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Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
Bengali - বাংলা | Chinese (Simplified) - 中文（简体）
Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
Hindi - हिन्दी | Indonesian - Bahasa Indonesia
Korean - 한국어 | Nepali - नेपाली
Portugese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Espanol | Tagalong / Filipino
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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Watubela of Indonesia

The Watubela of Indonesia, numbering approximately 6,100 people, are No Longer 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 language is Watubela and their primary religion is Sunni Islam.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Indonesia
People Cluster: Maluku-Central
Primary Language(s): Watubela (wah)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 6,100
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG022732
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Pray for the Watubela 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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

70%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Watubela
Language Family: Austronesian

100%
%
Watubela Speakers

Media Resources in Watubela:

Films:

No entries found for: Watubela(wah). Help build some!

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Watubela:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Watubela bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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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): Significantly Reached People Group, (LPI: 6), > 20% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical (GSEC: 6), this people group is greater than or equal to 10% evangelical

Next steps for the Watubela:
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 Watubela 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 Watubela:
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 Watubela 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 Watubela:
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 Watubela of Indonesia

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
readPsalm 19:1

Pray that those who are lost will look to the heavens and see the glory of God displayed, leading them to seek Him and know Him as their Creator and Savior.

He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.
readIsaiah 40:11

Pray that the lost will come to know the tender care of the Good Shepherd, who gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart.

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
readJohn 14:3

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have hope in trials because they know that Jesus will one day take them to be with Him forever.

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.

Watubela Across Countries (ROP3 - 110722) 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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