The Kekchi of Guatemala

The Kekchi of Guatemala, numbering approximately 1,495,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Maya ethnic group indigenous to the central Guatemalan departments of Alta Verapaz, Baja Verapaz, and Quiché. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Kekchí is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Latin American and Caribbean Peoples
Country: Guatemala
People Cluster: Maya
Primary Language(s): Kekchí (kek)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 1,495,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG024730
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Kekchi 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: Kekchí
Language Family: Mayan

82%
%
Q?eqchi? Speakers

Media Resources in Kekchí:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Bible Resources in Kekchí:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2008 Wycliffe Bible Translators Inc.✓✓
Catholic✓

2 entries

Or check out the Kekchí bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Kekchi 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 Kekchi:
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 Kekchi of Guatemala

Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.
read1 John 3:8

Pray for those living in darkness to recognize the destructive power of sin and the victory Christ has won over it.

Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.’ In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.
readJob 1:20-22

Pray that those who mourn will worship God in the midst of their suffering and loss, recognizing He is the source of all good things and that He is worthy of their praise and trust.

But Jesus called them to him, saying "Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God."
readLuke 18:16

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have a burden to share the hope of Christ with children.

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
readHebrews 4:12

Pray that God will make His living and active Word available to everyone in this people group so that many will respond to the gospel. Ask Him to provide Jesus-followers to walk with new believers as they grow in Him.

Kekchi Across Countries (ROP3 - 104806) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

3 people groups

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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