Encuentro Indigenous 2011

Encuentro Indigenous 2011 will be held this week, Tuesday through Saturday, in Cobán, Guatemala, the seat of the K’ekchi. Since many IMB missionaries have invested into the work, discipling K’ekchi believers into a growing church planting movement, it is a joy to have them coordinate the conference this year and share how they have planted over 400 growing, reproducing churches and missions. Some of our own first “on field” mission work and exposure was among the K’ekchi, so we are excited to hear as they share and motivate other indigenous to reach out in evangelism.


During the Encuentro Indigenous 2010, David shared from our research among the Ch'orti', an indigenous group near the Honduran border, of their extreme lostness and the numerous aldeas without any evangelical witness at all. As he shared, the Spirit gripped our pastor's heart. As a result, Pastor Victoriano began to lead our church in a year-long preparation process of teaching missions, of praying, of giving to missions, and of planning and executing mission trips.

In November 2010, David accompanied a group of about 15 six hours to the mountains to begin a relationship and ministry among the Ch’orti’. A brake problem with one of the trucks proved to be divine intervention to cause them to remain in Nearer, rather than their original plan of the village of El Limón. Being stranded there for two days, the team began to minister and the door to present the Gospel opened quickly.

Then in January 2011, they returned without us, as we were working in Honduras, and traversed the mountain side going house to house sharing the Gospel, holding evening services resulting about 15 people being saved.

The week of Semana Santa (Holy Week of Easter), a group of us returned with a doctor, 2 medical students, and 2 nurses to facilitate a medical clinic, continue the house to house presenting of the Gospel and following up with the those who had accepted Christ, and holding evening meetings. Pastor VIctoriano contracted land to construct an open air structure to begin the first evangelical church, a Baptist church.

We will return the third week of May to help them, along with the believers from Nearer, construct this structure. Then groups of 3 to 4 will return will return at least once a month to continue discipleship and evangelism. As this area begins to grow in their faith, our church will lead them into reaching out into other areas already receptive to the Gospel, offering not a religion, but hope for life, eternal life. They will continue evangelistic outreach to other areas with the goal of planting a Baptist church in every village without an evangelical church.

This is what our desire had been all along...not just putting numbers into our mission data base, but using our research to lead Guatemalans into investing in the kingdom by evangelizing villages in Guatemala without an evangelical witness and ultimately reaching out into the whole world.

Pray with us that as Pastor Victoriano, pastor of La Iglesia Bautista Canaán here in Chimaltenango, shares among the pastors and leaders that others will catch the vision of cross cultural missions reaching the nations. Jeronimo, the Mam pastor who spent more than a year and a half in jail unjustly charged with murder will be there with his wife. It will be our first experience to see them since his release.