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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Balanta of Guinea-Bissau

The Balanta of Guinea-Bissau, numbering approximately 540,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an indigenous community of Guinea-Bissau; a dialect subgroup of Balanta (ble) . They are an Indigenous people, in the Atlantic people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Ethnoreligion - Animism. They primarily speak Balanta.

Bissau-Guineans in Canada photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: West Africa Gateway

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-saharan Africa Peoples
Country: Guinea-Bissau
People Cluster: Atlantic
Primary Language(s): Balanta (ble)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion - Animism
Population: 540,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG013444

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Pray for the Balanta of Guinea-Bissau

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion - Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

%
Ethnoreligion - Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Balanta
Language Family: Niger-Congo

%
Balanta Speakers

Media Resources in Balanta:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Balanta:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Balanta bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

Next steps for the Balanta

The Balanta 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 Balanta

The Balanta 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 Balanta

The Balanta 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 Balanta of Guinea-Bissau

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
readPsalm 73:26

Pray that those who are lost and struggling to find hope will find their strength and hope in God, recognizing Him as their portion and deliverer forever.

O LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.
readPsalm 104:24

Pray that they will see the wisdom and power of God in His creation and praise Him for His mighty works.

So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.
read1 Corinthians 3:7

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be unified in making disciples and be used by God to further His kingdom near and far.

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
readEphesians 6:13

Pray that God will send believers to the lost of this people group and that, as they share the gospel, they will take up the whole armor of God so that they can stand firm when trials come.

Balanta, Kentohe reported in the following countries (ROP3):

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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