Inter-America Launches Initiative to Establish 1,000 New Churches Among Different People Groups

The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Inter-America (IAD) is moving forward with the goal of planting 1,000 new churches among different people groups and large population segments across the territory by October 2023.

The church-planting movement, which is expected to see outreach impact among Muslims, Hindus, Chinese, the indigenous, and upper-class communities, was officially launched during a special online workshop, the Inter-America’s Global Mission Symposium, on August 20–23, 2021.

“We need to focus on the unfinished task in our division, which requires new approaches to the inter-cultural mission that relates to people groups and population segments of 1 million in our cities,” said Pastor Samuel Telemaque, director of Adventist Mission for the church in Inter-America and main organizer of the symposium. This is different from traditional evangelism, which takes time and a specialized approach in reaching many migrant groups with the love of Christ within the Inter-American Division (IAD), a task that could take months and years, explained Telemaque.

Reaching Millions of Muslims, Hindus, Chinese, and Indigenous People

The data show Muslims, Hindus, and Chinese account for approximately 3 million of the people in the IAD territory, plus another 300,000 indigenous.

“This is a very challenging mission and is an opportunity for the church,” said Telemaque. “Our youth and church leaders need a new kind of engagement, relying on the power of the Holy Spirit.”

The symposium drew more than 700 Global Mission pioneers, people who are trained and registered to witness for Christ in unentered areas and unreached populations. Currently, the IAD has 1,200 registered Global Mission pioneers enlisted.

Experiencing Christ

Bibi Persaud, from Guyana, shared her testimony during the symposium. “I grew up as a Muslim, in a Muslim family, and practiced Ramadan, did my fasting, prayers, went to a mosque, obeyed all the rules,” said Persaud. As a devout Muslim, she experienced Christ in a near-death experience when she lost her first child. She attributes wanting to become a Christian to that experience as well as her Adventist neighbors who showed kindness, hospitality, visited her, and prayed with her at that crucial time in her life. She now witnesses to her Muslim friends, prays with them, and is an official Global Mission pioneer who looks forward to working to establish a house of prayer in her community.

For “Clara” (real name withheld), a Global Mission pioneer in southern Colombia, reaching Muslim women in her community became a passion. “God put that vision in my heart to work among them,” she said. Clara regularly connects and engages in local social and humanitarian organizations that help the Islamic communities. 

“I have learned while associating with the women, they are generous, have a good heart, are noble, humble, and they hear God through prayer,” said Clara. For five years, Clara has been living with, praying for, respecting, ministering to, and even sometimes staying at home with them. “I tell them that I follow Jesus as my model to live by. I spend time with them, pray with them in their house of prayer, I call them on the phone, pray for them, for their health, and keep in constant communication.”

Jaidath Visdash Arjun is from the Caribbean. He met his wife, who is a Christian, while still practicing Hinduism. “I was studying to be a Hindu leader,” said Arjun. “We married four years later, and I would drop her off at church and continue practicing my Hinduism.” He said eventually, he began attending church and experienced Jesus in a personal way. His life was changed, and he now shows others what God has done in his life.

Bao Xiang, a young man living in a Chinese community in the Dominican Republic, said he saw his mother and father die. This had a strong impact on his life and that of his siblings. He met several people from the nearby Adventist Church who visited him and invited him to participate in Pathfinder clubs. “They would come every Sabbath afternoon, helping me and my sisters to grow spiritually and give us Bible studies about Jesus,” he said. Xiang is now studying to be a software engineer at Dominican Adventist University and continues to be supported by his Adventist church.

Embracing the Upper Class

Maria Hazoury has been focusing on reaching the upper class for years. As a psychologist and family therapist working at the Banco Central of the Dominican Republic and wife to a government official, she was far-removed from Christian teachings. However, after studying the Bible, she joined the Seventh-day Adventist Church. In her job, she gives seminars and family therapy to employees and always points to Jesus and prays with them. She also leads a small group in her home, which includes government employees and members of her affluent community. 

“Everyone who has joined the group has been baptized and has been active in church,” said Hazoury. As a member of the Naco Adventist Church in Santo Domingo, she continues to witness and invite others to learn about Jesus.

Learning from those who are currently witnessing and ministering among different people groups is the key to planting 1,000 new churches, said Telemaque.

The symposium was the final phase of an ongoing training and desensitizing initiative, which began several years ago for church administrators, pastors, and active church members. The IAD has already been strengthening Chinese Community Centers in Central America and the Caribbean and establishing houses of prayer and house churches among other people groups.

Strengthening the Church-planting Movement

As the church-planting movement gains strength across the territory, Global Mission pioneers will have the opportunity to mentor those who would also like to become a Global Mission pioneer.

“No one should die before planting a church,” said Telemaque.“The greatest thing you can do in your life is to plant a church—be part of this movement to work with God and the power of the Holy Spirit to expand the Kingdom of God.”

To access Inter-America’s Global Mission Symposium lectures, testimonies of conversion, experiences from experts working with people groups, as well as Q&A sessions in English, Spanish, or French, contact your local administrative office or union, Global Mission coordinator.

This article was originally published on the Inter-American Division’s website