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The Idate of Timor-Leste

The Idate of Timor-Leste, numbering approximately 18,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an Indigenous highland people centered on Laclubar in Manatuto, whose communities regard ancestral ritual houses and sacred landscape sites as sources of lulik potency. They mostly adhere to Roman Catholicism and Idaté is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: Idate

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Timor-Leste
People Cluster: Timor
Primary Language(s): Idaté (idt)
Primary Religion(s): Roman Catholicism
Population: 18,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG023121
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Pray for the Idate of Timor-Leste

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: Roman Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

57%
%
Roman Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Idaté
Language Family: Austronesian

60%
%
Idaté Speakers

Media Resources in Idaté:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Idaté:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Idaté bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Idate 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 Idate:
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 Idate of Timor-Leste

But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven"
readMatthew 9:14

Pray that those who are spiritually dead will recognize their need for spiritual nourishment and turn to the One who offers true fulfillment.

“I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’ to a nation that was not called by my name."
readIsaiah 65:1

Pray that the lost will be found by God, even when they are not seeking Him. Pray that He will reveal Himself to them in a way they cannot ignore and that they will respond in faith.

No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God.
readRomans 4:20

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will not waver but will grow strong in their belief, knowing that the Lord rewards those who seek Him.

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
readJohn 12:24

Pray that God will raise up men and women who are willing to die to their own desires, bearing much fruit for the kingdom among individuals and in places where His gospel has not been proclaimed.

Idate Across Countries (ROP3 - 103949) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
IdatePG023121IdateTimor-Leste18,000Engaged yet UnreachedIdatéRoman Catholicism

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.

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