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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The West Gurage of Ethiopia

The West Gurage of Ethiopia, numbering approximately 3,045,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are described as an ethnolinguistic community of Ethiopia, West Gurage region They are an Indigenous people, with Gurage as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Ethio-Semitic people cluster of the Horn of Africa Peoples. Their primary religion is Orthodox Christianity. They primarily speak Sebat Bet Gurage.

Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Anonymous

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Horn of Africa Peoples
Country: Ethiopia
People Cluster: Ethio-Semitic
Primary Language(s): Sebat Bet Gurage (sgw)
Primary Religion(s): Orthodox Christianity
Population: 3,045,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG042740
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Pray for the West Gurage of Ethiopia

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Orthodox Christianity
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

45%
%

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Sebat Bet Gurage
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

100%
%

Media Resources in Sebat Bet Gurage:

Films:

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Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Sebat Bet Gurage:

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Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Sebat Bet Gurage bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 0), 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.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Frontier Unreached People Group, (LPI: 0), < 0.1% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the West Gurage:
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

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The West Gurage 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.

Next steps for the West Gurage:
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

SPI: No longer Unreached

The West Gurage 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.

Next steps for the West Gurage:
Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the West Gurage of Ethiopia

Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.
readLuke 12:7

Pray that those who don't yet know how to trust in Jesus will not be consumed by worry and anxiety, but will trust in the Father's care and provision for their daily needs and for their eternal salvation

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.
readIsaiah 40:8

Pray that everyone has access to God's Word and that those who hear the good news will turn from their sins and put their faith in Jesus the Messiah.

For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.
readActs 17:23

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have a deep desire to know God more fully and to make Him known in creative ways to others who are still searching for truth.

So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy.
readRomans 9:16

Ask God to raise up people who will trust in His sovereignty as they share the gospel, knowing that it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy.

Gurage, West Across Countries (ROP3 - 110758) 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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