Author: Pastor Ivo Pina – Project Coordinator in Europe
The history of the evangelical church in Latin America is marked by challenges, opposition, and perseverance. For decades, especially in many rural areas of Latin American countries, evangelical christians were seen as religious cult, a threat to local culture, and a foreign expression. Yet God used this difficult perspective to shape a resilient church, deeply Bible centered and committed to the mission.
Today, we witness a significant movement of the Kingdom of God: the Latin American church, once a mission field, is now embracing the call to send cross-cultural missionaries – especially to Europe, a continent marked by secularism and a growing distance from biblical christian faith.
Prejudice as an instrument in God’s Mission
In the 19th and 20th centuries, the growth of Protestantism in Latin America took place amid social and religious rejection. Evangelicals were often labeled as heretics or as people who had abandoned the “traditional faith”. In many contexts, this led to social exclusion, persecution, and suffering.
However, just as in the early church, this time of opposition became an instrument in God’s hands for strengthening faith and expanding the gospel. “Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.” (Acts 8:4)
Christians then learned to live out faith without cultural privilege, developing a simple, relational, and missional spirituality. The gospel advanced through personal testimony, fellowship in homes, and intentional discipleship.
The experience of living as a religious minority prepared the Latin American church to understand the challenges of cross-cultural mission. Sharing the gospel in hostile environment, communicating it in a contextualized way, and remaining faithful to the Word in the midst of opposition are essential marks of mission beyond borders.
Christ Himself made it clear that the mission of the church goes beyond geographical and cultural limits: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations…” (Matthew 28:19)
As the church in Latin America matured, there came a growing understanding that the missionary calling includes unreached people groups, different cultures, and post-christian societies.
Europe nowadays: a post-christian mission field
Europe, the birthplace of the Protestant Reform and a major sender of missionaries throughout history, is now facing a deep spiritual crisis. In many contexts, christianity has been reduced to cultural heritage or historical tradition, while biblical faith is often seen as irrelevant or even harmful.
Scripture had already warned about such a scenario: “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine…” (2 Timothy 4:3)
European secularism promotes a privatized faith – tolerated only as long as it does not challenge dominant cultural values. As a result, committed christians once again find themselves living as a minority.
A historical parallel: yesterday in Latin America, today in Europe
The current European reality shows strong similarities to what the evangelical church experienced in Latin America in the early 20th century. If the challenge once was cultural catholicism, today it is cultural secularism. In both cases, the gospel is pushed to the sidelines.
This parallel highlights the relevance of the Latin American church in the European setting. The same faith that grew without cultural support is still powerful when lived out in a relational and authentic way. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8)
The strategic role of the Latin American missionary
Latin American workers carry spiritual marks that make them especially ready to serve in post-christian Europe. Their faith has been shaped in simplicity, their ministry does not depend on institutional structures, and their witness is deeply relational.
Many Europeans do not reject Jesus; they reject an empty institutional religion instead. In that in mind, a living witness, hospitality, and personal discipleship become powerful missionary tools. “Speaking the truth in love…” (Ephesians 4:15)
The Lord of history has called us to complete the task.
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