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The Idate of Timor-Leste

The Idate of Timor-Leste, numbering approximately 18,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an Indigenous highland people centered on Laclubar in Manatuto, whose communities regard ancestral ritual houses and sacred landscape sites as sources of lulik potency. They mostly adhere to Roman Catholicism and Idaté is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: Idate

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Timor-Leste
People Cluster: Timor
Primary Language(s): Idaté (idt)
Primary Religion(s): Roman Catholicism
Population: 18,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG023121
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Pray for the Idate of Timor-Leste

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Roman Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

57%
%
Roman Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Idaté
Language Family: Austronesian

60%
%
Idaté Speakers

Media Resources in Idaté:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Idaté:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Idaté bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Idate are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Next steps for the Idate:
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

Pray specifically for the Idate of Timor-Leste

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
readJohn 3:14-15

Pray that the lost among them will look to the One lifted up on the cross, believing in Him and receiving eternal life.

I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.
readPsalm 34:4

Pray for each who becomes a child of God to share the hope of eternity with family and friends.

Praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
readActs 2:47

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, God will use their faith and their church community as a testimony to the watching world and grow His Church.

And thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else's foundation, but as it is written, "Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand."
readRomans 15:20-21

Pray that God will send believers to cross cultures and proclaim the gospel where Christ has not been named, so that the nations might glorify God for His mercy.

Idate Across Countries (ROP3 - 103949) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
IdatePG023121IdateTimor-Leste18,000Engaged yet UnreachedIdatéRoman Catholicism

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Data Standards section.

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