Chad

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Official name: Republic of Chad Area: Government: Official languages: Monetary unit: Cities:

DEMOGRAPHY Population: Population density: ECONOMY GDP (PPP): per person: </small>

LIFE & LIBERTY HDI

Contents 1 Geography 1.1 Location 1.2 Climate 1.3 Natural Resources 2 Demographics 2.1 Peoples 2.2 Language 2.3 Provinces 3 Life 4 Economy 5 Government 5.1 Terrorism: 6 Religion 6.1 Islam 6.2 Buddhism 6.3 Christianity 6.3.1 History 6.3.2 Churches 6.3.3 Church and State Relations 6.3.4 Mission and Evangelization 6.3.5 Broadcasting 6.3.6 Councils and Networks 7 Future Trends 8 For More Reading

[edit] Geography

[edit] Location

• Chad is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west. Due to its distance from the sea and its largely desert climate, the country is sometimes referred to as the “Dead Heart of Africa.” Chad is divided into three major geographical regions: a desert zone in the north, an arid Sahelian belt in the centre and a more fertile Sudanese savanna zone in the south.

[edit] Climate

• Chad is one of 10 poorest countries in the world. It lies in the heart of the African continent and suffers from low rainfall and severe droughts.

[edit] Natural Resources

[edit] Demographics

[edit] Peoples

• Out of the 200 or so people groups and 120 languages in Chad, 120 are considered so far not touched by the Gospel, they are Unreached People Groups. Chad is one of the most unreached countries in Africa. There is a urgent need for more workers for the least reached in the country.
• There are no known believers among the Chad Nomads, a fiercely independent Muslim people. Pray for Holy Spirit inspiration of how to reach out to them and practical ways to do so. Pray for more workers in sharing the gospel with them and for health and strength in the difficult nomadic desert lifestyle.
• Tama in Chad (107,000).
• Masalit in Chad (200,000) - people cluster Ouaddai-Fur.

[edit] Language

• French and Arabic are the official languages.
• A list of the languages spoken in the country: Global Recording

[edit] Provinces

• The Provinces of Chad

• The Cities of Chad

[edit] Life

• There is much conflict among the peoples of the country.

[edit] Economy

[edit] Government

• Chad is one of 10 poorest countries in the world. It lies in the heart of the African continent and suffers from low rainfall and severe droughts. Chad endured three decades of civil warfare as well as invasions by Libya before a semblance of peace was finally restored in 1990, but the civil war goes on. The government eventually drafted a democratic constitution and held flawed presidential elections in 1996 and 2001.

[edit] Terrorism:

Terrorism in Chad has been used by rebel groups a means of opposing the successive dictatorships since Chadian independence in 1960. Chadian President Idriss Déby Itno has said that his ongoing battle against rebels and Janjaweed militiamen based in Sudan is a war against Islamic extremists. In August 2004, United States of America troops were in Chad training some of the country’s elite forces in how to fight Al Qaeda or any of its allies in the region.

[edit] Religion

• This country is on the forefront of the Christian/Muslim divide in Sub-Saharan Africa. There is religious freedom (at least on the paper) but this is threatened by the polarisation of the country. The South West of the country is majority Christian, whilst the north and east of the country is 99% Muslim.

[edit] Islam

• Islam is the most widely practiced religion.

[edit] Buddhism

[edit] Christianity

• 27.8% of Chad’s population

[edit] History

[edit] Churches

• The challenges of the church - the giants of tribal division, animistic lifestyle practices and petty legalism cripple many congregations. Pray for Godly leaders who will teach the bible faithfully and be brave enough to tackle these giants.
• Pray that the churches in Chad would grow and mature in their faith and discipleship. Many congregations mix Christianity up with other ideas and beliefs and can be legalistic. Pray that the Holy Spirit would be working to bring true freedom in their lives.

[edit] Church and State Relations

• Challenges for Christians: Many Chadian Muslims have been recruited as mercenaries to attack and kill Christians in Nigeria. The country is almost equally divided between Muslim northerners, who are politically more powerful, and increasingly more marginalized Christian/ethnic religion southerners.

[edit] Mission and Evangelization

• There are more unreached peoples in Chad than anywhere else in Africa. Pray for ongoing support and protection for missionaries already working here. Pray also that God would call many to dedicate years to learning the languages and building the Kingdom in Chad.
• The unreached - there have been some turning to Christ from amongst the Muslim majority, pray for perseverance and good teaching for the new believers. Pray also for missionaries working in primitive conditions amongst the nomadic Arabs and other Muslim groups.
• Radio programs and Gospel messages on cassettes in widely understood Chadian Arabic are effective in this strongly oral society. Pray for the recording of Christian material. Progress is slow because the harsh desert conditions affect equipment and because only a few ‘voices’ are available. Believers fear persecution if their voice is recognised.
• Thousands of Chadians and refugees have received calendars with Bible verses in Arabic. Pray that the Holy Spirit will use this seed in their lives. The church has organised a meal and invited most of their neighbours and friends who are Ms and showed them the Jesus film and distributed lots of calenders and tapes. There was a great turnout and and many sat and watched the whole Jesus film for several hours.'
• For around 40 years WEC International has been trying to share the gospel with the Masalit people (cluster Ouaddai-Fur), found in eastern Chad and in Darfur, Sudan. So far in Chad there are only six known believers. However, recently, it has been amazing to see the degree of spiritual openness among the refugees in this troubled area. Because of the fighting the workers have not been able to continue their work in the main Masalit town but are investigating exciting possibilities in another town.
• The translation of Luke’s Gospel goes through the consultant check in April 2008 and, hopefully, will go to print some time in the summer 2008. Demand for two of the books of epistles has exceeded expectations and reprints are under way. We hope to reprint Matthew’s Gospel later this year as well. The next book to be tackled will be Mark, followed perhaps by Revelation. The work on the Old Testament should take a step forward with the completion of Exodus due later this year. Pray for some of the translation team members who as yet are not Christians, that their contact with God's word will touch and influence them personally.

[edit] Broadcasting

[edit] Councils and Networks

[edit] Future Trends

[edit] For More Reading

• Wikipedia
• Joshua Project
• GRN