The Lwena of Angola

The Lwena of Angola, numbering approximately 1,035,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Bantu ethnic group living mainly in southeastern Angola and northwestern Zambia, with smaller communities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Luvale is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Angola
People Cluster: Bantu, Central-South
Primary Language(s): Luvale (lue)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 1,035,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG015185
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Lwena of Angola

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

—
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Luvale
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Luvale Speakers

Media Resources in Luvale:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Luvale:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Luvale bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Lwena 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 Lwena:
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 Lwena of Angola

For you, O LORD, are most high over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.
readPsalm 97:9

Pray that those who don't yet know Him will recognize the Lord as the Most High and turn from spiritual darkness to worship Him above all else.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
readJohn 3:16

Pray that the lost will seek God and learn that they have a heavenly Father who loves them and wants them to live eternally with Him.

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.
readHebrews 10:23

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will cling tightly to the hope they have in God to faithfully keep His promises.

Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
readIsaiah 43:19

Praise the God who is able to make a way forward, even when it seems impossible. Ask Him to do a new thing among this people group specifically and among the nations, raising up believers to go and share the gospel with individuals and places where it has not flourished before.

Lwena Across Countries (ROP3 - 105947) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

3 people groups

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

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