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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Deaf Timorese of Timor-Leste

The Deaf Timorese of Timor-Leste, numbering approximately 6,800 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are a community of individuals who are culturally Deaf and actively participate in Deaf culture, often using sign language as their primary means of communication . They are an Indigenous people, in the Deaf people cluster of the Deaf Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Christianity - Roman Catholicism. They primarily speak Indonesian Sign Language.

Deaf Timorese in Timor-Leste photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Anonymous

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Deaf Peoples
Country: Timor-Leste
People Cluster: Deaf
Primary Language(s): Indonesian Sign Language (mis)
Primary Religion(s): Christianity - Roman Catholicism
Population: 6,800
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): No Evangelicals, Churches or Resources
People Group ID: PG048850

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Pray for the Deaf Timorese of Timor-Leste

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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Christianity - Roman Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

%
Christianity - Roman Cath… Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Indonesian Sign Language
Language Family: None

%
Indonesian Sign Language Speakers

Media Resources in Indonesian Sign Language:

Films:

No entries found for: Indonesian Sign Language(mis). Help build some!

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Indonesian Sign Language:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

View all resources

Next steps for the Deaf Timorese

The Deaf Timorese 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 Deaf Timorese

The Deaf Timorese 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 Deaf Timorese

The Deaf Timorese 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 Deaf Timorese of Timor-Leste

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
readRomans 1:20

As God's creation declares His glory, pray that multitudes who don't know Him will see the works of His hands and desire to know more about the Creator.

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
readJohn 8:12

Pray that many will come to know Jesus, the light of the world, and have the light of life instead of walking in darkness.

Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed.
readPsalm 34:5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will see themselves as God sees them, with radiant faces and hearts that have been cleansed of all shame.

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
readEphesians 6:11

Pray that those God sends to cross cultures will put on the full armor of God so that they will be able to stand against the schemes of the enemy.

Deaf reported in the following countries (ROP3):

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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