The Cebuano of Philippines

The Cebuano of Philippines, numbering approximately 23,470,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Filipino ethnolinguistic group indigenous to the Visayas, the southernmost islands of Luzon and a significant portion of Mindanao. They mostly adhere to Roman Catholicism and Cebuano is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Cebuano

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Philippines
People Cluster: Filipino, Central
Primary Language(s): Cebuano (ceb)
Primary Religion(s): Roman Catholicism
Population: 23,470,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG042429
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Pray for the Cebuano of Philippines

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: Roman Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

66%
%
Roman Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Cebuano
Language Family: Austronesian

100%
%
Cebuano Speakers

Media Resources in Cebuano:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Cebuano:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Cebuano Bible Version✓
Revised Popular Version✓✓✓

2 entries

Or check out the Cebuano bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Cebuano 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 Cebuano:
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 Cebuano of Philippines

Abraham said, "God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son." So they went both of them together.
readGenesis 22:8

Pray that God will open the ears of those who are lost to understand and believe that only shed blood takes away sin and that, like Abraham, they will believe that God Himself provides the lamb for the burnt offering, who is Jesus the final, perfect sacrifice.

Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.
readPsalm 25:5

Pray that the gospel will advance and that God will lead people in His truth, bringing many to salvation.

I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.
readMatthew 25:36

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will honor Jesus and find joy as they take care of those in need.

And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you.
readLuke 10:6

Pray that, as people come to faith in Christ and want to share it with others, they will be welcomed into homes and received well so that they can share message of hope with many people.

Visayan Across Countries (ROP3 - 110577) 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.

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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