The Bahraini Shia Arabs of Bahrain

The Bahraini Shia Arabs of Bahrain, numbering approximately 739,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a people of Arab ancestry with a more localized ethnic identity tied to their recent roots in Bahrain. They are an Indigenous people, in the Arab, Arabian people cluster of the Arab Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Shia Islam. They primarily speak Arabic, Baharna.

Photo by By Rachel Hunter

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Northern African and Middle Eastern Peoples
Country: Bahrain
People Cluster: Arab, Arabian
Primary Language(s): Arabic, Baharna (abv)
Primary Religion(s): Shia Islam
Population: 739,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG011297
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Bahraini Shia Arabs of Bahrain

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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Shia Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

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Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Arabic, Baharna
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

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Media Resources in Arabic, Baharna:

Films:

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Bible Resources in Arabic, Baharna:

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Or check out the Arabic, Baharna bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Next steps for the Bahraini Shia Arabs

The Bahraini Shia Arabs 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 Bahraini Shia Arabs

The Bahraini Shia Arabs 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 Bahraini Shia Arabs

The Bahraini Shia Arabs 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 Bahraini Shia Arabs of Bahrain

Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
readLuke 15:7

Pray that God will convict the lost of their sin, give them an urgency to run to Him for forgiveness, and feel His welcoming arms around them when they turn to Him.

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?
readRomans 10:14

Pray that the gospel will advance among those who don’t know the good news of salvation in Jesus so that they might believe and trust in Jesus.

And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
readRomans 10:15

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be eager to proclaim the good news of peace, knowing that the Lord has called them to this task.

Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man.
readActs 17:29

Pray that God will send out laborers to tell people of the one true God and, as the good news is shared, bring about repentance and belief as they turn from idols and follow Jesus.

Arab, Bahraini, Shia (ROP3 - 100772) 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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