India

Population:  3.4 million

Primary Language:  Bengali

Primary Religion:  Hinduism - 99.99% (no known evangelical believers)

Progress of the Gospel:  Unengaged and Unreached (there is no church planting work among them and less than 2% evangelical Christianity)

OVERVIEW:  The Bairagi of India are Unengaged and Unreached.  The history of the Bairagi commences with Ramanuja, who lived in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, and taught in the southern part of India. A proper Bairagi is one whose principal deity is either Vishnu or any of his incarnations, like Rama and Krishna. A mark (tilak) on the forehead and ear are their identification marks. They worship Gouranga as their family deity and Kali, Manasa and Durga as village deities.

To follow Christ is to risk disturbing community harmony within this Hindu community.  Much sustained, focused prayer is needed to prepare the hearts of the Bairagi community to understand and receive the good news of Jesus of Nazareth.  There are no known followers of Jesus among the Hindu Bairagi, but pray for those that the Lord will soon call to himself. Pray they will be zealous to learn of Christ, and that they will be sent teachers and pastors to help them. 

 

* Sources include Joshua Project (joshuaproject.net), International Mission Board (peoplegroups.org).

Prayer Points

  • Pray for God to call out believers to go to the Bairagi of India and share the gospel.
  • Pray for God to move in the hearts of Bairagi men and women and cause them to see their need for a savior.
  • There are strategies being developed to engage the Bairagi. Pray for God to give wisdom to those leading those efforts and for open doors into the Bairagi community for the gospel to be shared.
  • Ask God to save the Bairagi people.
  • Pray for the Indian church to reach out to the Bairagi people. Pray for God to give them a vision to mobilize their people and resources for the sake of the Bairagi people.