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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Dendi of Benin

The Dendi of Benin, numbering approximately 337,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an ethnic group with roots in the Sahel Songhai Empire of the 15th and 16th centuries, indigenous to Benin and Nigeria. They are an Indigenous people, in the Songhai people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Islam - Folk. They primarily speak Dendi (Benin).

Dendi in Nigeria photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Jacques Taberlet - Wikimedia Jacques Taberlet - Wikimedia Licensed under CC BY 3.0

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-saharan Africa Peoples
Country: Benin
People Cluster: Songhai
Primary Language(s): Dendi (Benin) (ddn)
Primary Religion(s): Islam - Folk
Population: 337,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG012316

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Pray for the Dendi of Benin

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Islam - Folk
Religious Affiliation: Islam

%
Islam - Folk Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Dendi (Benin)
Language Family: Nilo-Saharan

%
Dendi (Benin) Speakers

Media Resources in Dendi (Benin):

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Dendi (Benin):

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Dendi (Benin) bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

Next steps for the Dendi

The Dendi 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 Dendi

The Dendi 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 Dendi

The Dendi 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 Dendi of Benin

For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the LORD made the heavens.
readPsalm 96:5

Pray that those who are seeking after worthless idols will not be satisfied until they seek the truth and find it in Christ.

Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know, and a nation that did not know you shall run to you, because of the LORD your God, and of the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you.
readIsaiah 55:5

Pray that those who do not know God will access the gospel, run to Him, and discover that He is the one their souls have been longing for.

"...I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
readMatthew 16:18b

Pray that God will build and grow His Church among this people.

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 the promise in Revelation 7:9-10 will encourage believers from among them or from nearby people groups to share the gospel with people who have never learned it.

Dendi (ROP3 - 102513) 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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