The Sereer of Gambia

The Sereer of Gambia, numbering approximately 66,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a matrilineal people whose ancestors fled forced Islamization in 11th-century Takrur to found the Sine and Saloum kingdoms, ruled by kings titled Maad a Sinig and Maad Saloum, resisting further Islamization through the 19th-century jihad era. They mostly adhere to Folk Islam and Serer is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: Sereer

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Gambia
People Cluster: Atlantic
Primary Language(s): Serer (srr)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Islam
Population: 66,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG042196
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Sereer of Gambia

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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Folk Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

78%
%
Folk Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Serer
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Serer-Sine Speakers

Media Resources in Serer:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Serer:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
1987 Bible Society of Senegal✓✓

1 entry

Or check out the Serer bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Sereer 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.

Next steps for the Sereer:
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

Pray specifically for the Sereer of Gambia

And he said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many."
readMark 14:23-24

Pray for those who may have heard the gospel but have not yet submitted their lives to Christ, that they will finally see the sacrifice which He made for them and surrender their lives to Him.

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb’
readRevelation 7:9-10

Pray that many people will receive the gospel and will be part of the great multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language, clothed in white robes and palm branches, proclaiming salvation belongs to our God.

Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
readColossians 3:2

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will set their minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, as they look to Christ for guidance and strength.

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe."
readJohn 6:35-36

Praise God for the things such as bread that He has provided as natural conversation bridges to the gospel. Pray that believers will use any bridges He provides to share the gospel with those who do not yet know the good news.

Sereer Across Countries (ROP3 - 108862) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

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 Data Standards section.

Scroll to Top