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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Bilen of Eritrea

The Bilen of Eritrea, numbering approximately 77,500 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are an ethnic group whose homeland for centuries was the Keren region of Eritrea and the Tigray province of Ethiopia They are an Indigenous people, in the Agau people cluster of the Horn of Africa Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Islam - Sunni. They primarily speak Bilen.

Bilen in Eritrea photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Hans van der Splinter

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Northern African and Middle Eastern Peoples
Country: Eritrea
People Cluster: Agau
Primary Language(s): Bilen (byn)
Primary Religion(s): Islam - Sunni
Population: 77,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG011523
View on Joshua Project

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Pray for the Bilen of Eritrea

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Islam - Sunni
Religious Affiliation: Islam

%
Islam - Sunni Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Bilen
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

%
Bilen Speakers

Media Resources in Bilen:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Bilen:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Bilen bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

Next steps for the Bilen

The Bilen are Unengaged and Unreached, 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.

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

Next steps for the Bilen

The Bilen 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.

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

Next steps for the Bilen

The Bilen 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.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Bilen of Eritrea

For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God?
readPsalm 18:31

As people look to their own efforts for hope, pray they will have the opportunity to learn and believe in the Lord, who is the only Rock worthy of their faith.

He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.
readIsaiah 40:11

Pray that the lost will come to know the tender care of the Good Shepherd, who gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart.

For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him.
readRomans 10:12

Pray that as people from different backgrounds place their faith in Christ, they will be unified by their faith Him.

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.

Bilen (ROP3 - 101444) 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.

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