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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

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
read1 John 1:9

Pray that God, who is faithful and just, will open the eyes of those who are lost and draw them to confess their sins and trust in Him to grant forgiveness.

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
readMatthew 6:10

Pray that God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven, and that people will seek His kingdom and righteousness above all else, trusting in His provision.

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.
readPhilippians 3:20-21

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember their citizenship is in heaven.

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.
readJohn 1:12

Pray that believers will have the opportunity to clearly share the good news with the lost here, so that all people can be invited to trust in Jesus and become children of God.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group ID ▼NameCountryPopulationStrategic 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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