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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Somali Bantus of United States

The Somali Bantus of United States, numbering approximately 10,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Bantu ethnic minority group indigenous to the Shebelle and Jubba River valleys of southern Somalia They are an Diaspora people, in the Bantu, Swahili people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Islam - Sunni. They primarily speak Maay.

Somali Bantus in United States photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Emmanuel Adiba - Wikimedia Emmanuel Adiba - Wikimedia Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: United States
People Cluster: Bantu, Swahili
Primary Language(s): Maay (ymm)
Primary Religion(s): Islam - Sunni
Population: 10,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG050352
View on Joshua Project

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Pray for the Somali Bantus of United States

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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Islam - Sunni
Religious Affiliation: Islam

%
Islam - Sunni Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Maay
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

%
Maay Speakers

Media Resources in Maay:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Maay:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Maay bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Next steps for the Somali Bantus

The Somali Bantus 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 Somali Bantus

The Somali Bantus 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 Somali Bantus

The Somali Bantus 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 Somali Bantus of United States

O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.
readPsalm 10:17-18

Pray that God, in accordance with His good character, will give justice to those who are oppressed by sin and that they will know that His offer of salvation is for everyone.

And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child.
readLuke 2:17

Pray that the lost will receive the good news of salvation in God's Son, have hearts eager to share it with others, and that all who hear will respond with wonder and faith!

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
readHebrews 12:1-2

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember the testimony of those who went before them, resist sin, and run with perseverance the race set before them, fixing their eyes on Jesus.

Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."
readMatthew 9:37-38

Pray that the Lord of the harvest will raise up believers to send out into His harvest field, which is ripe and ready.

Somali Bantu (ROP3 - 103458) 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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