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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Wakhi of Afghanistan

The Wakhi of Afghanistan, numbering approximately 17,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an indigenous community of Afghanistan and can also be known as Wakhani, Wakhi, Wakhani. They are an Indigenous people, in the Tajik people cluster of the Persian-Median affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Islam - Shia. They primarily speak Wakhi.

Wakhi in Tajikistan photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Robertino Radovix - Flickr Robertino Radovix - Flickr Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Central Asian Peoples
Country: Afghanistan
People Cluster: Tajik
Primary Language(s): Wakhi (wbl)
Primary Religion(s): Islam - Shia
Population: 17,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG023984
View on Joshua Project

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Islam - Shia
Religious Affiliation: Islam

%
Islam - Shia Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Wakhi
Language Family: Indo-European

%
Wakhi Speakers

Media Resources in Wakhi:

Films:

No entries found for: Wakhi(wbl). Help build some!

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Wakhi:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Wakhi bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Next steps for the Wakhi

The Wakhi 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 Wakhi

The Wakhi 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 Wakhi

The Wakhi 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 Wakhi of Afghanistan

He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him
readLuke 10:34

Pray that the lost among them will experience the kind of compassion Jesus taught His followers to show others, and that they will trust in Him because He is the one who brings healing to the broken and lost.

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
readPsalm 16:11

Pray that God will make a way for His path of life to be revealed to many so that they may come into His presence and experience abundant joy and eternal pleasures at His right hand.

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.

But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.
readJeremiah 29:7

Pray that God will lead the lost among them to followers of Jesus who will share the gospel with them so that they may believe and take the message of hope to their families and friends.

Guhjali, Wakhi (ROP3 - 103535) 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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