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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Mahafaly of Madagascar

The Mahafaly of Madagascar, numbering approximately 474,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a people of Madagascar. They are an Indigenous people, in the Malagasy people cluster of the Malay Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Ethnoreligion - Animism. They primarily speak Malagasy, Tandroy-Mahafaly.

Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Bob Allen

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Madagascar
People Cluster: Malagasy
Primary Language(s): Malagasy, Tandroy-Mahafaly (tdx)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion - Animism
Population: 474,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG033363
View on Joshua Project

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Pray for the Mahafaly of Madagascar

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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion - Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

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Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Malagasy, Tandroy-Mahafaly
Language Family: Austronesian

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Media Resources in Malagasy, Tandroy-Mahafaly:

Films:

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Bible Resources in Malagasy, Tandroy-Mahafaly:

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Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Malagasy, Tandroy-Mahafaly bible resources at Bible.com

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Next steps for the Mahafaly

The Mahafaly 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 Mahafaly

The Mahafaly 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 Mahafaly

The Mahafaly 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 Mahafaly of Madagascar

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
readRomans 3:23

Pray that those who live in fear, guilt and discontentment because of sin will see their need for change, hear, and receive the good news of freedom from sin through Christ.

For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.
read1 Timothy 2:5-6

Pray for the truth about Jesus Christ to spread among the lost so that many will accept His ransom for their sin and experience freedom in a relationship with Him.

Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.
readEphesians 6:18

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be alert and persistent in prayer for all believers, offering their requests with thanksgiving.

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
readPsalm 139:14

Praise God for His creativity and power, and pray that He will raise up men and women from among them who are in awe of all He has done and want to go share the hope of Christ with others.

Mahafaly (ROP3 - 106024) 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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