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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Simbari of Papua New Guinea

The Simbari of Papua New Guinea, numbering approximately 9,200 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an indigenous ethnic group of Papua New Guinea. They are an Indigenous people in the New Guinea people cluster of the Pacific Islander Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary language is Simbari and their primary religion is Protestantism.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Simbari

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Pacific Islander Peoples
Country: Papua New Guinea
People Cluster: New Guinea
Primary Language(s): Simbari (smb)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 9,200
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG010451
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Pray for the Simbari of Papua New Guinea

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: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

43%
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Simbari
Language Family: Angan

100%
%
Simbari Speakers

Media Resources in Simbari:

Films:

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Bible Resources in Simbari:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Simbari bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 2), 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): Marginally Reached People Group, (LPI: 4), 3% to 6% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical (GSEC: 4), this people group is greater than or equal to 2% evangelical

Next steps for the Simbari:
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 Simbari 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 Simbari:
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 Simbari 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 Simbari:
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 Simbari of Papua New Guinea

Ah, Lord GOD! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.
readJerremiah 32:17

Pray that the God who made the heavens and the earth by the power of His outstretched arm, the One who is able to save those who are lost, will show His great love and mercy to those who are walking in darkness.

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.
readIsaiah 40:8

Pray that everyone has access to God's Word and that those who hear the good news will turn from their sins and put their faith in Jesus the Messiah.

And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
readActs 2:42

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will devote themselves to God's Word, to fellowship with each other, and to prayer.

To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel.
readEphesians 6:18b-19

Ask God to give believers He sends to the lost of this people group the boldness and clarity to proclaim the mystery of the gospel in a way that people can understand.

Simbari Across Countries (ROP3 - 109015) 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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