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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
Hindi - हिन्दी | Indonesian - Bahasa Indonesia
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Portugese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Espanol | Tagalong / Filipino
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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Mafa of Nigeria

The Mafa of Nigeria, numbering approximately 9,700 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an indigenous community of Nigeria and can also be known as Mofa, Matakam, Bulahai. They are an Indigenous people, in the Benue people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Ethnoreligion - Animism. They primarily speak Mbonga.

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Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-saharan Africa Peoples
Country: Nigeria
People Cluster: Benue
Primary Language(s): Mbonga (xmb)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion - Animism
Population: 9,700
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG013993
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Pray for the Mafa of Nigeria

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion - Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

%
Ethnoreligion - Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Mbonga
Language Family: Niger-Congo

%
Mbonga Speakers

Media Resources in Mbonga:

Films:

No entries found for: Mbonga(xmb). Help build some!

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Mbonga:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Mbonga bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Next steps for the Mafa

The Mafa 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 Mafa

The Mafa 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 Mafa

The Mafa 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 Mafa of Nigeria

But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.
readPsalm 130:4

Pray that God will bring those who have hard hearts to repentance and trust in Christ for the forgiveness of their sins.

For I will proclaim the name of the LORD; ascribe greatness to our God!
readDeuteronomy 32:3

Pray that believers will proclaim the Lord’s name and declare the greatness of our God so that others might believe in Him.

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
readPsalm 51:10

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will quickly repent when they sin and walk with clean hearts and right spirits as they grow in their relationship with the Lord.

So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy.
readRomans 9:16

Ask God to raise up people who will trust in His sovereignty as they share the gospel, knowing that it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy.

Mboa (ROP3 - 106479) 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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