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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Arum-Chessu of Nigeria

The Arum-Chessu of Nigeria, numbering approximately 11,500 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a small Indigenous ethnolinguistic people group in north-central Nigeria, united by the Arum (Alumu‑Tesu) language, a shared village‑based culture, and a history shaped by Middle Belt resilience amid larger regional powers. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Alumu-Tesu is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Arum-Chessu

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Nigeria
People Cluster: Benue
Primary Language(s): Alumu-Tesu (aab)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 11,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG013643
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Pray for the Arum-Chessu of Nigeria

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: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

55%
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Alumu-Tesu
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Arum Speakers

Media Resources in Alumu-Tesu:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Alumu-Tesu:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Alumu-Tesu bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Arum-Chessu 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 Arum-Chessu:
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 Arum-Chessu of Nigeria

For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
readPsalm 1:6

As many look for hope in worldly pleasures, pray they will hear and accept salvation through Christ, turn from destruction, and experience joy in the way of righteousness.

For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.
read1 Timothy 2:5-6

Pray for the truth about Jesus Christ to spread among the lost so that many will accept His ransom for their sin and experience freedom in a relationship with Him.

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.
readHebrews 10:23

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will cling tightly to the hope they have in God to faithfully keep His promises.

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
readRevelation 7:9-10

Pray that the promise in Revelation 7:9-10 will encourage believers from among them or from nearby people groups to share the gospel with people who have never learned it.

Arum-Chessu Across Countries (ROP3 - 100531) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountry ▼PopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Arum-ChessuPG013643Arum-ChessuNigeria11,500No Longer UnreachedAlumu-TesuEthnoreligion

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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