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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Mbanja of Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Mbanja of Democratic Republic of the Congo, numbering approximately 720,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are a Banda ethnolinguistic group indigenous to the northwestern corner of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and can also be known as Mbandja, Mbandza, Mbanza. They are an Indigenous people, in the Sudanic people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Christianity - Roman Catholicism. They primarily speak Mbandja.

Mbanza in Congo photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Anonymous

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-saharan Africa Peoples
Country: Democratic Republic of the Congo
People Cluster: Sudanic
Primary Language(s): Mbandja (zmz)
Primary Religion(s): Christianity - Roman Catholicism
Population: 720,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG014650
View on Joshua Project

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Pray for the Mbanja of Democratic Republic of the Congo

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Christianity - Roman Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

%
Christianity - Roman Cath… Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Mbandja
Language Family: Niger-Congo

%
Mbandja Speakers

Media Resources in Mbandja:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Mbandja:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Mbandja bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Next steps for the Mbanja

The Mbanja 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 Mbanja

The Mbanja 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 Mbanja

The Mbanja 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 Mbanja of Democratic Republic of the Congo

For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the LORD made the heavens.
readPsalm 96:5

Pray that those who are seeking after worthless idols will not be satisfied until they seek the truth and find it in Christ.

So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.
readRomans 9:16

Pray that the merciful God who is at work in people's hearts will advance His gospel among them.

Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
readPsalm 37:4

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will delight themselves in the Lord, trusting Him to give them the desires of their hearts.

Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!
readPsalm 149:3

Pray that God will send His people across cultures to share the gospel so that those who don't yet know the truth about Him might praise His name and share the hope of Christ with others.

Mbanza (ROP3 - 106463) 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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