The Jawa Banten of Indonesia

The Jawa Banten of Indonesia, numbering approximately 651,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as an Austronesian people descended from ancestors who reached Java between 1500 and 1000 BC, part of the historically fervent Muslim community of the Banten region converted through Islamic trade in the sixteenth century They are an Indigenous people, with Java / Jawa as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Jawa people cluster of the Malay Peoples. Their primary religion is Sunni Islam. They primarily speak Javanese.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Indonesia
People Cluster: Jawa
Primary Language(s): Javanese (jav)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 651,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG047521
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Jawa Banten 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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

100%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Javanese
Language Family: Austronesian

75%
%
Javanese Speakers

Media Resources in Javanese:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film
The SaviorView Film

3 films

Bible Resources in Javanese:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
New Revised Javanese (formal) Version, 2006✓✓✓

1 entry

Or check out the Javanese bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Jawa Banten 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 Jawa Banten:
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 Jawa Banten of Indonesia

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.

The people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.
readMatthew 4:16

Pray that those who dwell in darkness and live in the land of the shadow of death may be drawn out of darkness into His marvelous light.

This God - his way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.
readPsalm 18:30

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have access to His Word and the ability to understand it, so that they can grow in their faith and find refuge in Him.

And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.
read2 Corinthians 12:28

Ask God to raise up believers who will faithfully proclaim the good news and equip others to do the same.

Java Banten Across Countries (ROP3 - 101015) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

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.

Scroll to Top