The Xerente of Brazil

The Xerente of Brazil, numbering approximately 3,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Central Je people of Tocantins who call themselves Akwe, forming with the Xavante the central branch of Brazil's Je societies, their 250 years of outsider contact since the 19th century staying largely peaceful without eroding native-language fluency. They mostly adhere to Folk Catholicism and Xerénte is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Latin American and Caribbean Peoples
Country: Brazil
People Cluster: South American Indigenous
Primary Language(s): Xerénte (xer)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Catholicism
Population: 3,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG017192
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Xerente of Brazil

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: Folk Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

78%
%
Folk Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Xerénte
Language Family: Nuclear-Macro-Je

100%
%
Xerénte Speakers

Media Resources in Xerénte:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Bible Resources in Xerénte:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2006 Edition✓✓

1 entry

Or check out the Xerénte bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Xerente 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 Xerente:
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 Xerente of Brazil

While he was coming, the demon threw him to the ground and convulsed him. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.
readLuke 9:42

Pray that those who are living outside of the hope of the gospel will know and trust that Jesus offers freedom from the oppression of sin and hope in eternal life.

All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you. For kingship belongs to the LORD, and he rules over the nations.
readPsalm 22:27-28

Pray that entire families will turn to the Lord in repentance and faith, and that they will worship Him and declare His righteousness to the nations.

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
readPhilippians 1:6

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be assured that God will complete the good work He has begun in them until the day of Christ's return.

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

Ask God to give those He sends to cross cultures the discernment they need to recognize the spiritual battle they are fighting. Pray God will protect their faith as they abide in Him.

Xerente Across Countries (ROP3 - 110891) 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.

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