The Bengoi of Indonesia

The Bengoi of Indonesia, numbering approximately 550 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an Indigenous people of Negeri Banggoi in eastern Seram, Maluku, whose endangered Benggoi language is undergoing rapid language shift in a mixed community. They mostly adhere to Animism and Ambonese Malay is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2025). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Bengoi

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Indonesia
People Cluster: Maluku-Central
Primary Language(s): Ambonese Malay (abs)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 550
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG022633
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Bengoi 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: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

78%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Ambonese Malay
Language Family: Austronesian

100%
%
Malay, Ambonese Speakers

Media Resources in Ambonese Malay:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Ambonese Malay:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Ambonese Malay bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Bengoi 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 Bengoi:
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 Bengoi of Indonesia

For the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost.
readLuke 19:10

Pray that those who are lost will respond to the One who came to seek and save the lost, and experience the joy of being found.

So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.
readRomans 9:16

Pray that the merciful God who is at work in people's hearts will advance His gospel among them.

Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time.
readColossians 4:5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be wise in the way they walk with the lost and manage their time and other resources in a way that honors God.

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
readPsalm 139:14

Praise God for His creativity and power, and pray that He will raise up men and women from among them who are in awe of all He has done and want to go share the hope of Christ with others.

Bengoi Across Countries (ROP3 - 101256) 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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