The Sereer of Gambia

The Sereer of Gambia, numbering approximately 66,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a matrilineal people whose ancestors fled forced Islamization in 11th-century Takrur to found the Sine and Saloum kingdoms, ruled by kings titled Maad a Sinig and Maad Saloum, resisting further Islamization through the 19th-century jihad era. They mostly adhere to Folk Islam and Serer is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: Sereer

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Gambia
People Cluster: Atlantic
Primary Language(s): Serer (srr)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Islam
Population: 66,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG042196
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Sereer of Gambia

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: Folk Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

78%
%
Folk Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Serer
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Serer-Sine Speakers

Media Resources in Serer:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Serer:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
1987 Bible Society of Senegal✓✓

1 entry

Or check out the Serer bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Sereer 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 Sereer:
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

Pray specifically for the Sereer of Gambia

During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.
readExodus 2:23-24

As the lost among them labor, groan, and cry out under false religions and sin, pray God will have mercy on them and hear their cries, that He will be their Rescuer from the kingdom of darkness and bring them into the kingdom of light.

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.
read1 Timothy 2:1-2

Pray that leaders and those in authority will not thwart the spread of the gospel but put their faith in Christ, have hearts that are soft toward their people, and be freed from the temptations that power can bring.

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
readJames 1:5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will ask God for wisdom when they lack it, trusting that He will generously give it to them.

The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.
readJohn 1:9-10

Pray for those God might send to share the gospel here. Ask that they will grow closer to Jesus and be compelled to share His good news with people who don't know it.

Sereer Across Countries (ROP3 - 108862) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

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 Data Standards section.

Scroll to Top