People group profile · PG041791
The Lepcha of India
The Lepcha of India, numbering about 109,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are the earliest documented settlers of Sikkim, originally hunter-gatherers following Bon-influenced animist traditions before adopting Tibetan Buddhism while retaining shamans who preside over births, marriages, and deaths.
They are an indigenous people in the Other Tibeto-Burmese people cluster of the Tibetan Peoples. Their primary religion is Ethnoreligion, and they primarily speak Lepcha.
Fast facts
- Country
- India
- Population
- 109,000
- Affinity group
- South Asian Peoples
- People cluster
- Other Tibeto-Burmese
- Primary language
- Lepcha (lep)
- Primary religion
- Ethnoreligion
- Strategic Progress Index ?
- No Longer Unreached
- Evangelical
- 15% or Greater but Less than 20%
- GSEC ?
- 10% or Greater Evangelical
- Lostness priority ?
- Moderately Reached People Group
- Region
- Southern Asia, Asia
- Location
- Sikkim: Mangan district, Dzongu assembly constituency; West Bengal: Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts
Where they live
Gospel status
The Lepcha 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 Dispersed Church Planting
Next steps for the Lepcha
- 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
Primary language
Lepcha · Sino-Tibetan family
74% speak Lepcha
Gospel resources in Lepcha
- Bible available, published 1989
- JESUS Film available
- Radio programs not available
- Gospel recordings available
- Audio resources available
- Bible stories not available
Films
- JESUS (Lepcha)
Find more at the JESUS Film Project, Bible.com and Faith Comes by Hearing.
Pray for the Lepcha
- Revelation 7:9. Pray for the day when people from this group stand before the throne with every nation, tribe, people and language.
- 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.
Lepcha in other countries
The same people is also reported in 2 other countries.
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