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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Hemshin of Turkiye

The Hemshin of Turkiye, numbering approximately 14,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as a Turkish speaking Muslim community with historic roots in the Hemşin district in the province of Rize, Turkey They are an Indigenous people, with Hemshinli as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Armenian people cluster of the Eurasian Peoples. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Western Armenian is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: Hemshin

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Eurasian Peoples
Country: Turkiye
People Cluster: Armenian
Primary Language(s): Western Armenian (hyw)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 14,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG048629
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Pray for the Hemshin of Turkiye

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.

Pray Now!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

85%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Western Armenian
Language Family: Indo-European

40%
%
Armenian, Western Speakers

Media Resources in Western Armenian:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Western Armenian:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Արեւմտահայերէն Նոր Կտակարան - Western Armenian N.T. 1853 (with 2017 adaptations)✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Western Armenian bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Hemshin 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 Hemshin:
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

Pray specifically for the Hemshin of Turkiye

For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.
readIsaiah 48:11

Pray that those who have been living for their own glory will turn to the One who is worthy of all praise and find their true identity in Him.

Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick in it and say to them, "the kingdom of God has come near to you."
readLuke 10:8-9

Pray that the lost will receive messengers of the gospel with joy, turn from their sins, and be healed.

I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.
readMatthew 25:36

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will honor Jesus and find joy as they take care of those in need.

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
readJohn 12:24

Pray that God will raise up men and women who are willing to die to their own desires, bearing much fruit for the kingdom among individuals and in places where His gospel has not been proclaimed.

Hemshinli Across Countries (ROP3 - 115399) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
HemshinPG048629HemshinTurkiye14,000Engaged yet UnreachedWestern ArmenianSunni Islam

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 Data Standards section.

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