The Bette-Bende of Nigeria

The Bette-Bende of Nigeria, numbering approximately 183,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an indigenous people of Cross River State in southeastern Nigeria, associated with the Obudu area and the Bete-Bendi language. They mostly adhere to Protestantism and Bete-Bendi is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2025). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Bette-Bende

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Nigeria
People Cluster: Benue
Primary Language(s): Bete-Bendi (btt)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 183,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG013685
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Bette-Bende 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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

89%
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Bete-Bendi
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Bete-Bendi Speakers

Media Resources in Bete-Bendi:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Bete-Bendi:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
1982 Public Domain✓✓✓

1 entry

Or check out the Bete-Bendi bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Bette-Bende 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 Bette-Bende:
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 Bette-Bende of Nigeria

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
readMatthew 5:6

Pray for those who are lost to desire righteousness and to be filled with the peace and purpose that only comes from following Jesus.

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
readLamentations 3:23-23

Pray that they will have hope in the Lord, knowing that His compassions never fails and that His mercies are new every morning.

For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.
readMatthew 18:20

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be encouraged as they remember that Jesus is with them when they gather in His name.

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
readJames 5:16

Pray that believers whom God sends will confess their sins, pray for one another, and live in unity. Ask that they will model healthy Christian relationships for this people group.

Bette-Bende Across Countries (ROP3 - 101304) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

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.

Scroll to Top