The Southern Sama of Philippines

The Southern Sama of Philippines, numbering approximately 214,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as an ethnolinguistic subgroup of the Sama, an Austronesian ethnic group indigenous to the Sulu Archipelago islands within the Mindanao region of the Philippines They are an Indigenous people, with Sama (Filipino) as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Filipino, Muslim people cluster of the Malay Peoples. Their primary religion is Sunni Islam. They primarily speak Sama, Southern.

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

Fast Facts*:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Philippines
People Cluster: Filipino, Muslim
Primary Language(s): Sama, Southern (ssb)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 214,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG007774
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Southern Sama 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: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

99%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Sama, Southern
Language Family: Austronesian

95%
%
Sama, Southern Speakers

Media Resources in Sama, Southern:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Bible Resources in Sama, Southern:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Sama, Southern bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Southern Sama 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 Southern Sama:
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 Southern Sama of Philippines

But he said, "What is impossible with man is possible with God."
readLuke 18:27

Praise God that He is the God of impossible things and that He is able to save even those who seem beyond hope.

Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized.
readActs 18:8

Pray that rulers and leaders will access the gospel, respond in faith, and be baptized, uniting with Christ and His Church, and influence others to follow Him.

More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
readRomans 5:11

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will rejoice in what God has done for them and will help others know how they can also be reconciled to God.

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!
readPsalm 51:2

Pray that God will raise up believers to go and share the gospel with those in this people group who need to be washed of their iniquity and cleansed from their sins.

Sama, Southern Across Countries (ROP3 - 109515) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

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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