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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Tumbuka of Tanzania

The Tumbuka of Tanzania, numbering approximately 292,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a central Bantu ethnolinguistic group indigenous to the Chitipa and Karonga districts of eastern Mali and can also be known as Batumbuka. They are an Diaspora people, in the Bantu, Central-South people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Christianity - Neo-Pentecostalism. They primarily speak Tumbuka.

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Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-saharan Africa Peoples
Country: Tanzania
People Cluster: Bantu, Central-South
Primary Language(s): Tumbuka (tum)
Primary Religion(s): Christianity - Neo-Pentecostalism
Population: 292,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG015053

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Christianity - Neo-Pentecostalism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

%
Christianity - Neo-Pentec… Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Tumbuka
Language Family: Niger-Congo

%
Tumbuka Speakers

Media Resources in Tumbuka:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Tumbuka:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

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Next steps for the Tumbuka

The Tumbuka 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 Tumbuka

The Tumbuka 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 Tumbuka

The Tumbuka 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 Tumbuka of Tanzania

For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.
readIsaiah 48:11

Pray that those who have been living for their own glory will turn to the One who is worthy of all praise and find their true identity in Him.

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb’
readRevelation 7:9-10

Pray that many people will receive the gospel and will be part of the great multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language, clothed in white robes and palm branches, proclaiming salvation belongs to our God.

O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.
readPsalm 51:15

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will abide in Him, and God will help them to proclaim His praise and declare His goodness all day long.

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
read2 Corinthians 5:20

Pray that those God sends to cross cultures will be His ambassadors, faithfully imploring people on Christ's behalf to be reconciled to God through Jesus.

Tumbuka reported in the following countries (ROP3):

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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