The Bum of Cameroon

The Bum of Cameroon, numbering approximately 43,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Grassfields fondom of Cameroon's Northwest Region tracing descent, like many neighboring chiefdoms, to Tikar migrants said to have moved from the Nile Valley into the Bamenda highlands, ruled by a fon through patrilineal succession. They mostly adhere to Protestantism and Bum is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2025). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Bum

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Cameroon
People Cluster: Bantu, Cameroon-Bamileke
Primary Language(s): Bum (bmv)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 43,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG012559
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Bum of Cameroon

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: Bum
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Bum Speakers

Media Resources in Bum:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Bum:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2014 CABTAL, In cooperation with Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc.✓✓✓

1 entry

Or check out the Bum bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Bum 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 Bum:
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 Bum of Cameroon

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
readRomans 1:18

Pray that God will have mercy and open the eyes of those who don't know Jesus, so that they can turn to the One who is able to save them from their sins.

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
read1 John 1:5

As mobile phones, radio, and satellite television, and other technologies become more available worldwide, pray for people who are developing digital gospel resources so that others can easily access the gospel.

For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.
readHebrews 10:34

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have compassion for those in prison, sympathize with those who are mistreated, and continue to do good and share the gospel with others.

"Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."
readJohn 7:38

Ask God to raise up believers and sustain them as they cross cultures to share hope with those who need it. Pray that many might come to know Christ and that streams of living water will flow from their hearts so they will never thirst again.

Bum Across Countries (ROP3 - 101734) 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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