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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Turkmen of Iran

The Turkmen of Iran, numbering approximately 2,765,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Turkic ethnic group indigenous to Central Asia, living mainly in Turkmenistan, northern and northeastern Iran, and northwestern Afghanistan. They are an Indigenous people, in the Turkmen people cluster of the Turkic Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Sunni Islam. They primarily speak Turkmen.

Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Anonymous

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Central Asian Peoples
Country: Iran
People Cluster: Turkmen
Primary Language(s): Turkmen (tuk)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 2,765,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG042249
View on Joshua Project

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Pray for the Turkmen of Iran

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

%

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Turkmen
Language Family: Turkic

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Media Resources in Turkmen:

Films:

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Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Turkmen:

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Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Turkmen bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Next steps for the Turkmen

The Turkmen 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 Turkmen

The Turkmen 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 Turkmen

The Turkmen 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 Turkmen of Iran

Only in the LORD, it shall be said of me, are righteousness and strength; to him shall come and be ashamed all who were incensed against him.
readIsaiah 45:24

Pray that those who are weary and burdened by their own righteousness will find rest in the righteousness that comes through faith in Christ alone.

And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "In you shall all the nations be blessed"
readGalatians 3:8

Ask the Lord to fulfill His promise to Abraham that all nations would be blessed by advancing the gospel to every people group who has yet to receive it.

But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated.
readHebrews 10:32-33

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember the day of their salvation and persevere in their faith despite hardships and suffering.

Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, “We will hear you again about this.”
readActs 17:32

Ask God to give those He sends to cross cultures wisdom and discernment as they engage in spiritual conversations with those who are curious about the gospel.

Turkmen (ROP3 - 110306) 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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