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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Masbateno of Philippines

The Masbateno of Philippines, numbering approximately 1,090,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as an ethnolinguistic community of the Philippines They are an Indigenous people, with Masbateno as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Filipino, Central people cluster of the Malay Peoples. Their primary religion is Roman Catholicism. They primarily speak Masbatenyo.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Philippines
People Cluster: Filipino, Central
Primary Language(s): Masbatenyo (msb)
Primary Religion(s): Roman Catholicism
Population: 1,090,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG007738
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Pray for the Masbateno 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.

Pray Now!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Roman Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

64%
%
Roman Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Masbatenyo
Language Family: Austronesian

100%
%
Masbatenyo Speakers

Media Resources in Masbatenyo:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Masbatenyo:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Masbatenyo bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Masbateno 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 Masbateno:
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 Masbateno of Philippines

As it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God".
readRomans 3:10-11

Pray that God will have mercy on those living in broken relationship with Him, and that He will bring many to surrender and repentance at the throne of grace.

After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.” And leaving everything, he rose and followed him.
readLuke 5:27-28

Prat that God will prepare many hearts to meet Him when He says, “Follow Me!” and that they will respond in faith, leaving everything behind to follow Him.

For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
read1 Peter 2:25

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will proclaim the good news and the lost will recognize their need for the Shepherd and turn to Jesus Christ in faith.

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.

Masbateno Across Countries (ROP3 - 106374) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress Index ▼LanguageReligion
MasbatenoPG007738MasbatenoPhilippines1,090,000Engaged yet UnreachedMasbatenyoRoman 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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