The Sarwa of Chad

The Sarwa of Chad, numbering approximately 4,900 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of Chad, Chari-Baguirmi region, Loug-Chari Department, Bousso Subprefecture, between Bousso and Miltou, along Chari River. They are an Indigenous people in the Chadic people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary language is Sarua and their primary religion is Ethnoreligion.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Chad
People Cluster: Chadic
Primary Language(s): Sarua (swy)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 4,900
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG011450
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Sarwa of Chad

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: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

75%
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Sarua
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

85%
%
Sarua Speakers

Media Resources in Sarua:

Films:

No entries found for: Sarua(swy). Help build some!

Bible Resources in Sarua:

Or check out the Sarua bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 1), 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.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Expanding Unreached People Group, (LPI: 2), 0.5% to 2% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Sarwa:
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

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Sarwa 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.

Next steps for the Sarwa:
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

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Sarwa 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.

Next steps for the Sarwa:
Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Sarwa of Chad

For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
readRomans 5:7-8

Pray for the many who don't yet understand the hope of the gospel, and pray that God will reveal to them that while they were in darkness, Christ died for them.

"You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet."
readMatthew 5:13

Pray that the lost will have the opportunity to hear a Christian witness of how the gospel can bring hope and that they will put their faith in Christ.

Depart from me, all you workers of evil, for the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping.
readPsalm 6:8

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, God will remind them that He is near and will help them place their hope in Him when others wish to do them harm.

For the needy shall not always be forgotten, and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.
readPsalm 9:18

Pray that God will raise up believers who can help meet emotional and physical needs among this people group. Ask Him to open doors for them and give them the courage to walk into difficult situations and share the hope of the gospel boldly.

Sarwa Across Countries (ROP3 - 108734) 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.

Scroll to Top