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The Sara Mbai of Central African Republic

The Sara Mbai of Central African Republic, numbering approximately 16,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Sara-Bagirmi-speaking Nilo-Saharan ethnic group indigenous to southern Chad and Central African Republic. They mostly adhere to Neo-Pentecostalism and Mbay is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Central African Republic
People Cluster: Sara-Bagirmi
Primary Language(s): Mbay (myb)
Primary Religion(s): Neo-Pentecostalism
Population: 16,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG012930
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Pray for the Sara Mbai of Central African Republic

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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Neo-Pentecostalism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

95%
%
Neo-Pentecostalism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Mbay
Language Family: Central Sudanic

100%
%
Mbay Speakers

Media Resources in Mbay:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Mbay:

Bible Name (Translation) Video Audio Text
2004 Bible Society of Chad ✓ ✓ ✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Mbay bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Sara Mbai 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.

Next steps for the Sara Mbai:
Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Sara Mbai of Central African Republic

And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior."
readLuke 1:46-47

Pray that those who are lost will recognize their need for a Savior and joyfully embrace the mercy that God offers.

Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
readRomans 2:4

Pray that, in God's kindness and according to His nature, He will lead many to repentance.

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
readRomans 8:38-39

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have confidence in their salvation, knowing that nothing can separate them from the One who conquered death and loves them as His children.

In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
readEphesians 1:13-14

Pray that God will work through believers near and far in bringing the lost to Himself, giving them what they need to do the task He has set before them, and helping them rest in Him because He has given them His Spirit.

Sara Mbai Across Countries (ROP3 - 108710) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index

All

4 people groups

Photo People Group ID Name Country Population ▼ Strategic Progress Index Language Religion
Sara Mbai PG011449 Sara Mbai Chad 271,000 No Longer Unreached Mbay Ethnoreligion
Sara Mbai PG014097 Sara Mbai Nigeria 16,500 No Longer Unreached Mbay Neo-Pentecostalism
Sara Mbai PG012930 Sara Mbai Central African Republic 16,000 No Longer Unreached Mbay Neo-Pentecostalism
Sara Mbai PG012776 Sara Mbai Cameroon 6,700 No Longer Unreached Mbay Neo-Pentecostalism

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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