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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Northern Tlapanec of Mexico

The Northern Tlapanec of Mexico, numbering approximately 182,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an indigenous community of Mexico. They are an Indigenous people, in the Central American Indigenous people cluster of the Latin American and Caribbean Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Christianity - Folk Catholicism. They primarily speak Me’phaa, Acatepec.

Photo by Google. (2025). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Northern Tlapanec

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: American Peoples
Country: Mexico
People Cluster: Central American Indigenous
Primary Language(s): Me’phaa, Acatepec (tpx)
Primary Religion(s): Christianity - Folk Catholicism
Population: 182,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG046980
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Pray for the Northern Tlapanec of Mexico

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Christianity - Folk Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

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Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Me’phaa, Acatepec
Language Family: Otomanguean

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Media Resources in Me’phaa, Acatepec:

Films:

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Bible Resources in Me’phaa, Acatepec:

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Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Me’phaa, Acatepec bible resources at Bible.com

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Next steps for the Northern Tlapanec

The Northern Tlapanec are Unengaged and Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Next steps for the Northern Tlapanec

The Northern Tlapanec are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Next steps for the Northern Tlapanec

The Northern Tlapanec 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.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Northern Tlapanec of Mexico

For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
readRomans 5:7-8

Pray for the many who don't yet understand the hope of the gospel, and pray that God will reveal to them that while they were in darkness, Christ died for them.

And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.
readIsaiah 30:21

As the lost in this people group seek to know the truth of who God is, pray that the Spirit of God will draw them to Himself and guide them in the way they should go.

I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me. I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.
readPsalm 3:5-6

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and experience isolation or other persecution, God will sustain them and give them confidence and rest in Him.

The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way.
readPsalm 37:23

Pray that believers from near and far will serve here and trust in the Lord's timing as He establishes their steps.

Tlapanec, Acatepec (ROP3 - 100034) reported in the following countries:

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 Definitions page.

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