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 we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.
readTitus 3:3

Pray for those who seek worldly pleasures instead of God to flee from sin and choose God’s goodness and lovingkindness by placing their faith in Jesus.

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst."
readJohn 6:35

Pray that the lost will come to Jesus and believe in Him, never to hunger or thirst again.

For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.
readMatthew 18:20

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be encouraged as they remember that Jesus is with them when they gather in His name.

And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.
readMark 5:20

Pray that God will bring people who appear beyond hope to faith in Jesus and that they will then go and tell others of the marvelous things He has done.

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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