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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Macha of Ethiopia

The Macha of Ethiopia, numbering approximately 7,120,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are one of the primary subgroups of the Oromo peoples of northern Ethiopia. They are an Indigenous people, in the Oromo people cluster of the Horn of Africa Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Sunni Islam. They primarily speak Oromo, West Central.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Macha

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Northern African and Middle Eastern Peoples
Country: Ethiopia
People Cluster: Oromo
Primary Language(s): Oromo, West Central (gaz)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 7,120,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG011613
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Pray for the Macha of Ethiopia

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

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Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Oromo, West Central
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

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Media Resources in Oromo, West Central:

Films:

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Bible Resources in Oromo, West Central:

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Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Oromo, West Central bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Next steps for the Macha

The Macha 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 Macha

The Macha 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 Macha

The Macha 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 Macha of Ethiopia

You visit the earth and water it; you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide their grain, for so you have prepared it.
readPsalm 65:9

Give thanks for God's provision in nature, and pray that those who don't know Him will recognize His hand, desire to know their Creator, and hear the truth that Jesus is the solution to the world's greatest need.

Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
readRomans 2:4

Pray that, in God's kindness and according to His nature, He will lead many to repentance.

Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time.
readColossians 4:5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be wise in the way they walk with the lost and manage their time and other resources in a way that honors God.

O LORD, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill? He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart.
readPsalm 15:1-2

Ask God to send believers who will go and, with integrity, walk blamelessly and do what is right, speaking truth about the Lord with those who need to learn about His redemption plan.

Oromo, Macha (ROP3 - 105969) 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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