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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Western Chams of Laos

The Western Chams of Laos, numbering approximately 250 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are an Austronesian ethnolinguistic group indigenous to the Kampong Cham province in Cambodia and the An Giang province in southern Vietnam. The Laotian Cham are related to Cambodian Cham. They are an Diaspora people, in the Cham people cluster of the Southeast Asian Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Islam - Sunni. They primarily speak Cham, Western.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Cham, Western

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Asian Pacific Rim Peoples
Country: Laos
People Cluster: Cham
Primary Language(s): Cham, Western (cja)
Primary Religion(s): Islam - Sunni
Population: 250
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG020897

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Pray for the Western Chams of Laos

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Islam - Sunni
Religious Affiliation: Islam

%

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Cham, Western
Language Family: Austronesian

%

Media Resources in Cham, Western:

Films:

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Bible Resources in Cham, Western:

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Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Cham, Western bible resources at Bible.com

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Next steps for the Western Chams

The Western Chams 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 Western Chams

The Western Chams 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 Western Chams

The Western Chams 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 Western Chams of Laos

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
readPsalm 51:1

Give thanks to God that He is able to forgive all the sins people might commit, and pray that many who don't yet know this will hear the good news and turn to Him for mercy.

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
readRomans 5:10

Pray that God will remove obstacles to the gospel so that many will see the hope He offers through the death, burial, and resurrection of His Son, and be transformed from being enemies to being His friends.

Praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
readActs 2:47

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, God will use their faith and their church community as a testimony to the watching world and grow His Church.

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
read2 Peter 3:9

Pray that those God sends to cross cultures will patiently endure hardships as they share the gospel, knowing that the Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise.

Cham, Western (ROP3 - 110776) 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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