The Melanesians of United States

The Melanesians of United States, numbering approximately 1,600 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an indigenous ethnic group of Papua New Guinea. They mostly adhere to Protestantism and Tok Pisin is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Pacific Islander Peoples
Country: United States
People Cluster: New Guinea
Primary Language(s): Tok Pisin (tpi)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 1,600
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG046504
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Melanesians 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

—
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Tok Pisin
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Tok Pisin Speakers

Media Resources in Tok Pisin:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Tok Pisin:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
1989 Bible Society of Papua New Guinea✓✓✓

1 entry

Or check out the Tok Pisin bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Melanesians 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 Melanesians:
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 Melanesians of United States

The LORD has heard my plea; the LORD accepts my prayer.
readPsalm 6:9

Pray that lost people will hear the gospel and place their faith in Christ, knowing that He hears their plea and accepts their prayer.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
readJohn 3:16

Pray that the lost will seek God and learn that they have a heavenly Father who loves them and wants them to live eternally with Him.

Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O LORD, God of host.
readJeremiah 15:16

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will find joy and delight in the Word of the Lord.

For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, “‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”
readActs 13:47

Pray that as people come to faith, they will follow the Lord's leading to go to their neighbors and share the treasure they found in Christ.

Neo-Melanesian Papuan Across Countries (ROP3 - 107203) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

4 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguage ▼Religion
Neo-Melanesian PapuansNeo-Melanesian PapuansAustralia31,500No Longer UnreachedTok PisinProtestantism
Neo-Melanesian PapuansNeo-Melanesian PapuansPapua New Guinea232,000No Longer UnreachedTok PisinProtestantism
Neo-Melanesian PapuansNeo-Melanesian PapuansSolomon Islands7,900No Longer UnreachedTok PisinProtestantism
MelanesiansMelanesiansUnited States1,600No Longer UnreachedTok PisinProtestantism

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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