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People group profile · PG011406

The Massalat of Chad

The Massalat of Chad, numbering about 130,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are an indigenous Maban people of central-eastern Chad, closely related to the Masalit of the Chad-Sudan borderlands but now primarily Chadian Arabic-speaking.

They are an indigenous people in the Ouaddai-Fur people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples. Their primary religion is Sunni Islam, and they primarily speak Chadian Arabic.

Pray for the MassalatPrint profile

AI-generated illustration representing the Massalat people
AI-generated illustration, not a photograph. Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Massalat

Fast facts

Country
Chad
Population
130,000
Affinity group
Northern African and Middle Eastern Peoples
People cluster
Ouaddai-Fur
Primary language
Chadian Arabic (shu)
Primary religion
Sunni Islam
Strategic Progress Index
Unengaged and Unreached
Evangelical
No Known Evangelicals
GSEC
Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
Lostness priority
Frontier Unreached People Group
Region
Middle Africa, Africa

Where they live

Gospel status

The Massalat are Unengaged and Unreached, which means fewer than 2% are evangelical Christians, and there has been no reported church planting activity in the past two years. In GSEC terms, this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years.

  • Congregations exist No
  • Church planting in the last two years No Churches Planted

Next steps for the Massalat

  • Pray that God would send workers to this people group
  • Begin sowing the gospel and seek out people of peace
  • Plant the first churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice

Primary religion

Sunni Islam · Islam

99% adherents

Primary language

Chadian Arabic · Afro-Asiatic family

100% speak Chadian Arabic

Gospel resources in Chadian Arabic

  • Bible available, published 2021
  • JESUS Film available
  • Radio programs not available
  • Gospel recordings available
  • Audio resources available
  • Bible stories not available

Bibles

Find more at the JESUS Film Project, Bible.com and Faith Comes by Hearing.

Pray for the Massalat

  1. 2 Timothy 2:2. Pray for faithful local leaders who will teach others, so that the church multiplies.
  2. Ephesians 5:8. Pray that those walking in darkness will turn to the light and live as children of light.
  3. Romans 10:14–15. Ask God to send messengers, so that people can hear, believe and call on the name of the Lord.
  4. Matthew 9:37–38. Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest field.

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