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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Laz of Türkiye

The Laz of Türkiye, numbering approximately 175,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of Turkey They are an Indigenous people, in the Caucasus people cluster of the Eurasian Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Islam - Sunni. They primarily speak Turkish.

Laz in Turkiye photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Daniel James Grace

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Central Asian Peoples
Country: Türkiye
People Cluster: Caucasus
Primary Language(s): Turkish (tur)
Primary Religion(s): Islam - Sunni
Population: 175,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG024576
View on Joshua Project

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Pray for the Laz of Türkiye

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Islam - Sunni
Religious Affiliation: Islam

%
Islam - Sunni Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Turkish
Language Family: Turkic

%
Turkish Speakers

Media Resources in Turkish:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Turkish:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Turkish bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Next steps for the Laz

The Laz 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 Laz

The Laz 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 Laz

The Laz 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 Laz of Türkiye

Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
readLuke 15:7

Pray that God will convict the lost of their sin, give them an urgency to run to Him for forgiveness, and feel His welcoming arms around them when they turn to Him.

For my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples.
readLuke 2:30

Pray that the lost will see the salvation of God, and that they will trust in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
readRomans 12:1

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will offer their bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, knowing that this is their spiritual worship.

To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law.
read1 Corinthians 9:20

Pray that believers from similar cultures will be compelled by Christ's love to reach people who don't know the gospel, and that those people will receive the good news with joy.

Laz (ROP3 - 106648) 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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