The Chonyi Mijikenda of Kenya

The Chonyi Mijikenda of Kenya, numbering approximately 226,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a tribal subgroup of the Mijikenda, a large Bantu ethnic group inhabiting the coastal region of Kenya. They are an Indigenous people in the Bantu, East-Coastal people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary language is Chichonyi-Chidzihana-Chikauma and their primary religion is Ethnoreligion.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Kenya
People Cluster: Bantu, East-Coastal
Primary Language(s): Chichonyi-Chidzihana-Chikauma (coh)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 226,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG014775
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Pray for the Chonyi Mijikenda of Kenya

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

68%
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Chichonyi-Chidzihana-Chikauma
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Chichonyi-Chidzihana-Chikauma Speakers

Media Resources in Chichonyi-Chidzihana-Chikauma:

Films:

Bible Resources in Chichonyi-Chidzihana-Chikauma:

Or check out the Chichonyi-Chidzihana-Chikauma bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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): Moderately Reached People Group, (LPI: 5), 6% to 20% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical (GSEC: 6), this people group is greater than or equal to 10% evangelical

Next steps for the Chonyi Mijikenda:
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 Chonyi Mijikenda 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 Chonyi Mijikenda:
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 Chonyi Mijikenda 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 Chonyi Mijikenda:
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 Chonyi Mijikenda of Kenya

For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the LORD made the heavens.
readPsalm 96:5

Pray that those who are seeking after worthless idols will not be satisfied until they seek the truth and find it in Christ.

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.

For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins.
readHebrews 10:26

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will live with reverence for God and not deliberately keep sinning after they receive the knowledge of the truth.

May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations.
readPsalm 67:1-2

Pray that as God blesses believers from among this people group or from nearby cultures, He will raise them up to share His saving power among the nations.

Chonyi Across Countries (ROP3 - 102185) 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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