Central African Republic is home to 1,574,395 evangelicals, making up 32% of the total population. 1×Source: CAR OW With a growth rate of 2.3% annually, the Central African Republic evangelical church is growing at a rate less than the global average of 2.4%.

The evangelical church of the Central African Republic began with the arrival of Swedish missionaries in 1923. The nation's first Baptist Church was established in 1925.

The Central African Republic evangelical church is unique because it has great access to the large Muslim population, both in and outside their borders. With 17% of the country's population being Islamic and the region of West Africa housing 135 million Muslims, evangelicals do not have to look far to find an unreached Muslim who needs to hear the truth of the gospel. Praise God for this unique opportunity to reach many of the 5 billion unreached Muslims in the world!

Ask that the Lord would raise up evangelicals that are burdened for the hearts of the unreached and take His good news to their neighbors. 

Central African Republic is not ranked on the Geert Hofstede cultural value index; therefore, we have no score to offer. However, when considering the region in which the country lies and the geographic neighbors that share its borders, we can make educated assumptions as to how their culture might connect with those of the unreached world. Unfortunately, the Central African Republic is bordered by Cameroon, Chad, Sudan, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, all of which are also not ranked on Hofstede's index. However, Nigeria lies just one country away, on the far side of Cameroon. Nigeria has many cultural bridges connecting it to the unreached Arab world. 2×Source: Hofstede numbers on Nigeria Nigeria has nine countries within ten median points of cultural distance away, bridging it to many majority Muslim countries. While we have no data on the Central African Republic to offer, the nation could share some of the cultural qualities that Nigeria embodies because of its geographic proximity.

Central African Republic evangelicals have access to nearly 490,000 UPGs in-country and about 158 million UPGs regionally. This ranks the nation at moderate for strategic access to the unreached. 

There are still hundreds of thousands of unreached people within borders, which make up around 9% of the total population. This is a great opportunity for evangelicals to learn about, love, and serve the unreached without even having to leave their hometown! 

Central African Republic's location in West/Central Africa gives it ample advantage to reach the Muslim-dominated Western half of the continent that other countries in Africa are not privileged with. Pray that God would show the evangelical church their strategic position in his divine plan to reach all of Muslim-dominated West Africa and every tribe, tongue, and nation beyond that.

According to Pew Research, Central African Republic is ranked moderately regarding religious freedoms with a score of 4.8. 3×Source: PEW religious restriction numbers Myanmar Though the nation's constitution states that there is no religion of the state and prohibits all forms of religious intolerance, there have been increasing events of persecution against Christians in the most recent years. 

With the increase in violence, killing, and social hostilities, the police and government have failed to punish illegal action. However, in February 2019, the government and 14 of the country's armed groups signed a peace agreement that committed to protecting and safeguarding places of worship from violent attacks. 4×Source: CAR religious restrictions constitutional 

Central African Republic scores a 3.5 in governmental restrictions and a 7.3 in social hostilities, meaning that evangelicals are more than two times more likely to experience shunning, familial guilt, or communal pressure for their religious choices than they are to be confronted by the government or legal system. If events of violence and bold persecution continue to increase, this could be a barrier to mission mobilization efforts in Central African Republic. 

Pray that the Lord would ease tensions and give courage to our Central African Republic brothers and sisters!

With a ranking of 166 out of 167, Central African Republic scores extremely low in overall prosperity on the Legatum Prosperity Index, especially when compared to the other countries on the Mobilization Index and other countries in the Sub-Saharan African region. The country holds the second lowest rank on the entire index and the region of Western Africa. Two of the country's highest-scoring categories are natural environment and market infrastructure. Their lowest scores are in education and safety and security. 5×Source: Chad OW

The nation's overall prosperity has been consistent over the past decade, as it has not fluctuated more than one position since 2011. This extremely low prosperity poses a huge barrier to mission mobilization efforts in the future when looking to launch to the Central African Republic, as well as those trying to launch from the country to the unreached. 

The high percentage of people living in poverty, low safety and security, and weak education are all major factors to keep in mind as we prayerfully consider mobilizing the Central African Republic church.

The Central African Republic evangelical church is currently sending 120 in the country and eight abroad. 
A prayer goal of the Mobilization Index is to see 0.1% of a country's evangelicals mobilized to the unreached. Central African Republic currently sends about .000005% of its evangelical population to the unreached. If this prayer goal were to happen, the nation would send roughly 1,570 evangelicals to the unreached. Pray that the Lord of the harvest would raise up workers to go out into the harvest! 

Much of the lack of sending can be tied to the nation's low economic prosperity. Even if the hearts of the church are turned to the unreached, the lack of funds and the increase of violence in the nation pose huge barriers to launching missionaries. Pray that the church would look to the providence of God alone, trusting that He provides the means to send those who are willing to go in His timing. 

The country is home to roughly 478,000 unreached people, making it a moderately strategic place for missionaries and mobilizers to go. Praise the King for the movement that is already happening and that He would continue to break down barriers and fears that the church might be up against.

Pray the the church would look to the providence of God alone, trusting that He provide the means to send those who are willing to go in His timing.

If 0.1%, or 1 in 1000, Central African Republic evangelicals were mobilized, the nation could send out over 1,500 more missionaries! There is a phenomenal opportunity for their evangelicals to take the gospel to UPGs in their own country, as well as many other countries throughout West Africa. 

With financial burdens and high percentages of poverty, Central African Republic's generosity score ranks low at 24%. 6×Source: CAF 2019 world giving index A sense of selfless generosity could be extremely beneficial in increasing numbers of missionaries and mobilizers sent to the unreached, but is difficult to attain in a nation stricken by poverty. 

It is important to note that 44% of Central African Republic's population is under the age of 14. 1×Source: CAR OW There is a great need for discipleship of the younger generation within the local churches, as this younger generation could grow to join a world mission-sending movement! There are incredible opportunities to mobilize these young people, especially when coupled with further training and education. Central African Republic would highly benefit from children and family mobilization, as there is great potential to mobilize these young believers to reach the millions of UPGs within their region. Pray that the Lord would raise up leaders and mobilizers for and out of the younger generation of their church! 

When we consider Central African Republic's access to the unreached, their religious freedom, prosperity, and sending, we rank their mobilization potential at moderate.

Obstacles:

•  A great challenge and barrier to future mobilization is the country's extreme poverty and lack of education and safety. These are both big challenges for the church in sending missionaries and establishing bases of support.
• The increase of social hostilities is a growing challenge for the church. Ask that the church learn to prayerfully consider how to deal with these tensions and safety concerns and be missional in the midst of social persecution and violence. 

Opportunities:

• Central African Republic has a significant population of young people! The church has great potential to mobilize and raise up the next generation of Christians through mentorship and sharing God's clear heart for the nations laid out in scripture.
• Thanks to its religiously free nation, the church has the opportunity to raise support, practice kingdom giving, increase its sending, and reach the 0.1% prayer goal!

Prayer: 

• Ask the Lord that Central African Republic Christians would be burdened to take the gospel to the unreached, and would send out .1% of their numbers!
• Pray that their church would have the strength and wisdom to endure any  persecution for their faith, continuing on in their ministry. 

Praises:

• Praise God for the recent commitment made by law officials to protect places of worship!
• Praise God for the great number of young people in Central African Republic. The evangelical church has a great opportunity to disciple and raise up go-ers who have a heart for God's children.