The Abaknon Sama of Philippines

The Abaknon Sama of Philippines, numbering approximately 33,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an indigenous Sama-Bajaw people centered on Capul Island in Northern Samar, whose Inabaknon language distinguishes them from neighboring Visayan-speaking peoples. They mostly adhere to Roman Catholicism and Inabaknon is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2025). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Abaknon Sama

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Philippines
People Cluster: Filipino, Central
Primary Language(s): Inabaknon (abx)
Primary Religion(s): Roman Catholicism
Population: 33,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG007605
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Abaknon Sama of Philippines

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: Roman Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

64%
%
Roman Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Inabaknon
Language Family: Austronesian

100%
%
Inabaknon Speakers

Media Resources in Inabaknon:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Bible Resources in Inabaknon:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Inabaknon bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Abaknon Sama 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 Abaknon Sama:
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 Abaknon Sama of Philippines

That they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us.
readActs 17:27

Pray that those who don't yet know Christ will search diligently for God and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.

And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "In you shall all the nations be blessed"
readGalatians 3:8

Ask the Lord to fulfill His promise to Abraham that all nations would be blessed by advancing the gospel to every people group who has yet to receive it.

Not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
readHebrews 10:25

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will not neglect meeting together but encourage one another as they see the Day approaching.

And the ransomed of the LORD shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
readIsaiah 51:11

Pray that, as God sends people to cross cultures and share the good news of Jesus, many will turn to the Lord in repentance and faith and start a personal relationship with Him that will bring them everlasting joy.

Abaknon Sama Across Countries (ROP3 - 100006) 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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