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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Cross River Mbembe of Nigeria

The Cross River Mbembe of Nigeria, numbering approximately 275,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are described as an ethnolinguistic community of Nigeria They are an Indigenous people, with Mbembe as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Benue people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples. Their primary religion is Protestantism. They primarily speak Mbembe, Cross River.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Cross River Mbembe

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Nigeria
People Cluster: Benue
Primary Language(s): Mbembe, Cross River (mfn)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 275,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG013728
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Pray for the Cross River Mbembe of Nigeria

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.

Pray Now!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

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Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Mbembe, Cross River
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

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Media Resources in Mbembe, Cross River:

Films:

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Bible Resources in Mbembe, Cross River:

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Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Mbembe, Cross River bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 2), which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Marginally Reached People Group, (LPI: 4), 3% to 6% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical (GSEC: 4), this people group is greater than or equal to 2% evangelical

Next steps for the Cross River Mbembe:
Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Cross River Mbembe 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 Cross River Mbembe:
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

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Cross River Mbembe 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 Cross River Mbembe:
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 Cross River Mbembe of Nigeria

Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!
readPsalm 46:10

Pray that those who do not yet worship Jesus will be still and know that He is God, that He will be exalted among them and in all the earth.

And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child.
readLuke 2:17

Pray that the lost will receive the good news of salvation in God's Son, have hearts eager to share it with others, and that all who hear will respond with wonder and faith!

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.

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
readJames 5:16

Pray that believers whom God sends will confess their sins, pray for one another, and live in unity. Ask that they will model healthy Christian relationships for this people group.

Mbembe, Cross-River Across Countries (ROP3 - 106472) reported in the following countries:

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 Definitions page.

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