The Vunapu of Vanuatu

The Vunapu of Vanuatu, numbering approximately 1,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of Vanuatu. They are an Indigenous people in the Vanuatu people cluster of the Pacific Islander Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary language is Tapesena and their primary religion is Protestantism.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Vunapu

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Pacific Islander Peoples
Country: Vanuatu
People Cluster: Vanuatu
Primary Language(s): Tapesena (vnp)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 1,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG011096
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Pray for the Vunapu of Vanuatu

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: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Tapesena
Language Family: Austronesian

68%
%
Tapesena Speakers

Media Resources in Tapesena:

Films:

No entries found for: Tapesena(vnp). Help build some!

Bible Resources in Tapesena:

Or check out the Tapesena bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 2), which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Marginally Reached People Group, (LPI: 4), 3% or Greater but Less than 6% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical (GSEC: 5), this people group is greater than or equal to 5% evangelical

Next steps for the Vunapu:
Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Vunapu 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 Vunapu:
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

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Vunapu 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 Vunapu:
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 Vunapu of Vanuatu

For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God?
readPsalm 18:31

As people look to their own efforts for hope, pray they will have the opportunity to learn and believe in the Lord, who is the only Rock worthy of their faith.

Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!
readPsalm 67:3

Pray that God will be working in people's hearts, give them opportunities to receive the gospel, and bring many to faith in Himself.

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.
readHebrews 10:24

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will love and encourage one another, spurring each other on to live lives that honor God.

Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!
readPsalm 149:3

Pray that God will send His people across cultures to share the gospel so that those who don't yet know the truth about Him might praise His name and share the hope of Christ with others.

Vunapu Across Countries (ROP3 - 110591) reported in the following countries:

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 Definitions page.

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