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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Swiss Germans of Switzerland

The Swiss Germans of Switzerland, numbering approximately 5,510,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are the largest linguistic and cultural group of Switzerland. Swiss Germans are Swiss, not Germans from Germany, with a distinct identity shaped by Swiss history, federalism, and their everyday use of Swiss German dialectsDeutschschweizer, Suisse alémanique, Svizzera tedesca They are an Indigenous people, in the Swiss people cluster of the Eurasian Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Christianity - Roman Catholicism. They primarily speak German, Swiss.

Swiss German in Sweden photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Andreas Haeberli

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: European Peoples
Country: Switzerland
People Cluster: Swiss
Primary Language(s): German, Swiss (gsw)
Primary Religion(s): Christianity - Roman Catholicism
Population: 5,510,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, Dispersed CP Activity
People Group ID: PG000586
View on Joshua Project

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Pray for the Swiss Germans of Switzerland

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Christianity - Roman Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

%
Christianity - Roman Cath… Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: German, Swiss
Language Family: Indo-European

%
German, Swiss Speakers

Media Resources in German, Swiss:

Films:

No entries found for: German, Swiss(gsw). Help build some!

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in German, Swiss:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the German, Swiss bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Next steps for the Swiss Germans

The Swiss Germans are Unengaged and Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Next steps for the Swiss Germans

The Swiss Germans are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Next steps for the Swiss Germans

The Swiss Germans are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Swiss Germans of Switzerland

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
readRomans 3:23

Pray that those who live in fear, guilt and discontentment because of sin will see their need for change, hear, and receive the good news of freedom from sin through Christ.

Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.
readMatthew 13:8-9

Pray that they will have open hearts and minds to the Word of God, and that it will take root in their lives and bear fruit for His glory.

The LORD bless you and keep you.
readNumbers 6:24

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be blessed with God's grace, trusting that He will never abandon them.

So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy.
readRomans 9:16

Ask God to raise up people who will trust in His sovereignty as they share the gospel, knowing that it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy.

Swiss German (ROP3 - 103304) reported in the following countries:

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Definitions page.

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