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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Tembu of South Africa

The Tembu of South Africa, numbering approximately 932,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are described as an indigenous community of South Africa; a dialect subgroup of Xhosa (xho) They are an Indigenous people, with Tembu as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Bantu, Nguni people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples. Their primary religion is Ethnoreligion. They primarily speak Xhosa.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: South Africa
People Cluster: Bantu, Nguni
Primary Language(s): Xhosa (xho)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 932,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG015539
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Pray for the Tembu of South Africa

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: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

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%

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Xhosa
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%

Media Resources in Xhosa:

Films:

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Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Xhosa:

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Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Xhosa bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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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): Minimally Reached People Group, (LPI: 3), 2% to 3% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical (GSEC: 4), this people group is greater than or equal to 2% evangelical

Next steps for the Tembu:
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 Tembu 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 Tembu:
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 Tembu 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 Tembu:
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 Tembu of South Africa

And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
readMatthew 6:7-8

Pray that those who don't have a relationship with their Creator will come to know a God who hears their every need, freeing them from empty rituals and drawing them into a real, trusting relationship with Him.

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
read1 John 1:5

As mobile phones, radio, and satellite television, and other technologies become more available worldwide, pray for people who are developing digital gospel resources so that others can easily access the gospel.

For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith, for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and our labor would be in vain.
read2 Thessalonians 3:5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will persevere according to God's command, walk in faith, and be strong so that they can resist the evil one’s deception.

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!
readPsalm 51:2

Pray that God will raise up believers to go and share the gospel with those in this people group who need to be washed of their iniquity and cleansed from their sins.

Tembu Across Countries (ROP3 - 109937) 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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