAYER FOCUS
- Arab, North Africa and Diaspora:
- Arab, Tunisian (Tunisia, France)
- Arab, Libyan (Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, France)
- Arab, Moroccan (Morocco, Spain, France, Netherlands)
- Arab, Egyptian
- Berber, Kabyle (Morocco, France)
- Arab, Middle East and Diaspora:
- Arab, Syrian (Syria, France, Mexico)
- Arab, Palestinian (Palestinian Territories, Jordan, Europe)
- Arab, Jordanian
- Arab, Lebanese (Lebanon, USA, Turkey, Mexico, Europe)
- Arab, Iraqi
- Northern Iraqi
- Alawite (Iraq)
- Displaced and Refugee Diaspora in Middle East:
- Jew, Homeland and Diaspora: Jew, Israeli
- Albanian: Albanian, Gheg/Kosovar (Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia)
Diaspora is a group of people who live outside the area in which they had lived for a long time or in which their ancestors lived. (Merriam Webster online dictionary)
Post-Christian European and Latino Peoples
One challenging reality in completing the Great Commission is the decline of faith in historic Christian lands. Many Christians in North and South America trace their spiritual lineage to European roots. But today, while cathedrals and cultural forms of the church remain in much of Europe and Latin America, whole people groups and significant segments of populations are no longer hearing a meaningful expression of the life-changing gospel.
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14 PEOPLES OF SPECIAL PRAYER FOCUS
- French: French (France)
- German: German (Germany)
- Spaniard: Spaniard (Spain)
- Portuguese: Portuguese (Portugal)
- Italian: Italian (Italy)
- Bosniak: Bosniak (Bosnia-Herzegovina)
- Serb: Serb (Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina)
- Croat: Croat (Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina)
- Russian: Russian (Russia, Ukraine)
- Ukrainian: Ukrainian (Ukraine, Russia)
- Georgian: Georgian (Georgia)
- Latino in Southern Europe: Latin American Mestizo
- Uruguayan: Uruguayan (Uruguay)
- Guarani: Guarani (Paraguay)
Turkic, Persian and Tibetan Peoples
This area of the globe includes people groups that are among the least-reached in the modern era of missions. The cultures of this part of the world were shaped by the emperors of the East who followed their ancestor, Genghis Khan, and by Arab conquests from the West that vied with Persians for control of the Silk Road trade routes. Religious life today has been shaped by centuries of Buddhist monasticism in the Himalayans or by the Islamic influence of the 500-year Ottoman Empire rule over most of Central Asia. More recent forces also impacted these regions, ultimately introducing Soviet and Chinese communism and cold war geopolitics. This tangle of cultures and languages have left some peoples fighting for their lost homelands and others trying to jump on the globalization train, posing significant challenges to the goal of carrying the gospel “to all peoples.”
Please note that by following the links below, you will be leaving cmalliance.org and entering the joshuaproject.net Web site.
14 PEOPLES OF SPECIAL PRAYER FOCUS
- Turk: Turk (Turkey, Germany, other European diaspora)
- Kurd, Homeland and Diaspora
- Kurd, Kurmanji (Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Syria, Germany)
- Kurd, Central (Iraq, Iran, Kuwait)
- Kurd, Turkish-Speaking (Turkey)
- Gurani (Iraq, Iran)
- Uzbeks: Uzbek, Northern (Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia)
- Tajik: Tajik (Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Russia)
- Kazakh: Kazakh (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, China, Russia)
- Mongolian:
- Mongol, Khalka (Mongolia)
- Mongolian, Peripheral (China)
- Kalmyk-Oriat: Kalmyk-Oriat (Mongolia, Russia, China)
- Tibetan:
- Central Tibetans (China)
- Amdo, Hbrogpa (China)
- Amdo, Rongmahbrogpa (China)
Diaspora is a group of people who live outside the area in which they had lived for a long time or in which their ancestors lived. (Merriam Webster online dictionary)
South Asian Peoples
The northern half of India is home to more than 40 percent of the world’s distinct people groups, which are generally viewed as unreached. The nation’s diverse cultures and languages, the massive numbers of people groups, the wide array of religious expression, and the complexity of the highly structured social system, defy simple explanation. These factors, along with India being one of the most densely populated nations on earth, make proclamation and demonstration of the gospel very challenging. Missional activity in India has produced significant networks of churches in the southern half of the country, while the vast majority of peoples in the north live and die without ever hearing a single clear explanation of the gospel. Fewer distinct peoples are on our prayer list here, but their combined population surpasses the collective total of all other peoples on the list, except the Han Chinese!
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4 PEOPLES OF SPECIAL PRAYER FOCUS
Southeast Asian Peoples
Wonderful moves of God’s Spirit have produced remarkable numbers of Jesus followers in Vietnam and other parts of the former Indochina-areas rich in the history of Alliance ministry. Within this oval today, however, some church networks are still recovering from the genocide suffered decades earlier. As well, a significant number of people groups with distinct cultures and languages populate mountainous areas just beyond the reach of some historic Alliance spheres of ministry, still awaiting the news of Jesus.
Please note that by following the links below, you will be leaving cmalliance.org and entering the joshuaproject.net Web site.
11 PEOPLES OF SPECIAL PRAYER FOCUS
- Miao/Hmong: Miao/Hmong —includes 54 Miao/Hmong peoples (China, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand)
- Vietnamese: Vietnamese —especially in Southeast Asian diaspora
- Khmer: Khmer, Central (Cambodia)
- Tampuen: Tampuen (Cambodia)
- Kachok: Kaco, Kachok (Cambodia)
- Bunong: Bunong, Phnong (Cambodia)
- Kuy: Kuy, Kuay, Sei (Thailand, Laos, Cambodia)
- Jarai: Jarai (Vietnam, Cambodia)
- Lao: Lao (Laos)
- Thai: Thai, Central (Thailand)
- Isan: Isan (Thailand)
East Asian and Malay Peoples
Burgeoning Chinese cities remain packed with masses insulated from the gospel by a peculiar mix of both communist and capitalist secularism. Japan’s populous and prosperous islands are home to only small numbers of evangelical believers. Indonesia, while dominated by Malay peoples, is the world’s most populous Muslim nation. Alliance ministry of the past progressed from China southward through the many islands on this part of the globe. Even as fruitful investment matures in some parts of these regions, many people groups still lacking adequate gospel access.
Please note that by following the links below, you will be leaving cmalliance.org and entering the joshuaproject.net Web site.
12 PEOPLES OF SPECIAL PRAYER FOCUS
- Han Chinese: Han Chinese, Mandarin —840 million in China! (Indonesia, Australia, Myanmar, Singapore, Taiwan, United States, Vietnam and many diaspora locations)
- Zhuang: Zhuang —includes 25 Zhuang peoples (Dispersed across China)
- Tujia: Tujia (China)
- Taiwanese: Taiwanese-speaking Chinese: Han Chinese, Min Nan (Taiwan)
- Vietnamese in Taiwan: Vietnamese (Taiwan)
- Japanese: Japanese (Japan)
- Majority population peoples of Indonesia:
Historic Alliance Ministry and Today’s Alliance Partner Networks
When there is no gospel access within a people group of the world, it can only be provided by “outsiders” who care. As Alliance staff labor throughout the world, and as we pray, we can make significant progress in creating access to peoples who lack it. Our Pray for Peoples Map also highlights areas of historic Alliance ministry where outreach to peoples lacking access continues. This ongoing ministry is carried out today with partners from our Alliance family around the world, most of whom are part of the Alliance World Fellowship. In these areas, “insider” gospel access is now available through strong networks of indigenous churches who sustain witness inside their own people group, with many even multiplying that witness to other groups within their reach.
Pray for Peoples Maps
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