Burkina Faso

Partner with  Local Missionaries in Burkina Faso

Located in the 10/40 Window

This landlocked country in West Africa has a population that is 60.5 percent Muslim, but both Muslims and Christians in Burkina Faso also practice beliefs from indigenous tribal religions. A little more than 20 percent of the population describe themselves as Christian.

With French as the principal language and 69 other languages spoken in the country, Burkina Faso’s people belong to two major West African ethnic groups, the Voltaic and the Mande. The Voltaic Mossi who make up about half the population claim descent from warriors who migrated from Ghana around 1100 AD and established an empire that lasted more than 800 years.

Most Muslims are from the Sunni branch. In the peculiar blend of Islam and tribal animism practiced in some parts of Burkina Faso, a shaman or Marabout earns money as a traditional “healer,” providing trinkets and incantations attributed with power to keep malicious spirits and other beings at bay.

At least seven tribes are proving receptive to the message of Christ’s atoning sacrifice, and local missionaries seek assistance to send 40 more workers to them and support them the first few months. Eventually the church-planters plan to set up small businesses in order to support themselves.

A local ministry also plans to send 90 new Christians from the predominantly Muslim, ethnic Fulani to plant churches among their own people. The ministry requests help to train the church planters. The training involves instruction in church planting, discipleship and skills needed to start businesses, such as sewing, for their livelihood.

Local missionaries also need assistance purchasing 1,500 Bibles and 600 audio Bibles to provide to those who are hearing the gospel for the first time.

Sources: Joshua Project, CIA World Factbook, Wikipedia, Missions Insider

20.84 million

Population

10.24%

Evangelical Population:

People Groups:

Unreached People Groups:

How to Pray for Burkina Faso

Pray that Christ’s light would penetrate the darkness of witchcraft and other occult practices ingrained in centuries of ancestral religion.
Pray that God would strengthen and purify churches tainted by animistic beliefs and rituals.
Pray for wisdom and protection for local missionaries sharing Christ with Muslims.

More stories from Burkina Faso

Equip Believers for Gospel Work in Burkina Faso

A local ministry’s discipleship and church-planting program brings together believers three mornings each week to equip them for future missions work. In the afternoon, the students participate in practical workshops such as tailoring, weaving, and hair-plaiting, and people from neighboring communities who aren’t yet believers are invited to join. Donations support such training efforts. Pray that believers grow in their boldness to share the gospel.

Assist With Training New Missionaries in Burkina Faso

During a recent weeks-long training event, a local ministry prepared 37 people in discipleship and church planting with the expectation the graduates would then be commissioned to go to different places to plant churches. “Some will be sent back to their local churches to be deployed where they see fit,” the ministry leader said. The ministry expects to begin another training session with 30 trainees following the completion of this one, the first time two such events have taken place in a single year. Your donations support such training opportunities.

Support Missionaries’ Outreach Endeavors in Burkina Faso

Local missionaries held a storytelling festival in the ministry's village center to mark the end of their recent training session to learn how to tell Biblical stories. The ministry leader hopes the festival will be an opportunity for the missionaries to put their new storytelling training into practice and that many people who hear the stories will put their faith in Jesus. “Pray that this festival will go well,” the ministry leader asked. Your monthly donations of $60 help support missionaries with such evangelism efforts.

Teach Christian Workers Evangelism Strategies in Burkina Faso

A local ministry recently held its first Disciple Making Movement Camp, a three-day event attended by 57 people from Burkina Faso as well as from five other countries. Most of the attendees were already engaging in disciple-making practices in their ministry work, and all enjoyed learning of one another's strategies, particularly regarding how to evangelize and disciple different ethnic groups. "One of the attendees commented that he was amazed at the wisdom and strategy God had given to believers in their outreach to others in their ethnic group," the ministry leader said. Donations of $60 or $120 assist with training events such as this.

Help Send the Message of Eternal Life in Burkina Faso

When a local missionary visited an influential villager identified as a “man of peace,” a Muslim trader was present who cast spells to harm competing vendors; hearing them discuss an impending gospel gathering, he also attended and put his faith in Christ. “His repentance was a reality with his entire family,” the local ministry leader said. “He testifies to God's good things in his life and testifies of what He was doing.” Workers led to Christ more than 700 people who had practiced a blend of Islam and animism over the course of six months. Workers need donations for such gospel efforts. They request prayer that the Lord reveal strategies to bring the gospel to peoples who are hard to reach.

Partner with  Local Missionaries in Burkina Faso