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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Merelava-Merig of Vanuatu

The Merelava-Merig of Vanuatu, numbering approximately 2,100 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of Vanuatu. They are an Indigenous people, in the Vanuatu people cluster of the Pacific Islander Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Christianity - Protestantism. They primarily speak Mwerlap.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Merelava-Merig

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Asian Pacific Rim Peoples
Country: Vanuatu
People Cluster: Vanuatu
Primary Language(s): Mwerlap (mrm)
Primary Religion(s): Christianity - Protestantism
Population: 2,100
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG011024
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Pray for the Merelava-Merig of Vanuatu

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Christianity - Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

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Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Mwerlap
Language Family: Austronesian

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Media Resources in Mwerlap:

Films:

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Bible Resources in Mwerlap:

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Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Mwerlap bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Next steps for the Merelava-Merig

The Merelava-Merig 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 Merelava-Merig

The Merelava-Merig 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 Merelava-Merig

The Merelava-Merig 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 Merelava-Merig of Vanuatu

But he said, "What is impossible with man is possible with God."
readLuke 18:27

Praise God that He is the God of impossible things and that He is able to save even those who seem beyond hope.

Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth!
readPsalm 96:9

Pray that many who do not yet know Jesus will come to know Him and worship Him in the splendor of His holiness.

But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.
readTitus 3:4-5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and might struggle with temptation to trust in their own works, they will remember that it is only because of God's mercy that they have been saved.

I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations.
readPsalm 57:9

Pray that God will raise up believers among them who will boldly go and share the gospel with people nearby and with those far away.

Merelava-Merig (ROP3 - 106559) 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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