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

And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
readMatthew 6:16

Pray that those who live to please men and not God will turn from the emptiness of seeking approval from others and find true satisfaction in the treasure of a personal relationship with God.

“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.

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.
readIsaiah 26:3

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, the Lord will keep them in perfect peace as they trust in Him.

There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.
readMark 7:15

Pray for Christians to take any opportunity to share the hope of Jesus with lost people here, praying they will be wise like Jesus as they share the truth about what can defile people and what can make them clean.

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