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

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: 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

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.

"O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me."
readJohn 17:25

Pray that the lost will come to know the Father and Jesus Christ, whom He has sent, and that they will be filled with His love and grace.

My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
readJohn 10:29

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will rejoice as they remember that they can never lose their salvation

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.
readJohn 1:12

Pray that believers will have the opportunity to clearly share the good news with the lost here, so that all people can be invited to trust in Jesus and become children of God.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

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