The Altai of Russian Federation

The Altai of Russian Federation, numbering approximately 74,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of Russia . They are an Indigenous people, in the Ural-Siberian people cluster of the Turkic Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Ethnoreligion - Shamanism. They primarily speak Altai, Southern.

Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Z. U. - Flickr Z. U. - Flickr Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: European Peoples
Country: Russian Federation
People Cluster: Ural-Siberian
Primary Language(s): Altai, Southern (alt)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion - Shamanism
Population: 74,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG042313

Pray for the Altai of Russian Federation

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion - Shamanism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

%
Ethnoreligion - Shamanism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Altai, Southern
Language Family: Turkic

%
Altai, Southern Speakers

Media Resources in Altai, Southern:

Films:

Bible Resources in Altai, Southern:

Next steps for the Altai

The Altai 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 Altai

The Altai 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 Altai

The Altai 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 Altai of Russian Federation

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.

Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.’ In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.
readJob 1:20-22

Pray that those who mourn will worship God in the midst of their suffering and loss, recognizing He is the source of all good things and that He is worthy of their praise and trust.

For the LORD, the Most High, is to be feared, a great king over all the earth.
readPsalm 47:2

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will exalt the Lord, recognizing His reign over the nations and His sovereignty over all things.

"For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you."
readActs 17:23

Pray that believers God sends to cross cultures will be sensitive to the spiritual needs of the people they serve, and will proclaim the truth of Christ to them in creative ways that they will understand.

Altai reported in the following countries (ROP3):

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