The Poke of Congo, Democratic Republic of the

The Poke of Congo, Democratic Republic of the, numbering approximately 230,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as an ethnolinguistic community of Democratic Republic of the Congo They are an Indigenous people, with Poke as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Bantu, Central-Congo people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples. Their primary religion is Neo-Pentecostalism. They primarily speak Poke.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Congo, Democratic Republic of the
People Cluster: Bantu, Central-Congo
Primary Language(s): Poke (pof)
Primary Religion(s): Neo-Pentecostalism
Population: 230,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG014708
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Poke of Congo, Democratic Republic of the

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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Neo-Pentecostalism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

%
Neo-Pentecostalism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Poke
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Poke Speakers

Media Resources in Poke:

Films:

Bible Resources in Poke:

Or check out the Poke bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 1), 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): Expanding Unreached People Group, (LPI: 2), 0.5% to 2% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Poke:
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 Poke 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 Poke:
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 Poke 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 Poke:
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 Poke of Congo, Democratic Republic of the

He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him
readLuke 10:34

Pray that the lost among them will experience the kind of compassion Jesus taught His followers to show others, and that they will trust in Him because He is the one who brings healing to the broken and lost.

So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them
readMatthew 4:24

Pray that the truth about the Lord will spread throughout the land so that many will have an opportunity to receive the good news and put their faith in Him.

And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.
read2 Corinthians 12:28

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will grow in the spiritual gifts God has given them and use these gifts to glorify Him and build up the Church.

Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples!
readPsalm 105:1

Pray that many among them will call on the name of Jesus, develop a heart for the nations, and go to places where the gospel has not yet been received.

Poke Across Countries (ROP3 - 108090) 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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