The Guntai of Papua New Guinea

The Guntai of Papua New Guinea, numbering approximately 700 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are described as an indigenous ethnic group of Papua New Guinea They are an Indigenous people, with Guntai as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the New Guinea people cluster of the Pacific Islander Peoples. Their primary religion is Animism. They primarily speak Wartha Thuntai.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Pacific Islander Peoples
Country: Papua New Guinea
People Cluster: New Guinea
Primary Language(s): Wartha Thuntai (gnt)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 700
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG020270
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Pray for the Guntai of Papua New Guinea

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: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

70%
%

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Wartha Thuntai
Language Family: Yam

100%
%

Media Resources in Wartha Thuntai:

Films:

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Bible Resources in Wartha Thuntai:

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Or check out the Wartha Thuntai 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): 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 Guntai:
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 Guntai 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 Guntai:
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 Guntai 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 Guntai:
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 Guntai of Papua New Guinea

For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.
readRomans 1:19

Pray that God will use testimony of creation to cause those who do not yet know the gospel to long for truth and a relationship with the Author of life.

And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.
read2 Timothy 2:2

Pray that the lost will come to faith in Christ and be discipled in the truth of the gospel, becoming faithful followers of Jesus who, in turn, make disciples themselves.

And he brought him outside and said, "Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be.”
readGenesis 15:5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will trust God to keep His promises.

And the ransomed of the LORD shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
readIsaiah 51:11

Pray that, as God sends people to cross cultures and share the good news of Jesus, many will turn to the Lord in repentance and faith and start a personal relationship with Him that will bring them everlasting joy.

Guntai Across Countries (ROP3 - 103572) 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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