The Kele of Congo, Democratic Republic of the

The Kele of Congo, Democratic Republic of the, numbering approximately 663,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a language of Democratic Republic of Congo, former Orientale province: Isangi Territory, on Lomami and Congo rivers. They mostly adhere to Neo-Pentecostalism and Kele (Democratic Republic of Congo) is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Congo, Democratic Republic of the
People Cluster: Bantu, Central-Congo
Primary Language(s): Kele (Democratic Republic of Congo) (khy)
Primary Religion(s): Neo-Pentecostalism
Population: 663,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG014583
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Kele of Congo, Democratic Republic of the

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: Neo-Pentecostalism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

—
%
Neo-Pentecostalism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Kele (Democratic Republic of Congo)
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Kele (Democratic Republic of the Congo) Speakers

Media Resources in Kele (Democratic Republic of Congo):

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Kele (Democratic Republic of Congo):

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Kele (Democratic Republic of Congo) bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Kele 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 Kele:
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 Kele of Congo, Democratic Republic of the

But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.
read1 Timothy 6:9

Pray for those, rich and poor, who have put their trust in worldly things, and ask that they will be honest with themselves, acknowledge their need for God and turn to Him.

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
readRomans 5:10

Pray that God will remove obstacles to the gospel so that many will see the hope He offers through the death, burial, and resurrection of His Son, and be transformed from being enemies to being His friends.

I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me. I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.
readPsalm 3:5-6

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and experience isolation or other persecution, God will sustain them and give them confidence and rest in Him.

There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.
readMark 7:15

Pray for Christians to take any opportunity to share the hope of Jesus with lost people here, praying they will be wise like Jesus as they share the truth about what can defile people and what can make them clean.

Kele Across Countries (ROP3 - 104812) 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.

Scroll to Top