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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Assyrians of Türkiye

The Assyrians of Türkiye, numbering approximately 29,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are a small but ancient indigenous Orthodox Christian ethnic group whose roots in southeastern Anatolia stretch back thousands of years, long before the modern Turkish state existed. They are an Diaspora people, in the Assyrian people cluster of the Arab Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Christianity - Orthodox. They primarily speak Assyrian Neo-Aramaic.

Assyrians in Iraq photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Levi Clancy - Wikimedia Levi Clancy - Wikimedia Licensed under CC0 1.0

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Northern African and Middle Eastern Peoples
Country: Türkiye
People Cluster: Assyrian
Primary Language(s): Assyrian Neo-Aramaic (aii)
Primary Religion(s): Christianity - Orthodox
Population: 29,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG024540
View on Joshua Project

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Pray for the Assyrians of Türkiye

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Christianity - Orthodox
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

%
Christianity - Orthodox Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Assyrian Neo-Aramaic
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

%
Assyrian Neo-Aramaic Speakers

Media Resources in Assyrian Neo-Aramaic:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Assyrian Neo-Aramaic:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Assyrian Neo-Aramaic bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

Next steps for the Assyrians

The Assyrians 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 Assyrians

The Assyrians 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 Assyrians

The Assyrians 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 Assyrians of Türkiye

For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.
readIsaiah 48:11

Pray that those who have been living for their own glory will turn to the One who is worthy of all praise and find their true identity in Him.

O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.
readPsalm 8:1

Pray that those who have yet to believe will soon recognize the majesty of God's name and raise their voices in praise to the Lord Almighty.

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
readColossians 2:6-7

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be rooted and built up in Him, abounding in thanksgiving for the grace and mercy He has shown them.

And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.
readMatthew 10:14-15

Pray for God to raise up and send out believers to share the gospel with those in this people group who do not yet follow Christ. Pray that they will be welcomed with open arms so that the people they share with will hear and receive the good news with joy.

Assyrian (ROP3 - 100574) 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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