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Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Mahra of Saudi Arabia

The Mahra of Saudi Arabia, numbering approximately 44,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are an Arabian ethnic group indigenous to the Al-Mahra governorate in Yemen and the Al Wusta and Dhofar governorates of Oman. They are an Diaspora people, in the Arab, Arabian people cluster of the Arab World affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Islam - Sunni. They primarily speak Mehri.

Mahra in Saudi Arabia photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Rod Waddington - Flickr Rod Waddington - Flickr Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: North Africa and Middle East Peoples
Country: Saudi Arabia
People Cluster: Arab, Arabian
Primary Language(s): Mehri (gdq)
Primary Religion(s): Islam - Sunni
Population: 44,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG042798

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Islam - Sunni
Religious Affiliation: Islam

%
Islam - Sunni Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Mehri
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

%
Mehri Speakers

Media Resources in Mehri:

Films:

No entries found for: Mehri(gdq). Help build some!

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Mehri:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Mehri bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Next steps for the Mahra

The Mahra 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 Mahra

The Mahra 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 Mahra

The Mahra 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 Mahra of Saudi Arabia

Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.
readIsaiah 45:22

Pray for many lost people to turn to the Lord, finding forgiveness and salvation in Him, for He is the only way to true life and restoration.

And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.
readActs 6:7

Pray that the Word of God will be increasingly available to these people in ways they will resonate with so that all may have a chance to respond to the good news of Jesus Christ.  

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
readRomans 8:38-39

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have confidence in their salvation, knowing that nothing can separate them from the One who conquered death and loves them as His children.

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!
readPsalm 51:2

Pray that God will raise up believers to go and share the gospel with those in this people group who need to be washed of their iniquity and cleansed from their sins.

Mahra reported in the following countries (ROP3):

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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