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The Bisa of Burkina Faso

The Bisa of Burkina Faso, numbering approximately 929,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Mande ethnic group of south-central Burkina Faso and northeastern Ghana. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Bissa is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Bisa

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Burkina Faso
People Cluster: Mande
Primary Language(s): Bissa (bib)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 929,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG012376
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Pray for the Bisa of Burkina Faso

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.

Pray Now!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

45%
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Bissa
Language Family: Mande

100%
%
Bisa Speakers

Media Resources in Bissa:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Bissa:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2000 Wycliffe Bible Translators Inc.✓✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Bissa bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Bisa 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 Bisa:
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 Bisa of Burkina Faso

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.
readRevelation 3:20

Pray that those who have not opened their hearts to Jesus will hear His knock and invite Him in as their Savior and Lord.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
readMatthew 13: 45-46

Pray that they will recognize the treasure of knowing Christ Jesus and be willing to give up everything else to gain Him.

And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.
read2 Corinthians 12:28

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will grow in the spiritual gifts God has given them and use these gifts to glorify Him and build up the Church.

For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
readRomans 12:4-5

Ask God to send believers to people in other cultures and to help them use their gifts in harmony with others so that the body of Christ may be built up.

Busansi Across Countries (ROP3 - 101797) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

4 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion ▲
BisaPG013275BisaGhana278,000Engaged yet UnreachedBissaAnimism
BisaPG012376BisaBurkina Faso929,000Engaged yet UnreachedBissaEthnoreligion
BisaPG014326BisaTogo16,500Unengaged and UnreachedBissaEthnoreligion
BisaPG013053BisaCote d’Ivoire145,000Unengaged and UnreachedBissaFolk Islam

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 Data Standards section.

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