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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Central-Western Ijaw of Nigeria

The Central-Western Ijaw of Nigeria, numbering approximately 2,755,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of Nigeria and can also be known as Izon, Izo, Uzo. They are an Indigenous people, in the Ijaw people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Christianity - Protestantism. They primarily speak Izon.

Central-Western Ijaw in Nigeria photo
Photo by By International Mission Board

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Nigeria
People Cluster: Ijaw
Primary Language(s): Izon (ijc)
Primary Religion(s): Christianity - Protestantism
Population: 2,755,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG013713

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Christianity - Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

%
Christianity - Protestant… Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Izon
Language Family: Ijoid

%
Izon Speakers

Media Resources in Izon:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Izon:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Izon bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Next steps for the Central-Western Ijaw

The Central-Western Ijaw 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 Central-Western Ijaw

The Central-Western Ijaw 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 Central-Western Ijaw

The Central-Western Ijaw 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 Central-Western Ijaw of Nigeria

Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me! O LORD, be my helper!
readPsalm 30:10

Pray that people in the depths of despair and suffering and living outside of relationship with Christ will cry out to the Lord and find help, peace, and joy in Him.

Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
readMatthew 16:16

Pray that many will see clearly that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and put their trust in Him.

You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
readDeuteronomy 6:5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, and might, as they strive to live lives that honor and glorify Him.

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
read1 John 1:5

Pray that God will raise up believers who can share the gospel with people who don't know the good news of Jesus, that God is light and in him, there is no darkness at all.

Izon (ROP3 - 101946) 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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