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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Chewa Nyanja of Malawi

The Chewa Nyanja of Malawi, numbering approximately 8,310,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique. They are an Indigenous people, in the Bantu, Chewa-Sena people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Ethnoreligion. They primarily speak Chichewa.

Western Nyanja in Zambia photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Charles Keen

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-saharan Africa Peoples
Country: Malawi
People Cluster: Bantu, Chewa-Sena
Primary Language(s): Chichewa (nya)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 8,310,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG015333

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Pray for the Chewa Nyanja of Malawi

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Chichewa
Language Family: Niger-Congo

%
Chichewa Speakers

Media Resources in Chichewa:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Chichewa:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Chichewa bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

Next steps for the Chewa Nyanja

The Chewa Nyanja 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 Chewa Nyanja

The Chewa Nyanja 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 Chewa Nyanja

The Chewa Nyanja 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 Chewa Nyanja of Malawi

For you, O LORD, are most high over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.
readPsalm 97:9

Pray that those who don't yet know Him will recognize the Lord as the Most High and turn from spiritual darkness to worship Him above all else.

...I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
readPsalm 13:5

Ask God to bring many to trust in His unfailing love and cause their hearts to rejoice in His salvation.

For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
read1 Peter 2:25

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will proclaim the good news and the lost will recognize their need for the Shepherd and turn to Jesus Christ in faith.

But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.
read2 Corinthians 3:16

Give thanks to God for believers around the world who are willing to cross cultures to share the gospel with those who are perishing. Pray that He will work through their witness to draw many to turn to Him.

Nyanja, Chewa (ROP3 - 107548) 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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