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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Gbe, Xwla of Benin

The Gbe, Xwla of Benin, numbering approximately 109,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of Benin and can also be known as Western Xwla, Xwla, Gbe, Phla, Xwla-Gbe. They are an Indigenous people, in the Guinean people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Ethnoreligion - Animism. They primarily speak Gbe, Western Xwla.

Gbe, Xwla in Benin photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Ji-Elle - Wikimedia Ji-Elle - Wikimedia Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-saharan Africa Peoples
Country: Benin
People Cluster: Guinean
Primary Language(s): Gbe, Western Xwla (xwl)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion - Animism
Population: 109,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG012353
View on Joshua Project

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Pray for the Gbe, Xwla of Benin

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion - Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

%
Ethnoreligion - Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Gbe, Western Xwla
Language Family: Niger-Congo

%
Gbe, Western Xwla Speakers

Media Resources in Gbe, Western Xwla:

Films:

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Bible Resources in Gbe, Western Xwla:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Gbe, Western Xwla bible resources at Bible.com

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Next steps for the Gbe, Xwla

The Gbe, Xwla 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 Gbe, Xwla

The Gbe, Xwla 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 Gbe, Xwla

The Gbe, Xwla 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 Gbe, Xwla of Benin

And he said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many."
readMark 14:23-24

Pray for those who may have heard the gospel but have not yet submitted their lives to Christ, that they will finally see the sacrifice which He made for them and surrender their lives to Him.

Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.’ In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.
readJob 1:20-22

Pray that those who mourn will worship God in the midst of their suffering and loss, recognizing He is the source of all good things and that He is worthy of their praise and trust.

Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice!
readPsalm 105:3

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will glory in His holy name and that their hearts will rejoice.

The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”
readJohn 1:35-36

Pray for those God sends to cross cultures to share the gospel, that they might faithfully share the good news of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

Gbe, Western Xwla (ROP3 - 109658) 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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