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Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
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Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
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Portugese - Português | Russian - Русский
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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Batak Toba of Indonesia

The Batak Toba of Indonesia, numbering approximately 3,250,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of Indonesia (Sumatra), north Sumatra, Samosir Island and east, south, and west of Toba Lake. They are an Indigenous people in the Batak-Nias of Sumatra people cluster of the Malay Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary language is Batak Toba and their primary religion is Protestantism.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Indonesia
People Cluster: Batak-Nias of Sumatra
Primary Language(s): Batak Toba (bbc)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 3,250,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG022486
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Pray for the Batak Toba of Indonesia

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: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

—
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Batak Toba
Language Family: Austronesian

76%
%
Batak Toba Speakers

Media Resources in Batak Toba:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Batak Toba:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Batak Toba 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% to 6% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical (GSEC: 5), this people group is greater than or equal to 5% evangelical

Next steps for the Batak Toba:
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 Batak Toba 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 Batak Toba:
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 Batak Toba 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 Batak Toba:
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 Batak Toba of Indonesia

For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the LORD made the heavens.
read1 Chronicles 16:26

Pray that those among them who are lost and seeking after worthless idols will have the opportunity to hear and respond to the good news, seeing that Jesus is better than any idol.

Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick in it and say to them, "the kingdom of God has come near to you."
readLuke 10:8-9

Pray that the lost will receive messengers of the gospel with joy, turn from their sins, and be healed.

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
readHebrew 4:16

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will boldly draw near to God as they approach Him in prayer, receive His mercy, and find grace for help in their time of need.

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.

Batak Toba Across Countries (ROP3 - 101128) 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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