The Mambwe-Lungu of Zambia

The Mambwe-Lungu of Zambia, numbering approximately 259,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of Zambia, northeast Northern Province south of Lake Tanganyika. They are an Indigenous people in the Bantu, Central-South people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary language is Mambwe-Lungu and their primary religion is Ethnoreligion.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Mambwe-Lungu

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Zambia
People Cluster: Bantu, Central-South
Primary Language(s): Mambwe-Lungu (mgr)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 259,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG015605
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Pray for the Mambwe-Lungu of Zambia

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: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

50%
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Mambwe-Lungu
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

80%
%
Mambwe-Lungu Speakers

Media Resources in Mambwe-Lungu:

Films:

Bible Resources in Mambwe-Lungu:

Or check out the Mambwe-Lungu bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 1), 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): Expanding Unreached People Group, (LPI: 2), 0.5% to 2% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Mambwe-Lungu:
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 Mambwe-Lungu 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 Mambwe-Lungu:
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 Mambwe-Lungu 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 Mambwe-Lungu:
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 Mambwe-Lungu of Zambia

Ah, Lord GOD! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.
readJerremiah 32:17

Pray that the God who made the heavens and the earth by the power of His outstretched arm, the One who is able to save those who are lost, will show His great love and mercy to those who are walking in darkness.

Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!
readPsalm 96:3

Pray for people to hear and believe the good news of Jesus and joyfully share it with their family and friends.

And they all ate and were satisfied. And what was left over was picked up, twelve baskets of broken pieces.
readLuke 9:17

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will meditate on the stories of Jesus' miracles, be in awe of Him, and trust Him for everything they need.

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
read2 Corinthians 5:21

Pray that Christians will cross cultures and share the hope of Christ, and that many will trust the One who took their sins and offers them His righteousness.

Mambwe-Lungu Across Countries (ROP3 - 106199) 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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