The Gagauzes of Moldova

The Gagauzes of Moldova, numbering approximately 146,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Turkic-speaking people who are predominantly Eastern Orthodox Christians, a combination that makes them quite distinctive among the world's Turkic peoples, most of whom are traditionally Muslim. They mostly adhere to Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Gagauz is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Gagauz

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Turkic Peoples
Country: Moldova
People Cluster: Turkic
Primary Language(s): Gagauz (gag)
Primary Religion(s): Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Population: 146,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG000862
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Gagauzes of Moldova

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: Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

98%
%
Eastern Orthodox Christia… Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Gagauz
Language Family: Turkic

100%
%
Gagauz Speakers

Media Resources in Gagauz:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Gagauz:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Institute for Bible Translation, Moscow✓✓✓
Institute for Bible Translation, Moscow✓✓✓

2 entries

Or check out the Gagauz bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Gagauzes 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 Gagauzes:
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 Gagauzes of Moldova

Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.
readLuke 12:7

Pray that those who don't yet know how to trust in Jesus will not be consumed by worry and anxiety, but will trust in the Father's care and provision for their daily needs and for their eternal salvation

Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
readMatthew 16:16

Pray that many will see clearly that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and put their trust in Him.

Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
readPsalm 37:4

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will delight themselves in the Lord, trusting Him to give them the desires of their hearts.

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!
readPsalm 51:2

Pray that God will raise up believers to go and share the gospel with those in this people group who need to be washed of their iniquity and cleansed from their sins.

Gagauz Across Countries (ROP3 - 103132) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

4 people groups

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.

Scroll to Top