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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Waia of Papua New Guinea

The Waia of Papua New Guinea, numbering approximately 6,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an indigenous ethnic group of Papua New Guinea and can also be known as Kenedibi, Hiwi. They are an Indigenous people, in the New Guinea people cluster of the Pacific Islanders affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Ethnoreligion. They primarily speak Tabo.

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Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Asian Pacific Peoples
Country: Papua New Guinea
People Cluster: New Guinea
Primary Language(s): Tabo (knv)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 6,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG010590

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Pray for the Waia of Papua New Guinea

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Tabo
Language Family: South-Central Papuan

%
Tabo Speakers

Media Resources in Tabo:

Films:

No entries found for: Tabo(knv). Help build some!

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Tabo:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Tabo bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Next steps for the Waia

The Waia 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 Waia

The Waia 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 Waia

The Waia 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 Waia of Papua New Guinea

Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.
read1 John 3:8

Pray for those living in darkness to recognize the destructive power of sin and the victory Christ has won over it.

“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread."
readMatthew 6:10-11

As people go about their daily lives, pray they will have the opportunity to encounter Jesus-followers, receive the gospel, and respond with joy. Pray that, as God provides for their daily needs, He will also bring many into His beautiful kingdom.

In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?
readJohn 14:2-3

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will persevere in hope, remembering that Jesus went to prepare a place for them to be with Him for eternity!

I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations.
readPsalm 57:9

Pray that God will raise up believers among them who will boldly go and share the gospel with people nearby and with those far away.

Waia 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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