The Western Chams of Vietnam

The Western Chams of Vietnam, numbering approximately 150,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an Austronesian ethnolinguistic group iconcentrated between the Kampong Cham province in Cambodia and An Giang province in southern Vietnam. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Western Cham is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Southeast Asian Peoples
Country: Vietnam
People Cluster: Cham
Primary Language(s): Western Cham (cja)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 150,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG011245
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Western Chams of Vietnam

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

95%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Western Cham
Language Family: Austronesian

100%
%
Cham, Western Speakers

Media Resources in Western Cham:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Western Cham:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Cham, Western New Testament✓✓

1 entry

Or check out the Western Cham bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Western Chams 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 Western Chams:
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 Western Chams of Vietnam

Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.
readIsaiah 45:22

Pray for many lost people to turn to the Lord, finding forgiveness and salvation in Him, for He is the only way to true life and restoration.

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
readLamentations 3:23-23

Pray that they will have hope in the Lord, knowing that His compassions never fails and that His mercies are new every morning.

And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.
readDeuteronomy 6:6-7

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will hide God's Word in their hearts, let it shape their conversations and daily lives, and pass on their faith to the next generation.

And through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
readColossians 1:20

As believers cross cultures to tell others about Jesus, praise God for allowing them to be a part of His reconciling all things to Himself, asking Him to help them remember their role in His beautiful plan of salvation for others.

Cham, Western Across Countries (ROP3 - 110776) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

4 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Western ChamsWestern ChamsCambodia303,000Engaged yet UnreachedWestern ChamSunni Islam
Western ChamsWestern ChamsVietnam150,000Engaged yet UnreachedWestern ChamSunni Islam
Western ChamsWestern ChamsUnited States1,200Unengaged and UnreachedWestern ChamEthnoreligion
Western ChamsWestern ChamsLaos250Unengaged and UnreachedWestern ChamSunni Islam

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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