The Motilón-Barí of Colombia

The Motilón-Barí of Colombia, numbering approximately 3,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic group indigenous to the Catatumbo River basin in Colombia and Venezuela, descendants of the pre-Columbian Tairona culture and can also be known as Motilone, Barí, Bari/Motilon, Motilón. They are an Indigenous people, in the Amazon people cluster of the Latin-Caribbean Americans affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Christianity - Folk Catholicism. They primarily speak Barí.

Motilón-Barí in United States photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Bruce Olson

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: American Peoples
Country: Colombia
People Cluster: Amazon
Primary Language(s): Barí (mot)
Primary Religion(s): Christianity - Folk Catholicism
Population: 3,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG016261
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Motilón-Barí of Colombia

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: Christianity - Folk Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

%
Christianity - Folk Catho… Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Barí
Language Family: Chibchan

%
Barí Speakers

Media Resources in Barí:

Films:

No entries found for: Barí(mot). Help build some!

Bible Resources in Barí:

Or check out the Barí bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Next steps for the Motilón-Barí

The Motilón-Barí 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 Motilón-Barí

The Motilón-Barí 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 Motilón-Barí

The Motilón-Barí 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 Motilón-Barí of Colombia

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
readRomans 8:1

Pray that God will reassure those who may be struggling with the cost of following Jesus that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near.
readIsaiah 55:6

Pray that the lost will seek the Lord while He may be found and call upon Him while He is near, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
read2 Corinthians 5:17

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will understand and experience the truth that in Christ, they are a new creation, and the old has gone and the new has come.

The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.
readActs 17:30

Pray that those God sends to cross cultures will boldly and lovingly declare that God commands all people everywhere to repent.

Motilone, Bari (ROP3 - 106823) 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.

Scroll to Top