The Esimbi of Cameroon

The Esimbi of Cameroon, numbering approximately 68,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a forest people of Cameroon's Northwest Region whose New Testament translation was completed in 2021 after decades of work, though recent armed conflict in the Anglophone region has forced many families to flee their homeland. They mostly adhere to Protestantism and Esimbi is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Cameroon
People Cluster: Bantu, Cameroon-Bamileke
Primary Language(s): Esimbi (ags)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 68,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG012468
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Esimbi of Cameroon

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

—
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Esimbi
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Esimbi Speakers

Media Resources in Esimbi:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Bible Resources in Esimbi:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Esimbi bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Esimbi 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 Esimbi:
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 Esimbi of Cameroon

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.
readRevelation 3:20

Pray that those who have not opened their hearts to Jesus will hear His knock and invite Him in as their Savior and Lord.

Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
readRomans 2:4

Pray that, in God's kindness and according to His nature, He will lead many to repentance.

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
readPsalm 27:1

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, God will strengthen them when they face persecution of any kind for Jesus' name’s sake.

The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”
readJohn 1:35-36

Pray for those God sends to cross cultures to share the gospel, that they might faithfully share the good news of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

Esimbi (Age) Across Countries (ROP3 - 100105) 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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