The Pennsylvania Dutch of United States

The Pennsylvania Dutch of United States, numbering approximately 140,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a German-American ethnocultural population distinguished by shared ancestry, dialect, religious traditions, and a strong historical identity rooted in the rural Mid-Atlantic United States. They mostly adhere to Protestantism and Pennsylvania German is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite: Pennsylvania Dutch

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Eurasian Peoples
Country: United States
People Cluster: Germanic
Primary Language(s): Pennsylvania German (pdc)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 140,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG043593
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Pennsylvania Dutch of United States

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: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

88%
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Pennsylvania German
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
German, Pennsylvania Speakers

Media Resources in Pennsylvania German:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Bible Resources in Pennsylvania German:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Wycliffe Bible Translators✓

1 entry

Or check out the Pennsylvania German bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Pennsylvania Dutch 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 Pennsylvania Dutch:
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 Pennsylvania Dutch of United States

"For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." Those who heard it said, "Then who can be saved?" But he said "What is impossible with man is possible with God."
readLuke 18:25-27

Pray that the lost who think they have everything they need will recognize their spiritual poverty apart from Jesus and turn to Him in faith.

The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.
readActs 17:24-25

Pray that the good news will reach everyone in this people group and that many will come to know and serve the one true God who made the world and everything in it and lives today.

O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.
readPsalm 51:15

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will abide in Him, and God will help them to proclaim His praise and declare His goodness all day long.

So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy.
readRomans 9:16

Ask God to raise up people who will trust in His sovereignty as they share the gospel, knowing that it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy.

Amish Across Countries (ROP3 - 107976) 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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