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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Western Chams of Cambodia

The Western Chams of Cambodia, numbering approximately 300,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an Austronesian ethnolinguistic group indigenous to the Kampong Cham province in Cambodia and the An Giang province in southern Vietnam . They are an Indigenous people, in the Cham people cluster of the Southeast Asian Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Islam - Sunni. They primarily speak Cham, Western.

Western Chams in United States photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Copyrighted ©️ 2025 Cambodia Research Network Used with permission

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Asian Pacific Peoples
Country: Cambodia
People Cluster: Cham
Primary Language(s): Cham, Western (cja)
Primary Religion(s): Islam - Sunni
Population: 300,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG008199

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Pray for the Western Chams of Cambodia

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Islam - Sunni
Religious Affiliation: Islam

%
Islam - Sunni Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Cham, Western
Language Family: Austronesian

%
Cham, Western Speakers

Media Resources in Cham, Western:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Cham, Western:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Cham, Western bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Next steps for the Western Chams

The Western Chams 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 Western Chams

The Western Chams 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 Western Chams

The Western Chams 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 Western Chams of Cambodia

And he said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many."
readMark 14:23-24

Pray for those who may have heard the gospel but have not yet submitted their lives to Christ, that they will finally see the sacrifice which He made for them and surrender their lives to Him.

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.
readIsaiah 40:8

Pray that everyone has access to God's Word and that those who hear the good news will turn from their sins and put their faith in Jesus the Messiah.

For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.
readMatthew 18:20

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be encouraged as they remember that Jesus is with them when they gather in His name.

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.
readJohn 1:12

Pray that believers will have the opportunity to clearly share the good news with the lost here, so that all people can be invited to trust in Jesus and become children of God.

Cham, Western reported in the following countries (ROP3):

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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