The Guntai of Papua New Guinea

The Guntai of Papua New Guinea, numbering approximately 700 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an indigenous ethnic group of Papua New Guinea. They are an Indigenous people in the New Guinea people cluster of the Pacific Islander Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary language is Wartha Thuntai and their primary religion is Animism.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Pacific Islander Peoples
Country: Papua New Guinea
People Cluster: New Guinea
Primary Language(s): Wartha Thuntai (gnt)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 700
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG020270
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Guntai of Papua New Guinea

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: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

70%
%

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Wartha Thuntai
Language Family: Yam

100%
%

Media Resources in Wartha Thuntai:

Films:

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Bible Resources in Wartha Thuntai:

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Or check out the Wartha Thuntai 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): Minimally Reached People Group, (LPI: 3), 2% to 3% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical (GSEC: 4), this people group is greater than or equal to 2% evangelical

Next steps for the Guntai:
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 Guntai 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 Guntai:
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 Guntai 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 Guntai:
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 Guntai of Papua New Guinea

Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off.
readRomans 11:22

Pray that God will transform those who persist in unbelief and, in His everlasting kindness, graft them into His family.

But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.
readMark 4:20

Pray that those who have never encountered the gospel will have the opportunity to receive it, and that it will fall on good soil and bear much fruit.

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.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
readActs 1:8

Pray that God will raise up believers who are willing to cross cultures and boldly share the good news of Jesus with the lost in this people group and from every nation.

Guntai Across Countries (ROP3 - 103572) 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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