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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The South Central Banda of Central African Republic

The South Central Banda of Central African Republic, numbering approximately 288,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a regional branch of the Banda, Central Africa's largest ethnic group, organized into patrilineal hamlets under local headmen and growing maize, cassava, groundnuts, and yams despite historic devastation from nineteenth-century slave raiding. They mostly adhere to Neo-Pentecostalism and South Central Banda is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Banda, South Central

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Central African Republic
People Cluster: Adamawa-Ubangi
Primary Language(s): South Central Banda (lnl)
Primary Religion(s): Neo-Pentecostalism
Population: 288,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG012884

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Pray for the South Central Banda of Central African Republic

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: Neo-Pentecostalism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

—
%
Neo-Pentecostalism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: South Central Banda
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Banda, South Central Speakers

Media Resources in South Central Banda:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in South Central Banda:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2020 ACATBA✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the South Central Banda bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The South Central Banda 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 South Central Banda:
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

Pray specifically for the South Central Banda of Central African Republic

"For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." Those who heard it said, "Then who can be saved?" But he said "What is impossible with man is possible with God."
readLuke 18:25-27

Pray that the lost who think they have everything they need will recognize their spiritual poverty apart from Jesus and turn to Him in faith.

If I ascend to heaven, you are there. If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
readPsalm 139:8

Pray that the lost will recognize God's presence with them wherever they go, put their faith in Christ, and seek to live in a way that honors and glorifies Him.

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
readPsalm 119:105

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will meditate daily on the Word of God so that, through it, they might have wisdom for the big and small decisions they face every day.

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.

Banda, South Central Across Countries (ROP3 - 119352) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
South Central BandaPG012884South Central BandaCentral African Republic288,000Engaged yet UnreachedSouth Central BandaNeo-Pentecostalism

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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