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

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
readJohn 3:17

Pray for those who are living under the burdens of man-made religion to learn about the freedom Jesus offers them and turn to Him in faith.

Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know, and a nation that did not know you shall run to you, because of the LORD your God, and of the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you.
readIsaiah 55:5

Pray that those who do not know God will access the gospel, run to Him, and discover that He is the one their souls have been longing for.

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples."
readJohn 8:31

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will abide in Christ daily, depending on Him for every need.

Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.
read3 John 1:2

Ask God to grant protection and good health — both physical and spiritual — to those He sends cross-culturally to share the gospel.

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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