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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Northern Sotho of South Africa

The Northern Sotho of South Africa, numbering approximately 4,290,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Sotho-Tswana ethnic group indigenous to South Africa. They are an Indigenous people in the Bantu, Sotho-Tswana people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary language is Sotho, Northern and their primary religion is Protestantism.

Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Lara Burchett

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: South Africa
People Cluster: Bantu, Sotho-Tswana
Primary Language(s): Sotho, Northern (nso)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 4,290,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG033365
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Pray for the Northern Sotho of South Africa

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

82%
%

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Sotho, Northern
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%

Media Resources in Sotho, Northern:

Films:

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Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Sotho, Northern:

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Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Sotho, Northern bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 2), 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.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Marginally Reached People Group, (LPI: 4), 3% or Greater but Less than 6% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical (GSEC: 4), this people group is greater than or equal to 2% evangelical

Next steps for the Northern Sotho:
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

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Northern Sotho 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.

Next steps for the Northern Sotho:
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

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Northern Sotho 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.

Next steps for the Northern Sotho:
Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Northern Sotho of South Africa

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
readIsaiah 53:6

Pray that those who have wandered far from God will be drawn back to Him, recognizing their need for a Savior and finding forgiveness and new life in Christ.

And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us.
readActs 17:26-27

Pray that the lost will seek God and find Him, for He is not far from each one of us. Pray that they will have opportunities to access the gospel, learn God's purpose for their lives, and believe in Him.

"And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you"...And the King will answer them, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me."
readMatthew 25:38-40

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and serve others in faithfulness to Him, they will know that by serving others, they are serving Jesus, who is present with 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.

Pedi Across Countries (ROP3 - 107413) 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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