The Kereyu of Ethiopia

The Kereyu of Ethiopia, numbering approximately 13,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are one of six major dialect groups of the Borana-Arsi-Guji Oromo (Ethnologue 16). They are an Indigenous people, in the Oromo people cluster of the Horn of Africa affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Islam - Sunni. They primarily speak Oromo, Borana-Arsi-Guji.

Kereyu in Ethiopia photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Rod Waddington - Flickr Rod Waddington - Flickr Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: North Africa and Middle East Peoples
Country: Ethiopia
People Cluster: Oromo
Primary Language(s): Oromo, Borana-Arsi-Guji (gax)
Primary Religion(s): Islam - Sunni
Population: 13,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG011606
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Kereyu of Ethiopia

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: Islam - Sunni
Religious Affiliation: Islam

%
Islam - Sunni Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Oromo, Borana-Arsi-Guji
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

%
Oromo, Borana-Arsi-Guji Speakers

Bible Resources in Oromo, Borana-Arsi-Guji:

Or check out the Oromo, Borana-Arsi-Guji bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Next steps for the Kereyu

The Kereyu 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 Kereyu

The Kereyu 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 Kereyu

The Kereyu 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 Kereyu of Ethiopia

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
readRom 6:23

Pray that those who haven't heard yet will hear and believe that the wages of their sin†is†death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.
readPsalm 1:1-2

Pray that God will call out many sons and daughters from among them and give them a deep love for His Word.

For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them.
read1 Corinthians 9:19

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have hearts that want to serve the lost around them so that many might come to faith in Jesus.

Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man.
readActs 17:29

Pray that God will send out laborers to tell people of the one true God and, as the good news is shared, bring about repentance and belief as they turn from idols and follow Jesus.

Kereyu (ROP3 - 104861) 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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