The Ambelau of Indonesia

The Ambelau of Indonesia, numbering approximately 8,900 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of Indonesia . They are an Indigenous people, in the Maluku-Central people cluster of the Malay Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Islam - Sunni. They primarily speak Ambelau.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Asian Pacific Rim Peoples
Country: Indonesia
People Cluster: Maluku-Central
Primary Language(s): Ambelau (amv)
Primary Religion(s): Islam - Sunni
Population: 8,900
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG022624

Pray for the Ambelau of Indonesia

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: Islam - Sunni
Religious Affiliation: Islam

%
Islam - Sunni Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Ambelau
Language Family: Austronesian

%
Ambelau Speakers

Media Resources in Ambelau:

Films:

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Bible Resources in Ambelau:

Or check out the Ambelau bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Next steps for the Ambelau

The Ambelau are Unengaged and Unreached, 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.

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

Next steps for the Ambelau

The Ambelau 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.

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

Next steps for the Ambelau

The Ambelau 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.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Ambelau of Indonesia

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
readPsalm 51:1

Give thanks to God that He is able to forgive all the sins people might commit, and pray that many who don't yet know this will hear the good news and turn to Him for mercy.

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
readHebrews 4:12

Pray for God's Word to be accessible to everyone in this people group in a way they will resonate with so that many will engage with it, receive it, and share it with others. 

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples."
readJohn 8:31

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will abide in Christ daily, depending on Him for every need.

For the needy shall not always be forgotten, and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.
readPsalm 9:18

Pray that God will raise up believers who can help meet emotional and physical needs among this people group. Ask Him to open doors for them and give them the courage to walk into difficult situations and share the hope of the gospel boldly.

Ambelau reported in the following countries (ROP3):

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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