People group profile · PG050329
The Southern Mam of Guatemala
The Southern Mam of Guatemala, numbering about 234,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Maya people occupying Guatemala's western highlands for perhaps 2,600 years, speaking a Mayan branch older than Kiche or Kaqchikel, whose southern communities avoided 1524-1525 conquest by initially allying with Alvarado against their Kiche rivals.
They are an indigenous people in the Maya people cluster of the Latin American and Caribbean Peoples. Their primary religion is Folk Catholicism, and they primarily speak Mam.
Fast facts
- Country
- Guatemala
- Population
- 234,000
- Affinity group
- American Peoples
- People cluster
- Maya
- Primary language
- Mam (mam)
- Primary religion
- Folk Catholicism
- Strategic Progress Index
- No Longer Unreached
- Evangelical
- 2% or Greater but Less than 5%
- GSEC
- 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
- Lostness priority
- Marginally Reached People Group
- Region
- Central America, Americas
- Location
- Huehuetenango department: San Sebastián and other towns; Quetzaltenango and Retalhuleu departments; San Marcos department: Ixchiguán, San Juan Ostuncalco, San Martín Sacatepéquez, Sibinal, Tectitán. Dialects in San Miguel Ixtahuacán (18,000) and Concepci
Where they live
Gospel status
The Southern Mam are No Longer Unreached, which means 2% or more are evangelical Christians. In GSEC terms, this people group is greater than or equal to 2% evangelical.
- Congregations exist Yes
- Church planting in the last two years No Churches Planted
Next steps for the Southern Mam
- 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
Folk Catholicism · Christianity
90% adherents
Primary language
Mam · Mayan family
70% speak Mam
Gospel resources in Mam
- Bible available, published 2013
- JESUS Film available
- Radio programs not available
- Gospel recordings available
- Audio resources available
- Bible stories not available
Films
Bibles
- 1980 Bible Society of Guatemala · audio
- 1993 Bible Society of Guatemala · audio
- 2000 Wycliffe Bible Translators · video, audio, text
- 2008 Wycliffe Bible Translators Inc. · audio, text
- 2009 Bible Society of Guatemala · audio
- Asociación Educativa y Cultural Maya · audio, text
Find more at the JESUS Film Project, Bible.com and Faith Comes by Hearing.
Pray for the Southern Mam
- 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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