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

And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
readExodus 14:22

Pray that the God who split the sea so that the Israelites might pass through would do another great work among these people, softening the hearts of those who remain lost to the good news and saving them from their sins.

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
read1 John 1:5

As mobile phones, radio, and satellite television, and other technologies become more available worldwide, pray for people who are developing digital gospel resources so that others can easily access the gospel.

No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God.
readRomans 4:20

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will not waver but will grow strong in their belief, knowing that the Lord rewards those who seek Him.

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, "Your God reigns”
readIsaiah 52:7

Pray that God will provide open doors for believers who cross cultures to share the good news of salvation with those who need it. Pray that He will give them joy as they see Him move.

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.

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 Data Standards section.

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