MISSIONS IN

Sierra Leone

God is moving in Sierra Leone

The State of Missions in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone combines an unusually rich Christian history with a Muslim-majority population and deep postwar social needs. Ten unreached people groups represent about 1.61 million people, with Kuranko the largest listed community. The strongest missions opportunities join Krio-speaking local witness, rural church leadership, community health, education, and long-term recovery from poverty and conflict.

  • 8.7M POPULATION
  • 12.1% CHRISTIANS
  • 48.1% LITERACY
  • 10 UNREACHED PEOPLE GROUPS
  • Kuranko LARGEST UNREACHED PEOPLE GROUP
  • 1.6M UNREACHED POPULATION
  • Freetown CAPITAL CITY
  • Freetown Bo Kenema LARGEST CITIES
  • Sierra Leonean Leone CURRENCY
  • Tropical climate, with a long rainy season, hot humid coast, drier interior months, and heavy downpours. CLIMATE
  • English Krio PRIMARY LANGUAGES
  • Ethnic LARGEST UNREACHED RELIGION

Explore Sierra Leone

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God Is at Work. You’re Invited Into the Story.

God Is at Work. You’re Invited Into the Story.

Around the world, God is moving through ordinary people who pray, give, go, and serve. Hold the Rope helps you discover the stories—and find your place in them. Read More

Explore by Category

Bible Translation Sierra Leone's churches can use English Scripture to serve Muslim-majority communities through with biblical clarity.
Church Planting Sierra Leone needs pastors able to plant healthy churches among Muslim-majority communities.
Disaster Relief Church planting remains urgent among Somali, coastal Muslim.
Education Church planting remains urgent among Somali, coastal Muslim.
Gospel Access Among Sierra Leone's 10 UPGs, Kuranko is largest; the total unreached population is about 1,609,800.
Human Trafficking Church planting remains urgent among Somali, coastal Muslim.
Medical Missions Church planting remains urgent among Somali, coastal Muslim.
Orphans & Vulnerable Children Church planting remains urgent among Somali, coastal Muslim.
Persecuted Church Prayer for Sierra Leone should reflect this reality: religious coexistence is strong.
Poverty & Justice Churches can serve war-affected and rural families through livelihoods, education, and practical support.
Unreached People Groups Millions still have little or no access to the gospel in their language and culture.

Active Projects across Sierra Leone

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A History of God's Faithfulness in Sierra Leone

Freetown became an early West African Christian and educational center, and Church Missionary Society-trained Africans carried the Gospel widely; later evangelical and Pentecostal movements expanded inland. That history now shapes how Sierra Leone’s churches understand local leadership, witness, and mission. That history matters because today’s churches must serve Muslim-majority communities through Krio-speaking local believers with greater local ownership.

  1. Early Beginnings

    Freetown became an early West African Christian and educational center, and Church Missionary Society-trained Africans carried the Gospel widely.

  2. 1900s

    later evangelical and Pentecostal movements expanded inland.

  3. Independence Era

    In Sierra Leone, leadership now has to emerge from a church shaped by a nation founded partly as a settlement for freed slaves, with historic churches, a Muslim majority, and deep postwar social needs; national pastors and lay believers are best positioned to disciple Muslim-majority communities through Krio-speaking local believers.

  4. Modern Movement

    Contemporary ministry in Sierra Leone now intersects with war-affected and rural families facing persistent poverty and rural districts with weak medical infrastructure. Churches also need practical readiness for floods, landslides, epidemics, and food insecurity.

  5. Today

    Churches in Sierra Leone must reach Kuranko within a frontier of about 1,609,800 people while also serving war-affected and rural families facing persistent poverty amid religious coexistence is strong, though converts may still face local family pressure.

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