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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Popti of Guatemala

The Popti of Guatemala, numbering approximately 58,500 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Mayan ethnic group indigenous to the border area between Chiapas is southern Mexico and Huehuetenango in northwestern Guatemala and can also be known as Eastern Jacalteco, Jacalteco, Western Jacalteco. They are an Indigenous people, in the Maya people cluster of the Latin-Caribbean Americans affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Ethnoreligion. They primarily speak Jakalteko.

Popti in Mexico photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Anonymous

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: American Peoples
Country: Guatemala
People Cluster: Maya
Primary Language(s): Jakalteko (jac)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 58,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG024736

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Pray for the Popti of Guatemala

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Jakalteko
Language Family: Mayan

%
Jakalteko Speakers

Media Resources in Jakalteko:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Jakalteko:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Jakalteko bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Next steps for the Popti

The Popti 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 Popti

The Popti 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 Popti

The Popti 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 Popti of Guatemala

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
readEphesians 6:12

Pray for those ensnared by the darkness of this world, that they will recognize the spiritual forces at work and turn to the light of Christ.

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.

You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
readDeuteronomy 6:5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, and might, as they strive to live lives that honor and glorify Him.

May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations.
readPsalm 67:1-2

Pray that as God blesses believers from among this people group or from nearby cultures, He will raise them up to share His saving power among the nations.

Jakaltek (ROP3 - 102842) 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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