The Vai of Liberia

The Vai of Liberia, numbering approximately 222,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of Liberia. They are an Indigenous people, in the Mande people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Folk Islam. They primarily speak Vai.

Vai in Liberia photo
Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Vai

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Liberia
People Cluster: Mande
Primary Language(s): Vai (vai)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Islam
Population: 222,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG013530
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Vai of Liberia

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Folk Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

%
Folk Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Vai
Language Family: Mande

%
Vai Speakers

Media Resources in Vai:

Films:

Bible Resources in Vai:

Or check out the Vai bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Next steps for the Vai

The Vai 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 Vai

The Vai 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 Vai

The Vai 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 Vai of Liberia

Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!
readPsalm 67:3

Pray that those who are lost and unaware of God's blessings will come to know Him as the one true God, put their trust in Him, and join in praising Him among the nations.

Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day.
readPsalm 119:97

Pray that the lost will have access to God's Word in their language and treasure it deeply, meditating on God's promises and precepts.

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
readColossians 2:6-7

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be rooted and built up in Him, abounding in thanksgiving for the grace and mercy He has shown them.

For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.
read2 Corinthians 1:5

When any who might believe suffer for the sake of the gospel, ask God to deepen their understanding of His grace so that they may share it freely with those who have not received it.

Vai (ROP3 - 110483) reported in the following countries:

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

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