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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Sisano of Papua New Guinea

The Sisano of Papua New Guinea, numbering approximately 14,500 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 Essono and their primary religion is Roman Catholicism.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Pacific Islander Peoples
Country: Papua New Guinea
People Cluster: New Guinea
Primary Language(s): Essono (sso)
Primary Religion(s): Roman Catholicism
Population: 14,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG010465
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Pray for the Sisano 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: Roman Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

86%
%
Roman Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Essono
Language Family: Austronesian

65%
%
Essono Speakers

Media Resources in Essono:

Films:

No entries found for: Essono(sso). Help build some!

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Essono:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Essono 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% or Greater but Less than 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 Sisano:
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 Sisano 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 Sisano:
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 Sisano 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 Sisano:
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 Sisano of Papua New Guinea

And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
readMatthew 6:16

Pray that those who live to please men and not God will turn from the emptiness of seeking approval from others and find true satisfaction in the treasure of a personal relationship with God.

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.

Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
readRomans 5:2

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will rejoice in the hope of glory and be in awe of God's mercy that gives them access to Him through faith.

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
readJohn 12:24

Pray that God will raise up men and women who are willing to die to their own desires, bearing much fruit for the kingdom among individuals and in places where His gospel has not been proclaimed.

Sisano Across Countries (ROP3 - 109337) 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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