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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Buela of Congo, Democratic Republic of the

The Buela of Congo, Democratic Republic of the, numbering approximately 18,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an ethnic community of the Democratic Republic of the Congo associated with the Bwela language, also known as Buela or Lingi. They mostly adhere to Roman Catholicism and Bwela is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2025). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Buela

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Congo, Democratic Republic of the
People Cluster: Bantu, Central-Congo
Primary Language(s): Bwela (bwl)
Primary Religion(s): Roman Catholicism
Population: 18,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG014523
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Pray for the Buela of Congo, Democratic Republic of the

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: Roman Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

80%
%
Roman Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Bwela
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Bwela Speakers

Media Resources in Bwela:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Bwela:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Bwela bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Buela 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 Buela:
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 Buela of Congo, Democratic Republic of the

And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you."
read1 Samuel 13:13a

Pray that those who are walking in disobedience will recognize their sin and to turn to God.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
readRomans 3:23

Pray that the gospel will advance and many will acknowledge that all have sinned, fall short of God's glory, and need a Savior to reconcile them to God.

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
readMatthew 5:16

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be humble and give glory to God through their good deeds.

And Jesus said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men." And immediately they left their nets and followed him.
readMark 1:17-18

Pray that God will raise up believers from this place and/or other cultures nearby to proclaim the gospel to those who desperately need to encounter it.

Buela Across Countries (ROP3 - 101698) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion ▼
BuelaPG014523BuelaCongo, Democratic Republic of the18,500Engaged yet UnreachedBwelaRoman Catholicism

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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