The Rashaida of Eritrea

The Rashaida of Eritrea, numbering approximately 30,500 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are a Baggara ethnic group inhabiting the coast plain of the Red Sea stretching from the Sudanese city of Port Sudan to the Eritrean city of Massawa and can also be known as Arab, Saudi, Rashayda, Rashaida. They are an Diaspora people, in the Arab, Sudan people cluster of the Arab World affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Islam - Sunni. They primarily speak Arabic, Hijazi.

Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Vít Hassan - Flickr Vít Hassan - Flickr Licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: North Africa and Middle East Peoples
Country: Eritrea
People Cluster: Arab, Sudan
Primary Language(s): Arabic, Hijazi (acw)
Primary Religion(s): Islam - Sunni
Population: 30,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG042707

Pray for the Rashaida of Eritrea

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: Islam - Sunni
Religious Affiliation: Islam

%
Islam - Sunni Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Arabic, Hijazi
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

%
Arabic, Hijazi Speakers

Bible Resources in Arabic, Hijazi:

Next steps for the Rashaida

The Rashaida 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 Rashaida

The Rashaida 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 Rashaida

The Rashaida 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 Rashaida of Eritrea

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.

All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you. For kingship belongs to the LORD, and he rules over the nations.
readPsalm 22:27-28

Pray that entire families will turn to the Lord in repentance and faith, and that they will worship Him and declare His righteousness to the nations.

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?
readPsalm 42:2

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will thirst for God and be satisfied when they abide in Him.

He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him.
readJohn 1:7

Pray that God will raise up witnesses to testify about Jesus so that all might believe, knowing that He is light and in Him there is no darkness at all.

Rashaida reported in the following countries (ROP3):

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

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