People group profile · PG033677
The Beja of Eritrea
The Beja of Eritrea, numbering about 226,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are a Cushitic people of the Eastern Desert known to ancient Egyptians as the Medjay and to Romans as the Blemmyes, some Christianized through ties to the Kingdom of Axum before Arab trade and marriage brought most into Islam by the 1400s.
They are an indigenous people in the Beja people cluster of the Horn of Africa Peoples. Their primary religion is Sunni Islam, and they primarily speak Beja.
Fast facts
- Country
- Eritrea
- Population
- 226,000
- Affinity group
- Northern African and Middle Eastern Peoples
- People cluster
- Beja
- Primary language
- Beja (bej)
- Primary religion
- Sunni Islam
- Strategic Progress Index ?
- Unengaged and Unreached
- Evangelical
- Less than 2%
- GSEC ?
- Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
- Lostness priority ?
- Frontier Unreached People Group
- Region
- Eastern Africa, Africa
Where they live
Gospel status
The Beja 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 Beja
- 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
100% adherents
Primary language
Beja · Afro-Asiatic family
100% speak Beja
Gospel resources in Beja
- Bible available
- JESUS Film available
- Radio programs not available
- Gospel recordings available
- Audio resources available
- Bible stories not available
Films
Find more at the JESUS Film Project, Bible.com and Faith Comes by Hearing.
Pray for the Beja
- Romans 12:4–5. Pray that believers from many cultures will work together as one body so that the church is built up.
- Revelation 7:9. Pray for the day when people from this group stand before the throne with every nation, tribe, people and language.
- John 17:3. Pray that many will come to know the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom he has sent.
- Psalm 27:1. Pray that new believers will be strengthened in the face of persecution, with the Lord as their stronghold.
Beja in other countries
The same people is also reported in 2 other countries.
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