The Elseng of Indonesia

The Elseng of Indonesia, numbering approximately 325 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an indigenous people of Papua represented by Koya and Koso communities around Jayapura, with related Elseng-speaking communities extending into Jayapura and Keerom regencies. They mostly adhere to Protestantism and Elseng is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Pacific Islander Peoples
Country: Indonesia
People Cluster: New Guinea
Primary Language(s): Elseng (mrf)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 325
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG023000
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Elseng 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

74%
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Elseng
Language Family:

76%
%
Elseng Speakers

Media Resources in Elseng:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Bible Resources in Elseng:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Elseng bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Elseng 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 Elseng:
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 Elseng of Indonesia

And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior."
readLuke 1:46-47

Pray that those who are lost will recognize their need for a Savior and joyfully embrace the mercy that God offers.

O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.
readPsalm 8:1

Pray that those who have yet to believe will soon recognize the majesty of God's name and raise their voices in praise to the Lord Almighty.

Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
readPsalm 37:4

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will delight themselves in the Lord, trusting Him to give them the desires of their hearts.

And he said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."
readLuke 10:2

Ask God to send out laborers into His harvest field, raising up believers from around the world to go and proclaim the kingdom of God with those who need to hear it.

Tabu Across Countries (ROP3 - 106815) 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.

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