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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Ryukyuan of United States

The Ryukyuan of United States, numbering approximately 14,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an East Asian ethnic group indigenous to Japan's Ryukyu Islands chain and can also be known as In Progress. They are an Diaspora people, in the Japanese people cluster of the East Asian Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Ethnoreligion - Shinbutso-shugo. They primarily speak Japanese.

Ryukyuan in United States photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Matt Watts - Flickr Matt Watts - Flickr Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Asian Pacific Peoples
Country: United States
People Cluster: Japanese
Primary Language(s): Japanese (jpn)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion - Shinbutso-shugo
Population: 14,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG043579

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Pray for the Ryukyuan of United States

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion - Shinbutso-shugo
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

%
Ethnoreligion - Shinbutso… Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Japanese
Language Family: Japonic

%
Japanese Speakers

Media Resources in Japanese:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Japanese:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Japanese bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

Next steps for the Ryukyuan

The Ryukyuan 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 Ryukyuan

The Ryukyuan 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 Ryukyuan

The Ryukyuan 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 Ryukyuan of United States

I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.
readProverbs 8:17

As many search for hope, pray they will discover materials that will lead them to Jesus and explain the gospel in a way they will resonate with.

The people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.
readMatthew 4:16

Pray that those who dwell in darkness and live in the land of the shadow of death may be drawn out of darkness into His marvelous light.

My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
readJohn 10:29

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will rejoice as they remember that they can never lose their salvation

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
readActs 1:8

Pray that God will raise up believers who are willing to cross cultures and boldly share the good news of Jesus with the lost in this people group and from every nation.

Okinawan, Central 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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