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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.

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

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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:

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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

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
readMatthew 5:16

Pray that those who are deceived about what brings peace will not settle for any lies they’ve heard about God and will diligently seek Him and be satisfied when they learn the truth about who He is and what He’s done.?

Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.
readMatthew 13:8-9

Pray that they will have open hearts and minds to the Word of God, and that it will take root in their lives and bear fruit for His glory.

For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.
readActs 17:23

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have a deep desire to know God more fully and to make Him known in creative ways to others who are still searching for truth.

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
readEphesians 6:13

Pray that God will send believers to the lost of this people group and that, as they share the gospel, they will take up the whole armor of God so that they can stand firm when trials come.

Gbe, Western Xwla reported in the following countries (ROP3):

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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