The Selaru of Indonesia

The Selaru of Indonesia, numbering approximately 11,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of Indonesia. They are an Indigenous people in the Maluku-Southern people cluster of the Malay Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary language is Selaru and their primary religion is Protestantism.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Indonesia
People Cluster: Maluku-Southern
Primary Language(s): Selaru (slu)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 11,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG022706
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Selaru 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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

69%
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Selaru
Language Family: Austronesian

76%
%
Selaru Speakers

Media Resources in Selaru:

Films:

Bible Resources in Selaru:

Or check out the Selaru bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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): Significantly Reached People Group, (LPI: 6), > 20% or Greater Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical (GSEC: 6), this people group is greater than or equal to 10% evangelical

Next steps for the Selaru:
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 Selaru 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 Selaru:
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 Selaru 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 Selaru:
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 Selaru of Indonesia

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
readJohn 3:14-15

Pray that the lost among them will look to the One lifted up on the cross, believing in Him and receiving eternal life.

The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.
readActs 17:24-25

Pray that the good news will reach everyone in this people group and that many will come to know and serve the one true God who made the world and everything in it and lives today.

All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.
read2 Corinthians 5:18

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will serve as God's ambassadors, sharing the message of reconciliation with others.

To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel.
readEphesians 6:18b-19

Ask God to give believers He sends to the lost of this people group the boldness and clarity to proclaim the mystery of the gospel in a way that people can understand.

Selaru Across Countries (ROP3 - 108808) 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.

Scroll to Top