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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Gond (Maria) of India

The Gond (Maria) of India, numbering approximately 283,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a large tribal people of central India whose identity is rooted in forest landscapes, clan organization, indigenous religious traditions, historical kingdoms, and a strong cultural heritage expressed through art, music, dance, and oral tradition. They are an Indigenous people in the Marathi-Konkani people cluster of the South Asian Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary language is Maria (India) and their primary religion is Hinduism.

Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Shashank Deora - Wikimedia Shashank Deora - Wikimedia Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: Marathi-Konkani
Primary Language(s): Maria (India) (mrr)
Primary Religion(s): Hinduism
Population: 283,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG048261
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Pray for the Gond (Maria) of India

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.

Pray Now!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Hinduism
Religious Affiliation: Hinduism

100%
%
Hinduism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Maria (India)
Language Family: Dravidian

100%
%
Maria (India) Speakers

Media Resources in Maria (India):

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Maria (India):

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Maria (India) bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 1), 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.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Pioneer Unreached People Group, (LPI: 1), 0.1% to 0.5% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Gond (Maria):
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

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Gond (Maria) 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.

Next steps for the Gond (Maria):
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

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Gond (Maria) 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 Gond (Maria):
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 Gond (Maria) of India

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
readRomans 3:23

Pray that those who live in fear, guilt and discontentment because of sin will see their need for change, hear, and receive the good news of freedom from sin through Christ.

“I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’ to a nation that was not called by my name."
readIsaiah 65:1

Pray that the lost will be found by God, even when they are not seeking Him. Pray that He will reveal Himself to them in a way they cannot ignore and that they will respond in faith.

Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.
readLuke 18:17

Pray that as people trust in Christ, they will have simple, childlike confidence that He will provide for their needs.

But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.
readJeremiah 29:7

Pray that God will lead the lost among them to followers of Jesus who will share the gospel with them so that they may believe and take the message of hope to their families and friends.

Gond (Maria) Across Countries (ROP3 - 117053) 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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