Download the People Group List (16 languages .csv)

Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
Bengali - বাংলা | Chinese (Simplified) - 中文（简体）
Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
Hindi - हिन्दी | Indonesian - Bahasa Indonesia
Korean - 한국어 | Nepali - नेपाली
Portugese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Espanol | Tagalong / Filipino
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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Lama of China

The Lama of China, numbering approximately 85,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an indigenous community of China. They are an Indigenous people, in the Other Tibeto-Burmese people cluster of the Tibetan Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Ethnoreligion - Chinese Folk Religion. They primarily speak Bai, Lama.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Asian Pacific Rim Peoples
Country: China
People Cluster: Other Tibeto-Burmese
Primary Language(s): Bai, Lama (lay)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion - Chinese Folk Religion
Population: 85,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG007244
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Pray for the Lama of China

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion - Chinese Folk Religion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

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Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Bai, Lama
Language Family: Bookkeeping

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Media Resources in Bai, Lama:

Films:

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Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Bai, Lama:

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Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Bai, Lama bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Next steps for the Lama

The Lama 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 Lama

The Lama 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 Lama

The Lama 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 Lama of China

Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!
readPsalm 46:10

Pray that those who do not yet worship Jesus will be still and know that He is God, that He will be exalted among them and in all the earth.

And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.
read2 Timothy 2:2

Pray that the lost will come to faith in Christ and be discipled in the truth of the gospel, becoming faithful followers of Jesus who, in turn, make disciples themselves.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
readPhilippians 2:5-7

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will imitate His humility in all they do.

So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy.
readRomans 9:16

Ask God to raise up people who will trust in His sovereignty as they share the gospel, knowing that it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy.

Lama (ROP3 - 105606) 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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