The Berik of Indonesia

The Berik of Indonesia, numbering approximately 1,700 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an Indigenous Papuan people of the Tor River and Mamberamo lowlands of northern Papua whose identity is rooted in the Berik language, riverine forest settlement, and traditions of hunting, fishing, and small-scale gardening. They mostly adhere to Protestantism and Berik is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Pacific Islander Peoples
Country: Indonesia
People Cluster: New Guinea
Primary Language(s): Berik (bkl)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 1,700
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG022467
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Berik of Indonesia

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: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

50%
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Berik
Language Family: Tor-Orya

76%
%
Berik Speakers

Media Resources in Berik:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Bible Resources in Berik:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
1993 Edition✓

1 entry

Or check out the Berik bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Berik 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 Berik:
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 Berik of Indonesia

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
readEphesians 2:8-9

Pray that the lost among them will receive the gift of salvation by grace through faith, not by works, and be created for good works.

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.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
readHebrews 12:1-2

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember the testimony of those who went before them, resist sin, and run with perseverance the race set before them, fixing their eyes on Jesus.

To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law.
read1 Corinthians 9:20

Pray that believers from similar cultures will be compelled by Christ's love to reach people who don't know the gospel, and that those people will receive the good news with joy.

Berik Across Countries (ROP3 - 101284) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

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 Data Standards section.

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