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People group profile · PG010199

The Mayo of Papua New Guinea

The Mayo of Papua New Guinea, numbering about 4,400 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an indigenous ethnic group of Papua New Guinea, Sepik, Tama.

They are an indigenous people in the New Guinea people cluster of the Pacific Islander Peoples. Their primary religion is Protestantism, and they primarily speak Yessan-Mayo.

Pray for the MayoPrint profile

AI-generated illustration representing the Mayo people
AI-generated illustration, not a photograph. Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Mayo

Fast facts

Country
Papua New Guinea
Population
4,400
Affinity group
Asian Pacific Rim Peoples
People cluster
New Guinea
Primary language
Yessan-Mayo (yss)
Primary religion
Protestantism
Strategic Progress Index ?
No Longer Unreached
Evangelical
20% or Greater but Less than 30%
GSEC ?
10% or Greater Evangelical
Lostness priority ?
Significantly Reached People Group
Region
Melanesia, Oceania

Where they live

Gospel status

The Mayo are No Longer Unreached, which means 2% or more are evangelical Christians. In GSEC terms, this people group is greater than or equal to 10% evangelical.

  • Congregations exist Yes
  • Church planting in the last two years No Churches Planted

Next steps for the Mayo

  • Pray for the churches among this group to grow in faithfulness and maturity
  • Equip believers to reach the unreached peoples around them
  • Send out laborers from this people to the nations

Primary religion

Protestantism · Christianity

35% adherents

Primary language

Yessan-Mayo · Sepik family

100% speak Yessan-Mayo

Gospel resources in Yessan-Mayo

  • Bible available, published 2014
  • JESUS Film not available
  • Radio programs not available
  • Gospel recordings available
  • Audio resources available
  • Bible stories not available

Bibles

Find more at the JESUS Film Project, Bible.com and Faith Comes by Hearing.

Pray for the Mayo

  1. Revelation 7:9. Pray for the day when people from this group stand before the throne with every nation, tribe, people and language.
  2. John 17:3. Pray that many will come to know the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom he has sent.
  3. Psalm 27:1. Pray that new believers will be strengthened in the face of persecution, with the Lord as their stronghold.
  4. Romans 12:4–5. Pray that believers from many cultures will work together as one body so that the church is built up.

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