The Capital City of Chad - N’Djamena | Loving Muslims Through Prayer

The Capital City of Chad - N’Djamena

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The English translation of N’Djamena, the capital of Chad, is “The place of rest”. Unfortunately, N’Djamena has been anything but a place of rest for the past few decades: the history of this city is marked by ethnic conflicts, political unrest and even war in the 1980s.

N’Djamena presents a multicoloured mixture of ethnic groups, religions, cults and languages (there are around 120 spoken in Chad), Today, N’Djamena has a population of about one million - and significant urban expansion is still continuing. The city infrastructure has not been able to keep up with the large population increases; the water and electricity supplies are completely inadequate or non-existing in most parts of the city, and an efficient garbage and sewage disposal system is also lacking.

Segregation

Muslims in N’Djamena are politically, economically and religiously powerful, as well as imposing and sometimes even aggressive, making many of the Christians in the city feel inferior. Many Christians are fearful and only hesitantly proclaim the gospel to Muslims. While both Muslims and Christians have lived for years in the same city, geographically they are very clearly separated. The southern part of the city has over 150 evangelical churches, but in the larger northern districts there are only a few churches, which are surrounded by dozens, or even hundreds, of mosques. Thousands of Muslims have moved to the southern part of the city in recent years, while only a few dozen Christians have moved to the northern part. Today, Christians and Muslims live as neighbours in the newer districts: this means there is great potential for religious and ethnic tension, but also for new, God-prepared opportunities for evangelism and church-planting. The Church in Chad is learning to be salt and light in its daily contact with its Muslim neighbours.

In recent years, the Church in Chad has begun to send out missionaries into the Muslim areas of the country. However, the northern part of the capital, with around 700,000 Muslims, remains largely unreached. There are a handful of foreign and Chadian missionaries who work among them, but only a few know enough of the language and the culture to communicate the gospel effectively. Nevertheless, they have started some home groups. The missionaries need a lot of patience and courage.

In 2003, following much prayer and many struggles with the administration, an evangelical denomination obtained authorisation to start a private Christian radio station. Since then, the gospel is proclaimed every day, even in Chadian Arabic, a local dialect of Arabic spoken by most of the Muslims.

Prayer Guide for N’Djamena, Chad:

* Thank God for the official freedom of religion in Chad.

* Pray for more workers to reach the Muslims in N’Djamena.

* Pray that the Chadian churches may overcome the cultural and historical barriers which make it difficult for them to proclaim Christ to their Muslim neighbours.

* Pray for house churches to be established among former Muslims.

* Pray for a powerful proclamation of the gospel by radio and all other available means (personal testimony, audio cassettes, literature, videos, etc).

* Pray for N’Djamena to attain its destiny and become God’s place of rest.

Background on Chad (World Factbook)

Chad, part of France’s African holdings until 1960, endured three decades of civil warfare as well as invasions by Libya before a semblance of peace was finally restored in 1990. The government eventually drafted a democratic constitution, and held flawed presidential elections in 1996 and 2001. In 1998, a rebellion broke out in northern Chad, which sporadically flares up despite several peace agreements between the government and the rebels. In 2005 new rebel groups emerged in western Sudan and have made probing attacks into eastern Chad. Power remains in the hands of an ethnic minority. In June 2005, President Idriss DEBY held a referendum successfully removing constitutional term limits.

Economy of Chad

Chad’s primarily agricultural economy will continue to be boosted by major foreign direct investment projects in the oil sector that began in 2000. Over 80% of Chad’s population relies on subsistence farming and livestock raising for its livelihood. Chad’s economy has long been handicapped by its landlocked position, high energy costs, and a history of instability. Chad relies on foreign assistance and foreign capital for most public and private sector investment projects. A consortium led by two US companies has been investing $3.7 billion to develop oil reserves - estimated at 1 billion barrels - in southern Chad. The nation’s total oil reserves have been estimated to be 2 billion barrels. Oil production came on stream in late 2003. Chad began to export oil in 2004. Cotton, cattle, and gum arabic provide the bulk of Chad’s non-oil export earnings.

Statistics on Chad

Population: 10,111,337 (July 2008 est.)

Life Expectancy at Birth: 47.43 years

Ethnic groups: Sara 27.7%, Arab 12.3%, Mayo-Kebbi 11.5%, Kanem-Bornou 9%, Ouaddai 8.7%, Hadjarai 6.7%, Tandjile 6.5%, Gorane 6.3%, Fitri-Batha 4.7%, other 6.4%, unknown 0.3%

Religions: Muslim 53.1%, Catholic 20.1%, Protestant 14.2%, animist 7.3%, other 0.5%, unknown 1.7%, atheist 3.1%

Languages: French (official), Arabic (official), Sara (in south), more than 120 different languages and dialects

Literacy: 47.5% male: 56% female: 39.3%