Pray for Tunisian Christian Believers
Most Tunisians who follow Jesus Christ worship privately. When a conversion is discovered, families may see it as bringing shame on them, and Christian Believers can face rejection, threats, and the loss of their jobs. The pressure is strongest in the conservative south.
Father, hold close those who have lost family for Your sake. Let them know that they are never forgotten, and give them a new family in Your Church.
Can a woman forget her nursing child, And not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, Yet I will not forget you.
Isaiah 49:15
Pray for house churches
Church gatherings are monitored, and recent years have seen more incidents and arrests involving house churches. Pray for small fellowships meeting in homes, for wisdom about when and how to gather, and for leaders to disciple others faithfully.
Lord Jesus, be present with every small gathering of Your people in Tunisia, and protect them as they meet in Your name.
For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.
Matthew 18:20
Pray for migrant Christians
Many Christians in Tunisia are migrants from sub-Saharan Africa. In recent years, hostility toward migrants has led to harsh racial abuse, and many have left. Tunisia is also a departure point for dangerous crossings of the Mediterranean.
Father, protect migrant Christians and every person on the move. Be with those who cross the sea, and let Your people show them the love of Jesus Christ.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.
Isaiah 43:2
Pray for the Church to flourish again
North Africa was once a heartland of the early Church. At Carthage, near modern Tunis, Christian Believers such as Perpetua and Felicity gave their lives for Jesus Christ. Pray that the Church in Tunisia would be renewed, and that a new generation would follow Him with the same faithfulness.
Lord, let the faith that once flourished in this land rise again, and let Tunisian Christian Believers run their race with endurance.
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
Hebrews 12:1
Capital: Tunis
Dominant religion: Islam, predominantly Sunni
Languages: Arabic (official), Tunisian Arabic, with French widely used
People groups: 19
Unreached people groups: 17
Unreached frontier people groups: 11
Tunisia is the smallest country of North Africa, with a long Mediterranean coastline in the north and east and the Sahara in the south. Olive groves, coastal cities, mountain villages, and desert oases all belong to its story, and its history runs from ancient Carthage through Roman, Arab, and Ottoman rule to the modern state.
Tunisian Arabs
The great majority, about 11.4 million people, almost all Muslim. Islam shapes family life, community, and national identity.
Amazigh communities
Small Amazigh-speaking communities remain in the south, in places such as Djerba and the Matmata hills, keeping their language and traditions alive.
Libyan and Algerian communities
About 327,000 Libyans and 299,000 Algerians live in Tunisia, many with family ties across the borders.
Sub-Saharan Africans and other migrants
Workers, students, and people seeking passage to Europe, along with smaller Syrian and Sudanese communities.
Deaf Tunisians
About 21,000 people whose primary language is sign language.
Tunisia has a young, well-educated population, yet many young people struggle to find work, and many look abroad for their future.
Of Tunisia’s 19 people groups, 17 are unreached and 11 are frontier, communities with almost no followers of Jesus Christ and no known movement toward Him. More than 99% of Tunisians live in these unreached groups, and Christian adherents make up less than half of one percent of the population.
For most Tunisians, being Tunisian and being Muslim belong together. Leaving Islam can mean losing family, reputation, and work, so many who are curious about Jesus Christ keep their questions to themselves.
The constitution is ambiguous on freedom of religion and belief, and authorities monitor church gatherings. Cities such as Tunis offer some anonymity, but in the more conservative south, Christian Believers face the strongest pressure.
Most churches in Tunisia serve foreign residents and migrants. Many Tunisians have never met a Tunisian Christian Believer, and some have never heard that the Church was once at home in their land.
Yet the Church in North Africa is growing. Through Scripture, satellite and online media, dreams, and the quiet witness of friends, Tunisians are coming to Jesus Christ.
Pray for the Tunisian people
Pray for the 11.4 million Tunisian Arabs, nearly all of whom have never heard the Gospel from someone they trust.
Father, awaken spiritual thirst in Tunisian homes, and let those who are searching come to Jesus Christ and be satisfied.
Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat.
Isaiah 55:1
Pray for the south
Pray for the towns, villages, and oases of southern Tunisia, including its Amazigh communities, where pressure on anyone exploring another faith is strongest.
Lord, let the desert bloom with life, and let the people of the south encounter You.
The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose;
Isaiah 35:1
Pray for young Tunisians
Pray for students and young adults facing unemployment and uncertainty, many of them dreaming of a future elsewhere.
Father, show young Tunisians the path of life, and meet them with a hope that does not depend on where they live.
You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Psalm 16:11
Pray for the nations living in Tunisia
Pray for Libyan, Algerian, Syrian, Sudanese, and sub-Saharan African communities in Tunisia, and for Deaf Tunisians, that each would have the opportunity to hear the Gospel in a language they understand.
Lord, gather people from every nation living in Tunisia into Your kingdom.
They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God.
Luke 13:29
Pray for God’s Word to reach Tunisian homes
Pray for Scripture in Tunisian Arabic, for satellite, online, and audio resources, and for Tunisians to encounter God’s Word privately and safely.
Father, send Your Word into Tunisian homes, and let it bring healing and life.
He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions.
Psalm 107:20
Father,
We bring Tunisia before You. You know its coastal cities and mountain villages, the olive groves and the oases of the south, the students in Tunis, and the families gathered around their tables at night. You know every Tunisian, every migrant, and every person who has never heard the Gospel.
Strengthen Your Church in Tunisia. Hold close those who have lost family to follow Jesus Christ, protect house churches, and give leaders wisdom. Protect migrants and those who cross the sea, and let Your people meet them with compassion.
Let the faith that once flourished at Carthage rise again. Send Your Word into homes, meet young people in their searching, and let Tunisians of every region encounter Jesus Christ. May a new generation of Tunisian Christian Believers carry the Gospel to their own families and beyond.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
