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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Northwest Gbaya of Central African Republic

The Northwest Gbaya of Central African Republic, numbering approximately 347,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an indigenous community of Central African Republic; a dialect subgroup of Northwest Gbaya (gya) and can also be known as Baya. They are an Indigenous people, in the Adamawa-Ubangi people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Ethnoreligion. They primarily speak Gbaya, Northwest.

Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Selengoumadavid - Wikimedia Selengoumadavid - Wikimedia Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-saharan Africa Peoples
Country: Central African Republic
People Cluster: Adamawa-Ubangi
Primary Language(s): Gbaya, Northwest (gya)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 347,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG012833

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Pray for the Northwest Gbaya of Central African Republic

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Gbaya, Northwest
Language Family: Niger-Congo

%
Gbaya, Northwest Speakers

Media Resources in Gbaya, Northwest:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Gbaya, Northwest:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

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Next steps for the Northwest Gbaya

The Northwest Gbaya 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 Northwest Gbaya

The Northwest Gbaya 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 Northwest Gbaya

The Northwest Gbaya 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 Northwest Gbaya of Central African Republic

O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.
readPsalm 10:17-18

Pray that God, in accordance with His good character, will give justice to those who are oppressed by sin and that they will know that His offer of salvation is for everyone.

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 “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
readRomans 10:13

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and sometimes have doubts, God will help them remember and trust the power of Jesus to save them from their sins.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
readEphesians 6:10

Ask God to strengthen believers with His mighty power so that as they cross cultures to share the gospel, they will stand firm against the schemes of the enemy.

Baya, Gbaya 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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