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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Ponam of Papua New Guinea

The Ponam of Papua New Guinea, numbering approximately 1,600 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an indigenous ethnic group of Papua New Guinea They are an Indigenous people, in the New Guinea people cluster of the Pacific Islander Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Christianity - Roman Catholicism. They primarily speak Ponam.

Ponam in Papua New Guinea photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Anonymous

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Asian Pacific Rim Peoples
Country: Papua New Guinea
People Cluster: New Guinea
Primary Language(s): Ponam (ncc)
Primary Religion(s): Christianity - Roman Catholicism
Population: 1,600
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG010383
View on Joshua Project

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Pray for the Ponam of Papua New Guinea

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Christianity - Roman Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

%
Christianity - Roman Cath… Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Ponam
Language Family: Austronesian

%
Ponam Speakers

Media Resources in Ponam:

Films:

No entries found for: Ponam(ncc). Help build some!

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Ponam:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Ponam bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

Next steps for the Ponam

The Ponam 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 Ponam

The Ponam 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 Ponam

The Ponam 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 Ponam of Papua New Guinea

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
readEphesians 2:8-9

Pray that the lost among them will receive the gift of salvation by grace through faith, not by works, and be created for good works.

And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
readLuke 7:50

Pray for the good news of Jesus Christ to reach many so that they can place their faith in Him and have lasting hope.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
readIsaiah 9:6

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will rejoice in the coming of the Prince of Peace because He will bring everlasting peace and rule with justice and righteousness.

Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works!
readPsalm 105:2

Pray for God to saturate this place with the gospel and raise up believing men and women from among them to share the good news of Christ with those who have yet to encounter it.

Ponam (ROP3 - 108107) reported in the following countries:

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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