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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 an ethnolinguistic community of Nigeria. They are an Indigenous people, in the Benue people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Christianity - 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): Christianity - 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

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Christianity - 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 resources at Bible.com

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Next steps for the Cross River Mbembe

The Cross River Mbembe are Unengaged and Unreached, 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.

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

Next steps for the Cross River Mbembe

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.

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

Next steps for the Cross River Mbembe

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.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
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

Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.
readMark 10:15

Pray for those who might be trapped in pride, that God will humble them and give them a childlike faith and complete dependence on Him through faith in Christ.

Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
readPsalm 34:8

Pray that the gospel will advance and that many will have the opportunity to taste and see the goodness of God and entrust their lives to Him.

For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.
readActs 17:23

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have a deep desire to know God more fully and to make Him known in creative ways to others who are still searching for truth.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
read2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Pray that as people hear and believe the gospel, they will serve others in Jesus' name, and the lost will have an opportunity to hear and respond to the gospel.

Mbembe, Cross-River (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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