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Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
Bengali - বাংলা | Chinese (Simplified) - 中文（简体）
Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Lela of Nigeria

The Lela of Nigeria, numbering approximately 193,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a people of Nigeria, East Kebbi states, Zuru, Sakaba, and Donko-Wasagu LGAs; Niger state, Rijau LGA; migrants south They are an Indigenous people, in the Benue people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Ethnoreligion. They primarily speak C’Lela.

Lela in Nigeria photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Anonymous

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Nigeria
People Cluster: Benue
Primary Language(s): C’Lela (dri)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 193,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG013963
View on Joshua Project

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Pray for the Lela of Nigeria

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: C’Lela
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

%
C’Lela Speakers

Media Resources in C’Lela:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in C’Lela:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the C’Lela bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

Next steps for the Lela

The Lela 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 Lela

The Lela 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 Lela

The Lela 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 Lela of Nigeria

For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption.
readPsalm 130:7b

Pray for those who are unaware of God's steadfast love that is offered to them through Jesus Christ to learn the truth and experience His plentiful redemption.

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
readHebrews 4:12

Pray for God's Word to be accessible to everyone in this people group in a way they will resonate with so that many will engage with it, receive it, and share it with others. 

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
readRomans 12:1

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will offer their bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, knowing that this is their spiritual worship.

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
read1 Corinthians 15:10–11

Pray that God's people will preach the message of Jesus' death and resurrection and that it will spread among the lost through the selfless witness of believers.

Lela (ROP3 - 105696) 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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