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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Tonsawang of Indonesia

The Tonsawang of Indonesia, numbering approximately 37,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of Indonesia. They are an Indigenous people in the Minahasa-Sangir of Sulawesi people cluster of the Malay Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary language is Tonsawang and their primary religion is Protestantism.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Indonesia
People Cluster: Minahasa-Sangir of Sulawesi
Primary Language(s): Tonsawang (tnw)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 37,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG022884
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Pray for the Tonsawang of Indonesia

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

—
%

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Tonsawang
Language Family: Austronesian

75%
%

Media Resources in Tonsawang:

Films:

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Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Tonsawang:

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Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Tonsawang bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 2), 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.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Moderately Reached People Group, (LPI: 5), 6% or Greater but Less than 20% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical (GSEC: 6), this people group is greater than or equal to 10% evangelical

Next steps for the Tonsawang:
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

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Tonsawang 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 Tonsawang:
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

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Tonsawang 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 Tonsawang:
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 Tonsawang of Indonesia

All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.
readRomans 3:12

Pray that those who are enslaved to sin will admit their need for a Savior, acknowledging that no one is righteous.

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
readLamentations 3:23-23

Pray that they will have hope in the Lord, knowing that His compassions never fails and that His mercies are new every morning.

For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.
readHebrews 10:34

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have compassion for those in prison, sympathize with those who are mistreated, and continue to do good and share the gospel with others.

For the needy shall not always be forgotten, and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.
readPsalm 9:18

Pray that God will raise up believers who can help meet emotional and physical needs among this people group. Ask Him to open doors for them and give them the courage to walk into difficult situations and share the hope of the gospel boldly.

Tonsawang Across Countries (ROP3 - 110160) 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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