The Bongos of Papua New Guinea

The Bongos of Papua New Guinea, numbering approximately 20,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an indigenous ethnic group of Papua New Guinea; a dialect subgroup of Kwanga (kwj). They mostly adhere to Protestantism and Kwanga is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Pacific Islander Peoples
Country: Papua New Guinea
People Cluster: New Guinea
Primary Language(s): Kwanga (kwj)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 20,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG009810
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Bongos of Papua New Guinea

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: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

46%
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Kwanga
Language Family: Sepik

100%
%
Kwanga Speakers

Media Resources in Kwanga:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Bible Resources in Kwanga:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
1992 Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc.✓

1 entry

Or check out the Kwanga bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Bongos 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 Bongos:
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 Bongos of Papua New Guinea

Abraham said, "God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son." So they went both of them together.
readGenesis 22:8

Pray that God will open the ears of those who are lost to understand and believe that only shed blood takes away sin and that, like Abraham, they will believe that God Himself provides the lamb for the burnt offering, who is Jesus the final, perfect sacrifice.

You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
readJames 4:4

Pray that the lost will be convicted of their friendship with the world, which is hostility toward God, and that they will turn from their sin and embrace the grace and mercy of God through Christ Jesus.

What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?
readJames 4:1

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will turn from worldly passions and live in unity with one another.

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.

Bongos Across Countries (ROP3 - 101601) 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.

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