Regional Snapshot

From Charles and Carmen Fleming
Latin America

Latin American churches
Celebrating freedom in Christ

By Hector Barrero

The church in Latin America is becoming more than ever a group that is celebrating its freedom in Christ.

The 16 Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries that are home to our 49 congregations stretch from Mexico in the north, through Central America, and Puerto Rico in the Caribbean, through Brazil all the way to Argentina and Chile in the Southern Cone.

With God’s help, members and ministers are working toward raising and strengthening the church. Identifying and establishing a new generation of leaders with a commitment to team ministry has taken—and is taking—time. Also, it has taken time to learn to do evangelism and develop the church with local resources and personnel.

However, after some false starts, the fruit of this work is becoming evident in congregation after congregation. Members are getting together more often to pray. Sunday services are conducted in some areas in addition to services on Saturday. More praise hymns have been added, more intercessory prayer is offered and the messages are shorter and effective. Small group meetings take place in members’ homes. In general, the members play a more active role in the church. The concept of the ministry of the saints is being understood and slowly implemented.

Salvador Barragan, who oversees Mexico, Peru, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama and Venezuela, reports that most of the groups are growing spiritually. For example, in the Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez, 20 people accepted Christ as a result of the Evangelism Explosion clinic that took place there.

Guillermo Juy, from Chihuahua, Mexico, said: "Our congregation’s average attendance is 10 to 12 people. Sometimes as many as 23 are present, but every time we gather we feel that God has united us more and there is more joy. He has allowed us to see the way we should go.

"We trust his direction, have more understanding and have more participation among the members. Some brethren have said that Jesus is truly leading their lives. We have seen a gradual transformation in our lives that we hadn’t seen before. We have more joy and trust in the direction that God is giving his church.

"We now understand that we evangelize indirectly through our example. We understand that God uses each congregation according to its gifts. We have active participation during services. The brethren interact with one another, learn from one another, and trust and feel free to express their worries, emotions and thoughts. We feel that God’s presence guides us during the service, a feeling we never had before."

Diogenes Alvarez from Costa Rica says that the members have been serving the needy in hospitals and people with drug addiction problems.

Javier Concepcion, member leader in Puerto Rico, said that they have gotten closer to other denominations and ministries and have been able to participate with organizations such as Operation Christmas Child and Samaritan’s Purse.

Ruben Gerardo and other members in Bolivia have been working on a publication to evangelize and invite people to the group.

Thomas Keller, in Santiago, Chile, said, "We have had to learn to depend more on God."

In Colombia, 14 member leaders are studying theology at the Facultad Latinoamericana de Estudios Teologicos (Latin American School of Theological Studies). This has allowed them to understand more rapidly the new covenant concepts and transmit them to the congregations.

In Barranquilla, a Colombian port on the Caribbean, God has brought growth to the congregation. In Medellin, the members produce their own publication. In Bogota, the five-minute radio program Verdad y Vida (Truth and Life), which is transmitted daily, has been well accepted in the Christian community. Some members of the Sunday congregation are the fruit of the radio program.

Hector Barrero, Bogota pastor, works closely with the city’s association of pastors to develop plans to serve the Christian churches with the Natural Church Development program. In Ecuador, we have a small group in Portoviejo, close to the Peruvian border.

God has blessed our two congregations in Honduras with a wonderful youth ministry. In San Pedro Sula, Pastor Marco Antonio Mejia and his wife, Maria, decided to evangelize in the town of Democracia. Mr. Mejia, who retired after 34 years as a school teacher, had decided to minister to adults. However, no adults responded to his evangelistic efforts, but youths did.

Today, the congregation of 15 adults ministers to 60 young people. When the private home in which services were conducted became too small, God provided adequate facilities. The congregation rented a neighborhood church, which was abandoned after being flooded during Hurricane Mitch.

The adults and youths worked together to clean, repair and paint the building. Many of the youths are already exercising leadership in the church, and there is no limit to the positive effect of our brethren in the town.

In Tegucigalpa, the capital, Pastor Maurcio Diaz and his wife, Lilianna, serve a congregation that loves to praise the Lord. They are outgrowing the small hall they rent.

God has also blessed them with a dynamic and growing children’s ministry. Manuel and Arcenia Torres head up the youth ministry, which includes more than 20 children from a neighboring community.

Carlos Espinosa, Buenos Aires’ pastor, wrote: "To take the church to the community and under the motto ‘Jesus is our King,’ the Ezeiza congregation had a youth summer camp in February.

"It opened its doors to community children and their families. Store owners in the area provided food, which allowed us to extend the camp for two more days. It was an excellent opportunity to plant the good seed of the gospel.

"A similar activity took place in April. We invited adults to join us in our regular church activities. We thank the Lord for all his blessings, for answering our prayers and for putting the Spirit of peace among us."

The Lord Jesus Christ has been good to the WCG in these countries. He has left a remnant by grace, so from there would grow a church built upon the Rock: Christ.

We have a long way to go. We need your prayers for strength and for the Lord to raise servants who are filled with the Holy Spirit to fulfill the great commission together with other leaders and members of sister churches. But, we also ask you to join us in thanking our great God for the incredible blessings he has already given us.

CHILE—Members in Santiago.

COLOMBIA—Hector Barrero preaching to congregation in Bogota.

BOLIVIA—Congregation in Cocuabamba

ARGENTINA—Women serving in
kitchen of church-owned hall in Ezeiza.

COLOMBIA—Children taught by
Aminta Ospino de Orozco in Barranquilla.

Copyright © Worldwide Church of God, 2001