People group profile · PG041246
The Telaga of India
The Telaga of India, numbering about 10,060,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Telugu‑speaking agrarian and warrior community of Andhra Pradesh, best understood as a sub‑group of the Kapu caste cluster. In practice, the terms Kapu, Telaga, and (in some areas) Ontari are closely related and often used interchangeably.
They are an indigenous people in the Marathi-Konkani people cluster of the South Asian Peoples. Their primary religion is Hinduism, and they primarily speak Telugu.
Fast facts
- Country
- India
- Population
- 10,060,000
- Affinity group
- South Asian Peoples
- People cluster
- Marathi-Konkani
- Primary language
- Telugu (tel)
- Primary religion
- Hinduism
- Strategic Progress Index
- Engaged yet Unreached
- Evangelical
- Less than 2%
- GSEC
- Less than 2% Evangelical, Dispersed CP Activity
- Lostness priority
- Frontier Unreached People Group
- Region
- Southern Asia, Asia
- Location
- distributed in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Maharashtra
Where they live
Gospel status
The Telaga 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 but there has been dispersed church planting among them within the past two years.
- Congregations exist Yes
- Church planting in the last two years Dispersed Church Planting
Next steps for the Telaga
- 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
Gospel resources in Telugu
- Bible available, published 2022
- JESUS Film available
- Radio programs available
- Gospel recordings available
- Audio resources available
- Bible stories available
Films
- Magdalena (Telugu)
- The Savior (Telugu)
Bibles
- Contemporary Version · video
- Contemporary Version - LUMO Christmas Film · video
- Contemporary Version - LUMO Easter Film · video
- Easy to Read Version · audio, text
- Grace Ministries · audio, text
Find more at the JESUS Film Project, Bible.com and Faith Comes by Hearing.
Pray for the Telaga
- 2 Timothy 2:2. Pray for faithful local leaders who will teach others, so that the church multiplies.
- Ephesians 5:8. Pray that those walking in darkness will turn to the light and live as children of light.
- Romans 10:14–15. Ask God to send messengers, so that people can hear, believe and call on the name of the Lord.
- Matthew 9:37–38. Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest field.
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