The Azerbaijani of Türkiye

The Azerbaijani of Türkiye, numbering approximately 561,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a diaspora community of Southern Azerbaijanis in Türkiye They are an Diaspora people, in the Azerbaijani people cluster of the Turkic Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Islam - Shia. They primarily speak Azerbaijani, South.

South Azeri in Iran photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Travlr

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Central Asian Peoples
Country: Türkiye
People Cluster: Azerbaijani
Primary Language(s): Azerbaijani, South (azb)
Primary Religion(s): Islam - Shia
Population: 561,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG024541
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Azerbaijani of Türkiye

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Islam - Shia
Religious Affiliation: Islam

%
Islam - Shia Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Azerbaijani, South
Language Family: Turkic

%
Azerbaijani, South Speakers

Media Resources in Azerbaijani, South:

Films:

Bible Resources in Azerbaijani, South:

Or check out the Azerbaijani, South bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Next steps for the Azerbaijani

The Azerbaijani 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 Azerbaijani

The Azerbaijani 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 Azerbaijani

The Azerbaijani 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 Azerbaijani of Türkiye

For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the LORD made the heavens.
readPsalm 96:5

Pray that those who are seeking after worthless idols will not be satisfied until they seek the truth and find it in Christ.

Sing to the LORD, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day.
readPsalm 96:2

Pray that gospel resources will reach this generation so that they will receive the good news and sing to the LORD, bless His name, and tell of His salvation each day.

And he brought him outside and said, "Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be.”
readGenesis 15:5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will trust God to keep His promises.

And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven."
readMatthew 16:17

Pray that God who is in heaven will place believers in the lives of people who need to encounter the gospel and that He will reveal to them the truth of what they hear.

Azerbaijani, Southern (ROP3 - 100677) 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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