People group profile · PG022489
The Belitung of Indonesia
The Belitung of Indonesia, numbering about 116,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic Malay community indigenous to Belitung Island whose identity is rooted in the island's maritime environment, distinctive Malay speech traditions, and a history shaped by agriculture and tin mining.
They are an indigenous people in the Melayu of Sumatra people cluster of the Malay Peoples. Their primary religion is Sunni Islam, and they primarily speak Malay (individual language).
Fast facts
- Country
- Indonesia
- Population
- 116,000
- Affinity group
- Asian Pacific Rim Peoples
- People cluster
- Melayu of Sumatra
- Primary language
- Malay (individual language) (zlm)
- Primary religion
- Sunni Islam
- Strategic Progress Index
- Engaged yet Unreached
- Evangelical
- Less than 2%
- GSEC
- Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
- Lostness priority
- Frontier Unreached People Group
- Region
- South-Eastern Asia, Asia
Where they live
Gospel status
The Belitung are Engaged yet Unreached, which means fewer than 2% are evangelical Christians, but there are sustained efforts to establish self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. In GSEC terms, this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years.
- Congregations exist No
- Church planting in the last two years No Churches Planted
Next steps for the Belitung
- Continue prayer and fasting for this group
- Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
- Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people
Primary religion
Sunni Islam · Islam
99% adherents
Primary language
Malay (individual language) · Austronesian family
100% speak Malay (individual language)
Gospel resources in Malay (individual language)
- Bible available
- JESUS Film available
- Radio programs not available
- Gospel recordings available
- Audio resources available
- Bible stories not available
Films
- JESUS (Malay)
- The Savior (Malay)
Bibles
- 2001 Today's Malay Version · audio, text
- Alkitab Versi Borneo · video, audio, text
Find more at the JESUS Film Project, Bible.com and Faith Comes by Hearing.
Pray for the Belitung
- John 17:3. Pray that many will come to know the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom he has sent.
- Psalm 27:1. Pray that new believers will be strengthened in the face of persecution, with the Lord as their stronghold.
- Romans 12:4–5. Pray that believers from many cultures will work together as one body so that the church is built up.
- Revelation 7:9. Pray for the day when people from this group stand before the throne with every nation, tribe, people and language.
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