The Congolese of United States

The Congolese of United States, numbering approximately 38,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a diverse collection of peoples native to the Congo Basin, whose cultures reflect centuries of interaction among riverine, forest, savanna, and urban communities. They are characterized by extensive linguistic diversity and strong kinship networks. They mostly adhere to Neo-Pentecostalism and Lingala is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: United States
People Cluster: Bantu, Central-Congo
Primary Language(s): Lingala (lin)
Primary Religion(s): Neo-Pentecostalism
Population: 38,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG047246
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Congolese of United States

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: Neo-Pentecostalism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

—
%
Neo-Pentecostalism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Lingala
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Lingala Speakers

Media Resources in Lingala:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Bible Resources in Lingala:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
1982 Boyokant Ya Sika✓

1 entry

Or check out the Lingala bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Congolese 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 Congolese:
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 Congolese of United States

"For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." Those who heard it said, "Then who can be saved?" But he said "What is impossible with man is possible with God."
readLuke 18:25-27

Pray that the lost who think they have everything they need will recognize their spiritual poverty apart from Jesus and turn to Him in faith.

Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized.
readActs 18:8

Pray that rulers and leaders will access the gospel, respond in faith, and be baptized, uniting with Christ and His Church, and influence others to follow Him.

Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
readPsalm 37:4

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will delight themselves in the Lord, trusting Him to give them the desires of their hearts.

Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples!
readPsalm 105:1

Pray that many among them will call on the name of Jesus, develop a heart for the nations, and go to places where the gospel has not yet been received.

Lingala Across Countries (ROP3 - 105785) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

9 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguage ▲Religion
CongoleseCongoleseBelgium15,500No Longer UnreachedLingalaRoman Catholicism
LingalaLingalaSouth Sudan49,000Unengaged and UnreachedLingalaSunni Islam
LingalaLingalaCentral African Republic19,000Engaged yet UnreachedLingalaProtestantism
LingalaLingalaCongo189,000Engaged yet UnreachedLingalaProtestantism
CongoleseCongoleseUganda27,500No Longer UnreachedLingalaNeo-Pentecostalism
LingalaLingalaAngola200,000Engaged yet UnreachedLingalaEthnoreligion
CongoleseCongoleseUnited States38,000No Longer UnreachedLingalaNeo-Pentecostalism
LingalaLingalaCanada3,500No Longer UnreachedLingalaProtestantism
LingalaLingalaCongo, Democratic Republic of the4,305,000No Longer UnreachedLingalaRoman 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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