The Kagayanen of Philippines

The Kagayanen of Philippines, numbering approximately 39,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Manobo-descended people of Cagayancillo in the Sulu Sea, Philippines, later influenced by Moro settlers from the Sulu Sultanate, historically skilled shipbuilders who sought protection from pirates behind the islands' reefs. They mostly adhere to Roman Catholicism and Kagayanen is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Kagayanen

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Philippines
People Cluster: Filipino Tribal
Primary Language(s): Kagayanen (cgc)
Primary Religion(s): Roman Catholicism
Population: 39,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG007701
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Pray for the Kagayanen of Philippines

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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Roman Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

72%
%
Roman Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Kagayanen
Language Family: Austronesian

100%
%
Kagayanen Speakers

Media Resources in Kagayanen:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Bible Resources in Kagayanen:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc.✓✓✓

1 entry

Or check out the Kagayanen bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Kagayanen are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Next steps for the Kagayanen:
Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Kagayanen of Philippines

But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
readMatthew 5:44-45

Pray for those who don't know Jesus to encounter believers who are kind and compassionate and that their imitation of Christ will serve as a testimony that attracts lost people to Jesus.

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
readPsalm 119:105

Pray that they will receive the Word of God as a lamp to their feet and commit their ways to Him.

But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.
readTitus 3:4-5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and might struggle with temptation to trust in their own works, they will remember that it is only because of God's mercy that they have been saved.

To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.
read1 Corinthians 9:22

Ask God to raise up believers from around the world to go and share the hope of Jesus with the lost so that they might trust in Him and have the hope of eternal life.

Kagayanen Across Countries (ROP3 - 104395) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

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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