The Chavacano of Philippines

The Chavacano of Philippines, numbering approximately 825,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a creole-speaking people associated with Chavacano, Asia's only Spanish-based creole language. Their culture emerged through interaction between Spanish colonial society and indigenous Philippine communities, especially in Zamboanga. They mostly adhere to Roman Catholicism and Chavacano is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Chabakano Creole

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Philippines
People Cluster: Filipino, Central
Primary Language(s): Chavacano (cbk)
Primary Religion(s): Roman Catholicism
Population: 825,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG007661
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Pray for the Chavacano 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

69%
%
Roman Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Chavacano
Language Family: Indo-European

65%
%
Chavacano Speakers

Media Resources in Chavacano:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Chavacano:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Chavacano bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Chavacano 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 Chavacano:
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 Chavacano of Philippines

The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.
readPsalm 9:9-10

Pray that God will help those who are oppressed and without hope to hear the good news of Jesus and trust in Him, for He has never forsaken those who seek Him.

And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.
readIsaiah 30:21

As the lost in this people group seek to know the truth of who God is, pray that the Spirit of God will draw them to Himself and guide them in the way they should go.

Sanctify them in the truth, your word is truth.
readJohn 17:17

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will experience freedom from sin as God sanctifies them in the truth of His Word.

Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together!
readPsalm 34:3

Pray that God will raise up believers who will go to those in this people group who do not yet follow Jesus, and that they will invite many to magnify the Lord with them so that His fame will spread to the ends of the earth.

Chabakano Creole Across Countries (ROP3 - 101951) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

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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