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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Tzeltal of Mexico

The Tzeltal of Mexico, numbering approximately 838,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Maya people indigenous to the highlands of chiapas in Mexico and can also be known as Cancuc, Chanal, Highland Tzeltal, Lowland Tzeltal; Highland Tzeltal; Tenejapa; Chanal; Cancuc; Tenango; Tzeltal de Ocosingo, Highland Tzeltal, Tenango, Cancuc, Tenejapa, Tzeltal de Ocosingo, Tenango, Tenejapa, Lowland Tzeltal, Chanal. They are an Indigenous people, in the Maya people cluster of the Latin-Caribbean Americans affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Christianity - Folk Catholicism. They primarily speak Tzeltal.

Tzeltal in United States photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Lon&Queta - Flickr Lon&Queta - Flickr Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: American Peoples
Country: Mexico
People Cluster: Maya
Primary Language(s): Tzeltal (tzh)
Primary Religion(s): Christianity - Folk Catholicism
Population: 838,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG039165

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Christianity - Folk Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

%
Christianity - Folk Catho… Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Tzeltal
Language Family: Mayan

%
Tzeltal Speakers

Media Resources in Tzeltal:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Tzeltal:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Tzeltal bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Next steps for the Tzeltal

The Tzeltal 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 Tzeltal

The Tzeltal 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 Tzeltal

The Tzeltal 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 Tzeltal of Mexico

Claiming to be wise, they became fools.
readRomans 1:22

Ask God to pour out His mercy and bring those who are walking in their own wisdom to faith in Jesus.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
readJohn 3:16

Pray that the lost will seek God and learn that they have a heavenly Father who loves them and wants them to live eternally with Him.

O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.
readPsalm 51:15

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will abide in Him, and God will help them to proclaim His praise and declare His goodness all day long.

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
readRevelation 7:9-10

Pray that the promise in Revelation 7:9-10 will encourage believers from among them or from nearby people groups to share the gospel with people who have never learned it.

Tzeltal reported in the following countries (ROP3):

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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