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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Northern Tlapanec of United States

The Northern Tlapanec of United States, numbering approximately 18,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of Mexico. They mostly adhere to Roman Catholicism and Acatepec Me'phaa is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Northern Tlapanec

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Latin American and Caribbean Peoples
Country: United States
People Cluster: Central American Indigenous
Primary Language(s): Acatepec Me'phaa (tpx)
Primary Religion(s): Roman Catholicism
Population: 18,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG049289
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Pray for the Northern Tlapanec of United States

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.

Pray Now!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Roman Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

95%
%
Roman Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Acatepec Me'phaa
Language Family: Otomanguean

94%
%
Me’phaa, Acatepec Speakers

Media Resources in Acatepec Me'phaa:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Acatepec Me'phaa:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Acatepec Me'phaa bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Northern Tlapanec 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 Northern Tlapanec:
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 Northern Tlapanec of United States

But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
readMatthew 5:44-45

Pray for those who don't know Jesus to encounter believers who are kind and compassionate and that their imitation of Christ will serve as a testimony that attracts lost people to Jesus.

Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength!
readPsalm 96:7

Pray that entire households will come to faith in Jesus and that God will bless their families with faith in Him for generations to come.

Depart from me, all you workers of evil, for the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping.
readPsalm 6:8

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, God will remind them that He is near and will help them place their hope in Him when others wish to do them harm.

Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, “We will hear you again about this.”
readActs 17:32

Ask God to give those He sends to cross cultures wisdom and discernment as they engage in spiritual conversations with those who are curious about the gospel.

Tlapanec, Acatepec Across Countries (ROP3 - 100034) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Northern TlapanecPG046980Northern TlapanecMexico186,000Engaged yet UnreachedAcatepec Me'phaaFolk Catholicism
Northern TlapanecPG049289Northern TlapanecUnited States18,500Engaged yet UnreachedAcatepec Me'phaaRoman Catholicism

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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