Who are the Acacia* people?
The Acacia* people are an ethnic group of Chad, generally considered the modern descendants of a ruling Kingdom of ancient Chad. Up until the 1200s, they were the most powerful people group south of the Sahara, advancing their position by importing technology. However, their empire rapidly declined during the 1500s under the strength of other more aggressive and powerful rulers. Now estimated to be around 655,000 people, they live in the desert region of northwestern Chad, just northeast of Lake Chad. They speak their own language, which has various dialects. It is not yet a written language, and those who are literate read and write Arabic, which is taught in the Islamic schools.
What do they believe?
Arabs migrating from the north and east spread into Chad with Islam during the tenth century. Today, Islam is strong among the Acacia* people. They are generally orthodox, faithfully following Islamic practices, but also add in traditional African religious practices and spiritualism.
What is being done to reach them?
Throughout Chad, and even among the Acacia* people, there are churches populated with Chadians from the south of the country, from people groups who have already responded to the gospel. Please join us in praying for these churches to begin to reach out to their unreached neighbours. AIM are also seeking to place a TIMO (Training in Ministry Outreach) team among them and are currently seeking team leaders for that role. Please pray for those whom God is calling to serve in this way.
*The name of this people group has been changed to protect local Christians and those ministering among them.
