Latin America and the Caribbean
Latin America and the Caribbean is the most Christian region of the world today. More than 90 percent of the population identifies with at least one of many forms of Christianity. Huge stone cathedrals on central plazas built with indigenous slave labor attest to how Christianity was brought by European colonial powers. Megachurches next to shopping malls broadcast worship services over their own television networks, pointing to alliances between concentrations of economic power and emerging forms of Christianity.
In the urban neighborhoods and rural villages, the faithful gather in evangelical and Roman Catholic churches to study God’s Word and find encouragement for their lives. Inspired by the hope of God’s coming reign, many followers of Jesus Christ are working to overcome injustice.
Great inequalities in the distribution of wealth, a legacy of colonialism fed by current trade policies, condemn millions to abject poverty. While most governments are formal democracies, those who hold power seldom respond to the needs of the majority. Corruption infests many social structures. Yet there are signs of hope. Movements of indigenous peoples and those of African ancestry are creating new forms of organization as they defend their cultural rights and the ecosystems in which they live. Many Christians are asking how their ancestral spiritualities can nourish their faith in Christ. Both women and men are speaking out against violence.
Presbyterians have been active in mission here since the nineteenth century, seeking to encourage social reform and build up the body of Christ by working ecumenically wherever possible. In recent years, many members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) have experienced mission firsthand in a Latin American or Caribbean country where they have been invited to accompany humble communities in their walk with God.
—The Rev. Dr. Karla Koll, professor of history, mission and religions, Evangelical Center for Pastoral Studies in Central America, Latin American Biblical University
PC(USA) People in Mission
World Mission: Tracey King, regional liaison, Central America, Tricia Lloyd-Sidle, regional liaison, Caribbean, The Rev. Dr. Sherron George, regional liaison, South America/theological education
Partners/Ministries
United Evangelical Church of Ecuador: Dr. Salomón Cabezas A., president
PC(USA) General Assembly Staff
Bryan Reiff, GAMC
Catherine Reuning, GAMC
Nancy Reyes, BOP
Lord, teach us to walk humbly beside our sisters and brothers in Latin America who are seeking to do your will. Open our hearts to what they can teach us about your grace and the diversity of your gifts. Stir all of us to greater faithfulness that together we might work for your justice even as we eagerly await your coming reign. Amen.
Ps. 62, 145 Ps. 73, 9
2 Kings 17:24–41
1 Cor. 7:25–31; Matt. 6:25–34
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