Barbadians, also known as Bajan, are immigrants from the densely populated Caribbean island nation of Barbados.
A large wave of Barbadian immigration to North America began in the 1950s and peaked in the 1960s. A large percentage of this wave of immigrants consisted of professional and technical workers forced to leave home because of limited economic opportunities in Barbados.
A majority of Barbadian immigrants have settled in the Northeast region of the United States.
Barbadians who return after years of residence nd children born in America to Bajan parents are called "Bajan Yankees", a term considered derogatory by some. Generally, Bajans recognize and accept all "children of the island" as Bajans, and refer to each other as such.
Close to 90% of all Barbadians are of Afro-Caribbean descent ("Afro-Bajans") and mixed-descent. While Barbadians speak British English as their official language, a regional variant of English, referred to locally as Bajan is spoken by most Barbadians in everyday life, especially in informal settings. The degree of intelligibility between Bajan and general English, depends on the level of creolised vocabulary and idioms. A Bajan speaker may be completely unintelligible to an English speaker from another country.
The largest religious group among Barbadians is Anglican (40%), due to the influence of Britain during Barbados' time as a colony.
Prayer Points
Pray that evangelical Barbadians will take the gospel cross-culturally to unreached people groups.
Ask God to reveal to the Barbadians the need for a personal living relationship with Jesus Christ.
Pray for Barbadians who have been seduced by a secular way of life.
Learning Resources
Learn more about "Learning Paths" Online Courses for embracing, encountering and engaging diaspora people. Work at your own pace. Begin anytime and complete the course according to your schedule. Interactive, Hands-On Application.
Learn more about "Reaching the Nations" This book delineates five disciplines Christians should develop in order to effectively reach the nations. More specifically, it will guide Christians to develop an engagement strategy in their locale.
Other Resources
Know God in 98 Languages A CRU resource with 9 different witnessing models (e.g. 4 Spiritual Laws, etc.) in 98 languages.