The Paipai of Mexico

The Paipai of Mexico, numbering approximately 350 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Yuman-language people of northern Baja California's Sierra de Juarez, related to the Kumeyaay and Kiliwa, first encountered by Sebastian Vizcaino's 1602 Spanish expedition and later missionized by Dominicans after Spain expelled the Jesuits in 1767. They mostly adhere to Folk Catholicism and Spanish is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Latin American and Caribbean Peoples
Country: Mexico
People Cluster: Central American Indigenous
Primary Language(s): Spanish (spa)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Catholicism
Population: 350
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG024930
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Paipai of Mexico

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: Folk Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

69%
%
Folk Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Spanish
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Spanish Speakers

Media Resources in Spanish:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film
MagdalenaView Film
The SaviorView Film

5 films

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Paipai 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 Paipai:
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 Paipai of Mexico

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
readMatthew 28:16-20

Pray that those who don't yet know Him will encounter the risen Savior and be transformed by the power of His resurrection, becoming disciples who make disciples.

Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized.
readActs 18:8

Pray that rulers and leaders will access the gospel, respond in faith, and be baptized, uniting with Christ and His Church, and influence others to follow Him.

And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven."
readMatthew 16:17

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will abide in Him and have assurance that He is the Christ, the Son of the Living God.

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go.
readLuke 10:1

Ask God to raise up, send out, and sustain Christians who can go together to share the good news of Jesus with those who need it.

Paipai Across Countries (ROP3 - 107758) 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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