LATIN AMERICANS EMPHASIZE MISSION & EVANGELISM
Baptists in Latin America are experiencing a spurt in growth. The Brazilian Baptist Convention grew by almost 100,000
new members and more than 450 new churches between 2003 and 2006. The Convention of Baptist Churches in Guatemala
had some 36,000 members in 2007 and now reports 50,000 members in 2009. And the Union of Evangelical Baptist Churches
in Chile (UEBC) had 326 churches and just under 28,000 members in 2007. One year later, in 2008, that convention reported
that it had 500 churches and 35,000 members.
Such phenomenal growth is part of a broader trend in the growth of Evangelical Christianity in South and Central
America. For instance, the number of Protestants in Guatemala increased from 25 percent to 40 percent of the population
in Guatemala between 2003 and 2005; in Nicaragua, Protestants numbered almost 17 percent in 2005 as against 10 percent
in 2003; and in Paraguay, Protestants were three percent of the population in 2003 and 10 percent in 2005. It is estimated
that 8,000 new Evangelical Christians are added everyday in Latin America.
It was within this context of growth that the 6th Assembly and Congress of the Union of Baptists in Latin America, the
Baptist regional body for South and Central America, was held from April 22-25 in Lima, the capital of Peru. Some 70
voting delegates from most of the countries in Latin America were represented, a much larger representation of delegates
than at the last congress and assembly in Cali, Columbia, in 2004.
Other persons joined delegates at workshops held during the day on issues such as ecology and Christian responsibility,
religious liberty in Latin America, and immigration and the spreading of the gospel. Hundreds more came out for the night
meetings to join in worship celebrations that featured speakers such as Baptist
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PHOTOS: Scenes from the 6th UBLA Assembly and Congress in Peru: BWA President David Coffey and interpreter Joel Sierra Cavazos of
Mexico on the opening night; 100-voice choir; BWA General Secretary Neville Callam confers with Esther Soriano de Gonzalez, Director of Associate
Ministries for the Baptist Convention of Ecuador; Members of the delegation from the National Baptist Convention of Venezuela, including new UBLA
president, Ivan Martinez.
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