AFWIS Joins Operation World in Prayer for the Republic of Uzbekistan - Asia

Published on Operation World (http://www.operationworld.org)

Home > Dec 13: Uzbekistan

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Dec 13: Uzbekistan

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Uzbekistan

Republic of Uzbekistan

Asia

See Prayer Information

Geography

Area: 447,400 sq km
Fertile, irrigated mountain valleys in the east, notably the Ferghana Valley. Desert and Aral Sea in the west.
Population: 27,794,296    Annual Growth: 1.10%
Capital: Tashkent
Urbanites: 36.9%
HDI Rank: 119 of 182 (UN Human Development Reports 2009)

Peoples

Peoples: 67 (55% unreached) All peoples
Unreached Peoples Prayer Card

Official language: Uzbek    Languages: 39 All languages

Religion

Largest Religion: Muslim

Religion		Pop %	Ann Gr
Christians	208,457	0.75	-1.6
Evangelicals	84,957	0.3	4.4
Muslim	23,605,696	84.93

Challenges for Prayer

Expatriate Christians serving the Lord in Uzbekistan have almost all been expelled and foreign agencies shut down – a mixed blessing as it forces the indigenous Church to unite, mature and stand firm. Pray that those whom the Lord has called to minister to Uzbeks might find ways and places to serve them and win them to Christ.
The unreached. Only a small fraction of the Muslim majority have ever had the opportunity to hear the gospel. Almost every Muslim people group is less than 0.1% Christian. Pray specifically for the:
a) Karakalpaks, who live south of the Aral Sea and are more Russified Sunni Muslims with strong Sufi influence. Nukus, the regional capital, is witnessing unprecedented church growth, despite persecution being most intense in this area. A few thousand have come into the Kingdom in recent years. Since the government shut every non-Orthodox church, almost all growth is through underground house churches. Uzbeks in the region are also coming to Christ. Pray for the Church here to stand fast and to keep growing and for the completion of the Bible in Karakalpak.
b) Tajiks comprise a majority in both Samarkand and Bukhara. There are few believers among them. Iranian-Median rather than Turkic, they are discriminated against by the government. Pray that their suffering might draw them to Christ.
     For an additional 7 Challenges for Prayer see Operation World book, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM.

More Information

The Operation World book, CD-ROM, and DVD-ROM provide far more information and fuel for prayer for the people of Uzbekistan.