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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Gond (Maria) of India

The Gond (Maria) of India, numbering approximately 281,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as a large tribal people of central India whose identity is rooted in forest landscapes, clan organization, indigenous religious traditions, historical kingdoms, and a strong cultural heritage expressed through art, music, dance, and oral tradition They are an Indigenous people, with Gond as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Marathi-Konkani people cluster of the South Asian Peoples. Their primary religion is Hinduism. They primarily speak Maria (India).

Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Shashank Deora - Wikimedia Shashank Deora - Wikimedia Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

Fast Facts*:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: Marathi-Konkani
Primary Language(s): Maria (India) (mrr)
Primary Religion(s): Hinduism
Population: 281,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG048261
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Pray for the Gond (Maria) of India

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: Hinduism
Religious Affiliation: Hinduism

100%
%
Hinduism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Maria (India)
Language Family: Dravidian

100%
%
Maria (India) Speakers

Media Resources in Maria (India):

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Maria (India):

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Maria (India) 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: 1), 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): Pioneer Unreached People Group, (LPI: 1), 0.1% to 0.5% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Gond (Maria):
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 Gond (Maria) 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 Gond (Maria):
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 Gond (Maria) 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 Gond (Maria):
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 Gond (Maria) of India

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
readMatthew 5:16

Pray that those who are deceived about what brings peace will not settle for any lies they’ve heard about God and will diligently seek Him and be satisfied when they learn the truth about who He is and what He’s done.

"O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me."
readJohn 17:25

Pray that the lost will come to know the Father and Jesus Christ, whom He has sent, and that they will be filled with His love and grace.

For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them.
read1 Corinthians 9:19

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have hearts that want to serve the lost around them so that many might come to faith in Jesus.

Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."
readMatthew 6:9b-10

Pray that God will raise up Christians who are driven by a desire to see God's name worshiped, His kingdom come, and His will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Ask Him to send them to the lost in this people group and sustain them.

Gond (Maria) Across Countries (ROP3 - 117053) 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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