The Mbandza of Central African Republic

The Mbandza of Central African Republic, numbering approximately 2,400 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Banda ethnolinguistic group indigenous to the northwestern corner of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Mbandja is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Central African Republic
People Cluster: Sudanic
Primary Language(s): Mbandja (zmz)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 2,400
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG012892
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Mbandza 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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

—
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Mbandja
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Mbandja Speakers

Media Resources in Mbandja:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Mbandja:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
1997 Société Biblique de la République Démocratique du Congo✓✓✓

1 entry

Or check out the Mbandja bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Mbandza 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 Mbandza:
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 Mbandza of Central African Republic

And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
readActs 4:12

Pray that those walking in darkness among them will come to know the name by which they must be saved, and call upon Him in faith.

Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
readMatthew 16:16

Pray that many will see clearly that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and put their trust in Him.

Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.
readPsalm 51:9

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have confidence that God has turned His face from their sins and forgiven their iniquities.

The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.
readJohn 1:9-10

Pray for those God might send to share the gospel here. Ask that they will grow closer to Jesus and be compelled to share His good news with people who don't know it.

Mbanza Across Countries (ROP3 - 106463) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

3 people groups

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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