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Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Cebuano of Philippines

The Cebuano of Philippines, numbering approximately 23,360,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are described as a Filipino ethnolinguistic group indigenous to the Visayas, the southernmost islands of Luzon and a significant portion of Mindanao They are an Indigenous people, with Visayan as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Filipino, Central people cluster of the Malay Peoples. Their primary religion is Roman Catholicism. They primarily speak Cebuano.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Cebuano

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Philippines
People Cluster: Filipino, Central
Primary Language(s): Cebuano (ceb)
Primary Religion(s): Roman Catholicism
Population: 23,360,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG042429
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Pray for the Cebuano of Philippines

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.

Pray Now!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Roman Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

66%
%
Roman Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Cebuano
Language Family: Austronesian

100%
%
Cebuano Speakers

Media Resources in Cebuano:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Cebuano:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Cebuano bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

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 Cebuano:
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 Cebuano 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 Cebuano:
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 Cebuano 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 Cebuano:
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 Cebuano of Philippines

But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.
readPsalm 130:4

Pray that God will bring those who have hard hearts to repentance and trust in Christ for the forgiveness of their sins.

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
readMatthew 6:10

Pray that God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven, and that people will seek His kingdom and righteousness above all else, trusting in His provision.

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
readJames 1:12

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be encouraged when they persevere under trial, knowing that when they have stood the test, they will receive the crown of life.

Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
readIsaiah 43:19

Praise the God who is able to make a way forward, even when it seems impossible. Ask Him to do a new thing among this people group specifically and among the nations, raising up believers to go and share the gospel with individuals and places where it has not flourished before.

Visayan Across Countries (ROP3 - 110577) 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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