The Eastern Kanjobal of Guatemala

The Eastern Kanjobal of Guatemala, numbering approximately 227,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Mayan ethnic group indigenous to the Huehuetenango department of northern Guatemala. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Q'anjob'al is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: Kanjobal

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Latin American and Caribbean Peoples
Country: Guatemala
People Cluster: Maya
Primary Language(s): Q'anjob'al (kjb)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 227,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG024729
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Eastern Kanjobal of Guatemala

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

—
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Q'anjob'al
Language Family: Mayan

80%
%
Q’anjob’al Speakers

Media Resources in Q'anjob'al:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Q'anjob'al:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
1989 Bible Society of Guatemala✓

1 entry

Or check out the Q'anjob'al bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Eastern Kanjobal 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 Eastern Kanjobal:
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 Eastern Kanjobal of Guatemala

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?
readRomans 10:14

Pray that those who haven't heard will hear the Word of Christ and believe in Him, calling upon the name of the Lord to be saved.

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
readMatthew 6:10

Pray that God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven, and that people will seek His kingdom and righteousness above all else, trusting in His provision.

And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
readActs 2:42

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will devote themselves to God's Word, to fellowship with each other, and to prayer.

He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him.
readJohn 1:7

Pray that God will raise up witnesses to testify about Jesus so that all might believe, knowing that He is light and in Him there is no darkness at all.

Kanjobal, Eastern Across Countries (ROP3 - 102845) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

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