By Matthew Castro
Population: 9.2 million. Capital: Porto-Novo (287,000). Christians: 768,000. Largest Religion: Christianity.. Fastest Growing Religion: Islam. Largest Ethic Groups: Guinean (59.5%), Gur (17.4%), Yoruba (13.1%). Language: French.
PRAYER REQUESTS
BENIN REMAINS ONE THE WORLD’S LEAST-DEVELOPED COUNTRIES. Almost 75% of economic activity is “underground” or illegal. Some suspect that criminals smuggle tens of thousands of children out of Benin each year to sell them as child laborers. Pray for justice and righteousness to grow in Benin.
BENIN HAS THE HIGHEST PERCENTAGE IN AFRICA OF PEOPLE WHO FOLLOW TRADITIONAL ETHNIC RELIGIONS. Many Christians mix their faith with animism. They go to church on Sunday, but consult the witch doctor during the week. Pray for revival tag makes the Church pure. Pray also for many witch doctors to experience the power of Jesus and turn to Him!
BIBLE’S IN THE LANGUAGES OF THE PEOPLE. Almost half of Benin’s languages still need a Bible or even a New Testament. Some evangelicals have a goal to plant 20,000 congregations by 2020! Pray that new churches are started among every people. Village health ministries and holistic rural development bring good responses from both animists and Muslims.
MOST PEOPLES IN BENIN REMAIN UNREACHED. It is one of the few countries where almost equal numbers of Muslims, Christians, and animists live side by side. Benin is probably the least-evangelized non-Muslim country in Africa. Pray for churches and missions to send more workers, especially to the central and northern regions. Very few evangelical believers live among the Muslim peoples of the far north.