The Bungku of Indonesia

The Bungku of Indonesia, numbering approximately 31,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a people of Morowali in Central Sulawesi whose identity is rooted in descent from the To Bungku and the territory of the former Bungku Kingdom. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Bungku is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Indonesia
People Cluster: Bungku-Bajau
Primary Language(s): Bungku (bkz)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 31,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG022798
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Bungku 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: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

99%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Bungku
Language Family: Austronesian

76%
%
Bungku Speakers

Media Resources in Bungku:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Bible Resources in Bungku:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Bungku bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Bungku 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.

Next steps for the Bungku:
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

Pray specifically for the Bungku of Indonesia

But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.
read1 Timothy 6:9

Pray for those, rich and poor, who have put their trust in worldly things, and ask that they will be honest with themselves, acknowledge their need for God and turn to Him.

"Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool."
readIsaiah 1:18

Pray that God will make a way for the gospel to reach many through means they can understand and access, that they will receive the good news with joy, and that they will experience complete forgiveness and cleansing from their sin that Jesus offers through His sacrifice.

Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.
read1 Peter 3:8

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will live in harmony with one another, showing sympathy, love, compassion, and humility.

To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel.
readEphesians 6:18b-19

Ask God to give believers He sends to the lost of this people group the boldness and clarity to proclaim the mystery of the gospel in a way that people can understand.

Bungku Across Countries (ROP3 - 101750) 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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