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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Sursurunga of Papua New Guinea

The Sursurunga of Papua New Guinea, numbering approximately 8,500 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 language is Sursurunga and their primary religion is Protestantism.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Sursurunga

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Pacific Islander Peoples
Country: Papua New Guinea
People Cluster: New Guinea
Primary Language(s): Sursurunga (sgz)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 8,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG010495
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Pray for the Sursurunga 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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

46%
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Sursurunga
Language Family: Austronesian

100%
%
Sursurunga Speakers

Media Resources in Sursurunga:

Films:

No entries found for: Sursurunga(sgz). Help build some!

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Bible Resources in Sursurunga:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Sursurunga bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 2), 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.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Marginally Reached People Group, (LPI: 4), 3% to 6% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical (GSEC: 5), this people group is greater than or equal to 5% evangelical

Next steps for the Sursurunga:
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

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Sursurunga 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 Sursurunga:
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

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Sursurunga 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.

Next steps for the Sursurunga:
Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Sursurunga of Papua New Guinea

"I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world."
readJohn 16:33

Pray that those who don't have peace with God will find peace in Christ, even amid the troubles of this world.

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.

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.
readIsaiah 26:3

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, the Lord will keep them in perfect peace as they trust in Him.

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
read2 Peter 3:9

Pray that those God sends to cross cultures will patiently endure hardships as they share the gospel, knowing that the Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise.

Sursurunga Across Countries (ROP3 - 109628) 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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