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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Western Chams of Vietnam

The Western Chams of Vietnam, numbering approximately 150,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an Austronesian ethnolinguistic group iconcentrated between the Kampong Cham province in Cambodia and An Giang province in southern Vietnam They are an Indigenous people, in the Cham people cluster of the Southeast Asian Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Islam - Sunni. They primarily speak Cham, Western.

Western Chams in United States photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Copyrighted ©️ 2025 Cambodia Research Network Used with permission

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Asian Pacific Rim Peoples
Country: Vietnam
People Cluster: Cham
Primary Language(s): Cham, Western (cja)
Primary Religion(s): Islam - Sunni
Population: 150,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG011245
View on Joshua Project

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Pray for the Western Chams of Vietnam

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Islam - Sunni
Religious Affiliation: Islam

%
Islam - Sunni Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Cham, Western
Language Family: Austronesian

%
Cham, Western Speakers

Media Resources in Cham, Western:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Cham, Western:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Cham, Western bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Next steps for the Western Chams

The Western Chams 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 Western Chams

The Western Chams 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 Western Chams

The Western Chams 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 Western Chams of Vietnam

For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God?
readPsalm 18:31

As people look to their own efforts for hope, pray they will have the opportunity to learn and believe in the Lord, who is the only Rock worthy of their faith.

If I ascend to heaven, you are there. If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
readPsalm 139:8

Pray that the lost will recognize God's presence with them wherever they go, put their faith in Christ, and seek to live in a way that honors and glorifies Him.

Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!
readPsalm 133:1

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be unified and love one another as God loves them.

I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessing.
read1 Corinthians 9:23

Ask God to give believers a deep desire to share the gospel with those who don't know the truth about God's redemption plan, and to provide them with opportunities to do so cross-culturally.

Cham, Western (ROP3 - 110776) 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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