The Ambonese of Indonesia

The Ambonese of Indonesia, numbering approximately 329,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of Indonesia (Maluku). They are an Indigenous people, in the Maluku-Central people cluster of the Malay Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Protestantism. They primarily speak Malay, Ambonese.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Asian Pacific Rim Peoples
Country: Indonesia
People Cluster: Maluku-Central
Primary Language(s): Malay, Ambonese (abs)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 329,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG022625
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Ambonese 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

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Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Malay, Ambonese
Language Family: Austronesian

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Media Resources in Malay, Ambonese:

Films:

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Bible Resources in Malay, Ambonese:

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Or check out the Malay, Ambonese bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Next steps for the Ambonese

The Ambonese 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 Ambonese

The Ambonese 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 Ambonese

The Ambonese 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 Ambonese of Indonesia

"I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world."
readJohn 16:33

Pray that those who don't have peace with God will find peace in Christ, even amid the troubles of this world.

Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!
readPsalm 67:3

Pray that God will be working in people's hearts, give them opportunities to receive the gospel, and bring many to faith in Himself.

For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.
readHebrews 10:36

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will patiently endure suffering and hardships and do God's will so that they may receive what He has promised.

And through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
readColossians 1:20

As believers cross cultures to tell others about Jesus, praise God for allowing them to be a part of His reconciling all things to Himself, asking Him to help them remember their role in His beautiful plan of salvation for others.

Ambonese (ROP3 - 100274) 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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