The Bonefa of Indonesia

The Bonefa of Indonesia, numbering approximately 800 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an Indigenous Papuan ethnolinguistic community also known as Nisa or Kerema, associated with the Nisa language in Sawai District on eastern Cenderawasih Bay. They mostly adhere to Protestantism and Nisa is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: Bonefa

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Pacific Islander Peoples
Country: Indonesia
People Cluster: New Guinea
Primary Language(s): Nisa (njs)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 800
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG022470
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Bonefa 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

58%
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Nisa
Language Family: Geelvink Bay

76%
%
Nisa Speakers

Media Resources in Nisa:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Bible Resources in Nisa:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Nisa bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Bonefa 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 Bonefa:
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 Bonefa of Indonesia

For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
readPsalm 1:6

As many look for hope in worldly pleasures, pray they will hear and accept salvation through Christ, turn from destruction, and experience joy in the way of righteousness.

And many nations shall join themselves to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people. And I will dwell in your midst, and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you.
readZechariah 2:11

Pray that many will take refuge in the Lord and be His people who share the good news of salvation in Jesus with others.

For the LORD, the Most High, is to be feared, a great king over all the earth.
readPsalm 47:2

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will exalt the Lord, recognizing His reign over the nations and His sovereignty over all things.

And Jesus said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men." And immediately they left their nets and followed him.
readMark 1:17-18

Pray that God will raise up believers from this place and/or other cultures nearby to proclaim the gospel to those who desperately need to encounter it.

Bonefa Across Countries (ROP3 - 101592) 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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