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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Cross River Mbembe of Nigeria

The Cross River Mbembe of Nigeria, numbering approximately 277,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Cross River people of Nigeria organized into the Adun, Osopong, Okum and Ofunbonga clans along the middle Cross River, following a double-descent system inheriting land patrilineally and movable property matrilineally. They mostly adhere to Protestantism and Cross River Mbembe is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Cross River Mbembe

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Nigeria
People Cluster: Benue
Primary Language(s): Cross River Mbembe (mfn)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 277,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG013728
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Pray for the Cross River Mbembe of Nigeria

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: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

—
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Cross River Mbembe
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Mbembe, Cross River Speakers

Media Resources in Cross River Mbembe:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Cross River Mbembe:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Cross River Mbembe bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Cross River Mbembe 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 Cross River Mbembe:
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 Cross River Mbembe of Nigeria

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
readRomans 3:23

Pray that those who live in fear, guilt and discontentment because of sin will see their need for change, hear, and receive the good news of freedom from sin through Christ.

"You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet."
readMatthew 5:13

Pray that the lost will have the opportunity to hear a Christian witness of how the gospel can bring hope and that they will put their faith in Christ.

Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.
readExodus 4:12

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, God will equip them with the words and wisdom to proclaim His message effectively.

Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."
readMatthew 6:9b-10

Pray that God will raise up Christians who are driven by a desire to see God's name worshiped, His kingdom come, and His will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Ask Him to send them to the lost in this people group and sustain them.

Mbembe, Cross-River Across Countries (ROP3 - 106472) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Cross River MbembePG013728Cross River MbembeNigeria277,000No Longer UnreachedCross River MbembeProtestantism

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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