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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Gilbertese of Vanuatu

The Gilbertese of Vanuatu, numbering approximately 1,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an Austronesian ethnic group indigenous to Kiribati. They are an Diaspora people, in the Micronesian people cluster of the Pacific Islander Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Protestantism. They primarily speak Kiribati.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Gilbertese

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Asian Pacific Rim Peoples
Country: Vanuatu
People Cluster: Micronesian
Primary Language(s): Kiribati (gil)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 1,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG010993
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Pray for the Gilbertese of Vanuatu

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

%

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Kiribati
Language Family: Austronesian

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Media Resources in Kiribati:

Films:

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Bible Resources in Kiribati:

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Or check out the Kiribati bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Next steps for the Gilbertese

The Gilbertese 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 Gilbertese

The Gilbertese 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 Gilbertese

The Gilbertese 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 Gilbertese of Vanuatu

Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming.
readColossians 3:5-6

Pray for God to have mercy and give those who don't yet know Him the gift of Jesus and His salvation for all who call upon His name.

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
read2 Peter 3:9

Pray that the lost will not perish but come to repentance and that God's patience and long-suffering will lead them to salvation.

And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness.
readActs 4:29

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and face rejection by unbelievers in their communities, God will give them discernment, boldness, and encouragement to speak His Word.

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.

Kiribertese (ROP3 - 105038) 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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