Burkina Faso
Summary
Burkina Faso (formerly Upper Volta) achieved independence from France in 1960. Repeated military coups during the 1970s and 1980s were followed by multiparty elections in the early 1990s. Former President Blaise COMPAORE (1987-2014) resigned in late October 2014 following popular protests against his efforts to amend the Constitution’s two-term presidential limit. By mid-November, a framework for an interim government was adopted under the terms of the National Transition Charter. An interim administration, led by President Michel KAFANDO and Prime Minister Yacouba Isaac ZIDA, began organizing presidential and legislative elections planned for October 2015, but these were postponed during a weeklong failed coup in September. The rescheduled elections were held on 29 November, and Roch Marc Christian KABORE was elected president in the first round. Burkina Faso’s high population growth and limited natural resources result in poor economic prospects for the majority of its citizens.
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📷 : Wikipedia
Statistics
From the The Joshua Project [2]
In the News
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Prayer Guide
Pray for the unreached. Despite church growth, increased evangelism and mission and continued responsiveness, 27 unreached peoples remain without an effective witness; 17 of these are Muslim. Most unevangelized lie within the area of witness of several existing mission projects. Churches and missions working in areas with unreached people often tend to favour more responsive or closely related peoples. Pray for the recruitment and deployment of pioneer workers from Africa and the world to evangelize the unreached. Specific challenges include:
- Muslims, who are stronger in the north but continue to grow in nearly every ethnic group. Only a fraction of the missionary force in Burkina is specifically committed to ministering among Muslims.
- Groups include the urbanized Soninke, rural Tuareg (WH, AoG), the Kurumba (AoG) and Songhai (WH), all in the north; Bolon in the northwest; the Jula (CMF) and the Bobo Madare (targetted by CAPRO) in the west.
- Pray also for the partly nomadic Fulbe, who are a strategic people strung across Central and West Africa. They are responding to the gospel as never before through the witness of several groups: SIM, AoG, WEC, WH, WOI. Converts often face persecution and exclusion from their own people; pray for large enough groups of believers to form in order to overcome the stigma of following Jesus. Pray for the national-level conferences for Fulani believers, holistic church planting efforts, Fulani literacy centres, radio broadcasts, a chronological storying discipleship programme and the plans for a Fulani-language Bible school and missionary training centre.
- Unreached non-Muslim peoples. Most of these groups are being steadily Islamized, and time is running out before they are inoculated against the gospel by Muslims. They include the Dogose, the Senufo and sub-groups such as the Karaboro (CMA, Mennonites) and the numerous groups related to the Lobi (WEC). They are concentrated in the west and southwest.
Missionaries working in Burkina Faso have a vital role in this land with so many physical and spiritual needs. The work is hard and victories long in coming. But receptivity is high, and missionaries are welcome. Major missions working in the country are WBT, SIM, CMA, Mennonites, AoG, IMB, Apostolic Church, WEC, Lutherans, CAPRO and Deeper Life. Pray for their protection and encouragement. Missionary reinforcements are needed in a wide range of ministries.
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