THE GREAT AWAKENING: EVANGELICAL MISSIONARY MOVEMENTS IN LATIN AMERICA

By Javier Bolaños | Monday, January 22, 2024

Churches like the Lagoinha Baptist Church in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, under the leadership of pastor Marcio Valadao, place a strong emphasis on missionary work.

Carlos and Ana had a dream to serve God as missionaries around the world when they got married. Both grew up in churches in Colombia and felt God's call to spread the gospel to people from other cultures. Nevertheless, they do not know how to make it happen. Carlos still remembers saying, "We thought missions were only for foreigners coming to our country because we didn't have the resources, support, or experience."

However, one day Carlos and Ana hear about a Latin American mission agent who trains, directs, and sends them to various places. They took courses to become missionaries, and after a year of training, they were assigned to a project in Central Asia along with other Latin American missionaries. There, they have served for more than five years, learning the language, adapting to the culture, and sharing the love of Christ with their neighbors. Ana said," We love being a part of what the Lord is doing in the nations, "because" the Lord has been faithful, and we have seen fruit in the midst of adversity."

The growing evangelical missionary movement that has emerged in Latin America in recent years is just like the story of Carlos and Ana. According to the Center for the Study of Global Christianity, the number of Latin American Evangelical missionaries has increased by more than 10,000 since 2000, and they serve in more than 100 countries, especially in areas that are difficult to access, such as the Islamic, Buddhist, and Hindu worlds. This places Latin America as the third region with the largest number of Evangelical missionaries in the world, losing only to North America and Europe.

Meanwhile, a report from the Lausanne World Pulse in 2007 stated that Latin America had officially joined the global missionary force almost 25 years earlier. This shows that this has been a trend for a long time and still exists today.

Currently, four hundred mission agents have sent nine thousand Latin Americans, and another three thousand have left without a delivery structure.

The truth is that in recent decades, the evangelical missionary movement in Latin America has experienced significant growth.

"The Latin American church is like a sleeping giant that rose to plant gospel-centered churches throughout Latin America, to reach unreached pockets of people within its borders, and to send missionaries to the most difficult places in the world," says the Association of Baptists for World Evangelism (ABWE) website.

Certain factors explain this very interesting development, although Latin American missionaries face difficulties and opportunities, and the American Church continues to seek to support and cooperate with this movement.

Biblical mission view

Events, publications, and resources emphasizing the missionary responsibility of Christ and the importance of reaching people not yet seen by Christ have fueled the missionary revival in Latin America. The rediscovery of the biblical vision of mission shows that God's purpose is to glorify his name among all nations and that the church is the instrument he chooses to fulfill his plan.

Thousands of evangelical leaders from across the region have gathered at the Latin American Congress of Evangelization (CLADE), held every ten years since 1969, to consider the church's mission in Latin America. The theme of the last clade in Costa Rica is "integral discipleship in the power of the spirit: toward a missionary, prophetic, and hopeful church."It stated that" God's mission is integral and encompasses all dimensions of human life and creation" and asked to "assume a commitment to be a missionary church, proclaiming and living the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit, during the challenges and opportunities of our time."

The Ibero-American Missionary Congress (COMIBAM), which began in 1987 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, was another event that marked the missionary vision of Latin America. It is considered the first missionary Congress held by and for Latin Americans.

COMIBAM aims to encourage missionary cooperation and mobilization among Spanish and Portuguese-speaking evangelical churches, institutions, and organizations. More than 800 people from 40 countries gathered at the last COMIBAM, held in Bogota, Colombia, under the theme "The Glory of Christ among the Nations." The participants shared their experiences, difficulties, and plans to develop the kingdom of God in the world.

In addition to these events, it should be noted that in recent decades, numerous Latin American missionary institutions and organizations have emerged to assist in the sending and support of missionaries from the region. They include AMA (Argentine missionary agency), AMAL (Latin American missionary agency), AME (Evangelical Mission Agency), AMEC (Central American evangelical missionary agency), AMEE (Ecuadorian evangelical missionary association), and AMEM (World Evangelization Mission).

For missionaries and sending churches, the institute provides support networks, financial management, training, and pastoral care.

In addition, it is important to point out that many resources and publications have helped spread the missionary vision among evangelical Christians in Latin America. These include the magazine VAMOS (Let's Go), which has been publishing articles, testimonies, and news about missions since 1984; the book "World Missions," written by missionary and theologian Jonathan Lewis, which provides a biblical, historical, and practical introduction to missions; and the radio program "Ventana al Mundo" (Window to the World), broadcast on more than 500 radio stations around the world.

Flexible and diverse cultural identity

The diverse and flexible cultural identity that characterizes Latin Americans also supports the rise of Latin American missionaries. This identity allows Latin Americans to adapt and relate to other cultures more easily and naturally. Latin Americans are the result of a diversity of races, languages, beliefs, and traditions that have shaped a rich and diverse culture. The processes of globalization and migration have also influenced this culture. Due to this cultural diversity, Latin Americans are more sensitive and open to others, as well as better able to learn and communicate between cultures.

In the field of missions, Latin American missionaries have proven to be effective and innovative in improving their ministry. Examples include the use of art, music, and comedy as a means of evangelization and discipleship; the formation of diverse missionary teams and various disciplines; the incorporation of families and communities in missionary service; attention to the social and humanitarian needs of the community; and placing the gospel message in the perspective and values of the host culture.

Ronaldo Lidó, a Brazilian priest and missionary, said that "Latin Americans have an excellent facility of adaptation because we are people of mixed race who have received influences from many cultures." We are happy and cheerful people who love music, dance, and sports, and we have great social sensitivity because we have suffered a lot, gone through many difficulties, and understand what poverty is.

In Latin America, the evangelical missionary movement is developing rapidly. More and more people, like Carlos and Ana, believe that the call to take the gospel beyond their borders is the most important. As this" sleeping giant" continues to awaken, it will have an even greater influence on countries around the world in the years to come.

News Sources: https://www.christiandaily.com/news/latin-americas-rising-evangelical-missionary-movement.html