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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Bolewa of Nigeria

The Bolewa of Nigeria, numbering approximately 252,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an ethnic group in northeastern Nigeria, primarily in Gombe State and parts of Yobe and Borno States. They are an Indigenous people, in the Benue people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Islam - Folk. They primarily speak Bole.

Bolewa in Nigeria photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Copyrighted ©️ 2025 GoWestAfrica Used with permission

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Nigeria
People Cluster: Benue
Primary Language(s): Bole (bol)
Primary Religion(s): Islam - Folk
Population: 252,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG013696
View on Joshua Project

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Pray for the Bolewa of Nigeria

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Islam - Folk
Religious Affiliation: Islam

%
Islam - Folk Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Bole
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

%
Bole Speakers

Media Resources in Bole:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Bole:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Bole bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

Next steps for the Bolewa

The Bolewa 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 Bolewa

The Bolewa 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 Bolewa

The Bolewa 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 Bolewa of Nigeria

But he said, "What is impossible with man is possible with God."
readLuke 18:27

Praise God that He is the God of impossible things and that He is able to save even those who seem beyond hope.

Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
readPsalm 47:6

Pray that believers will have a heart to invite others to trust in Christ alone so that they might sing praises to His name.

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.

Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.
read3 John 1:2

Ask God to grant protection and good health — both physical and spiritual — to those He sends cross-culturally to share the gospel.

Bolewa (ROP3 - 101564) reported in the following countries:

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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