The Goulai of Chad

The Goulai of Chad, numbering approximately 534,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as one of twelve Sara subgroups of southern Chad, whose oral tradition traces ancestry to the Sao people displaced from the Nile's banks by Arab slave traders around the 16th century, organized into chiefdoms by the 19th century They are an Indigenous people, with Goulai as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Sara-Bagirmi people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples. They mostly adhere to Neo-Pentecostalism and Gulay is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Chad
People Cluster: Sara-Bagirmi
Primary Language(s): Gulay (gvl)
Primary Religion(s): Neo-Pentecostalism
Population: 534,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG011354
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Goulai 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: Neo-Pentecostalism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

88%
%
Neo-Pentecostalism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Gulay
Language Family: Central Sudanic

100%
%
Gulay Speakers

Media Resources in Gulay:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Bible Resources in Gulay:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2004 Bible Society of Chad✓✓✓

1 entry

Or check out the Gulay bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Goulai 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 Goulai:
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 Goulai of Chad

And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
readActs 4:12

Pray that those walking in darkness among them will come to know the name by which they must be saved, and call upon Him in faith.

“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”
readRevelation 4:11

Pray that the good news will advance and people will recognize and worship the One who created all things by His will, giving glory and honor to Him alone.

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
readIsaiah 41:10

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will not fear, for the Lord is with them, and He will strengthen, help, and uphold them with His righteous right hand.

The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.
readJohn 1:9-10

Pray for those God might send to share the gospel here. Ask that they will grow closer to Jesus and be compelled to share His good news with people who don't know it.

Goulai Across Countries (ROP3 - 103462) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

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