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

In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
read1 John 4:10

Pray for those without the hope of Christ to understand the depth of God's love and the sacrifice He made for them.

Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
readPsalm 34:8

Pray that the gospel will advance and that many will have the opportunity to taste and see the goodness of God and entrust their lives to Him.

But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.
read1 Peter 3:15

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will always be prepared to share the reason for the hope that they have in Jesus with gentleness and respect.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
readActs 1:8

Pray that God will raise up believers who are willing to cross cultures and boldly share the good news of Jesus with the lost in this people group and from every nation.

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.

Scroll to Top