Download the People Group List (16 languages .csv)

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
Korean - 한국어 | Nepali - नेपाली
Portugese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Espanol | Tagalong / Filipino
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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Bakhtiari of Iran

The Bakhtiari of Iran, numbering approximately 1,310,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of Iran. They are an Indigenous people, in the Luri-Bakhtiari people cluster of the Persian-Median affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Islam - Shia. They primarily speak Bakhtiâri.

Bakhtiari in Iran photo
Photo by By Bruce LePoint

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Central Asian Peoples
Country: Iran
People Cluster: Luri-Bakhtiari
Primary Language(s): Bakhtiâri (bqi)
Primary Religion(s): Islam - Shia
Population: 1,310,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG024146
View on Joshua Project

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Islam - Shia
Religious Affiliation: Islam

%
Islam - Shia Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Bakhtiâri
Language Family: Indo-European

%
Bakhtiâri Speakers

Media Resources in Bakhtiâri:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Bakhtiâri:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Bakhtiâri bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Next steps for the Bakhtiari

The Bakhtiari 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 Bakhtiari

The Bakhtiari 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 Bakhtiari

The Bakhtiari 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 Bakhtiari of Iran

For you, O LORD, are most high over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.
readPsalm 97:9

Pray that those who don't yet know Him will recognize the Lord as the Most High and turn from spiritual darkness to worship Him above all else.

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!
readPsalm 57:11

Pray that the lost will learn about God's great love and faithfulness so that they might trust in Christ for their salvation.

"...I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
readMatthew 16:18b

Pray that God will build and grow His Church among this people.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
readPsalm 23:6

Ask God to raise up believers who will share the hope that, for those who trust in Christ, goodness and love will follow them all the days of their lives, and they will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Bakhtiari (ROP3 - 100819) 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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