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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Ijo of Ghana

The Ijo of Ghana, numbering approximately 52,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an ethnic subgroup of the Ijaw people indigenous to he Niger Delta in Nigeria and can also be known as Kalabari, Eastern Ijaw. They are an Diaspora people, in the Ijaw people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Christianity - Protestantism. They primarily speak Kalabari.

Ijo in Ghana photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Biokpo Diali George - Wikimedia Biokpo Diali George - Wikimedia Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-saharan Africa Peoples
Country: Ghana
People Cluster: Ijaw
Primary Language(s): Kalabari (ijn)
Primary Religion(s): Christianity - Protestantism
Population: 52,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG013339

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Christianity - Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

%
Christianity - Protestant… Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Kalabari
Language Family: Niger-Congo

%
Kalabari Speakers

Media Resources in Kalabari:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Kalabari:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

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Next steps for the Ijo

The Ijo 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 Ijo

The Ijo 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 Ijo

The Ijo 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 Ijo of Ghana

For you, O LORD, are most high over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.
readPsalm 97:9

Pray that those who don't yet know Him will recognize the Lord as the Most High and turn from spiritual darkness to worship Him above all else.

“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”
readRevelation 4:11

Pray that the good news will advance and people will recognize and worship the One who created all things by His will, giving glory and honor to Him alone.

This God - his way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.
readPsalm 18:30

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have access to His Word and the ability to understand it, so that they can grow in their faith and find refuge in Him.

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.

Kalabari 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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