Guatemala Outreach Yields Baptisms
The Central American nation of Guatemala has been playing host to big evangelism efforts by both training evangelists and holding local campaigns, which have yielded results in thousands of new members.
Leaders for the Seventh-day Adventist Church's Inter-American Division held an evangelism training summit in April to coincide with the culmination of local efforts.
BAPTISMS: In Guatemala five pastors baptized new Adventist Church members in Lake Atitlan in Panajachel on April 1. The baptisms were part of meetings in which church leaders from throughout Central America met in Guatemala to coordinate mass efforts of sharing the gospel throughout the region.The Adventist Church in Guatemala has been evangelizing aggressively this year, holding more than 1,000 campaigns resulting in nearly 5,000 baptisms in three months, said Gustavo Menendez, personal ministries director for the church in Guatemala.
This month's training summit brought together about 50 pastors for continuing education on conducting public evangelism.
The bulk of local campaigns have also included leadership by lay members. The Adventist Church's Vision 60,000 program here is part of the division's call to involve 1 million lay members for discipleship building.
Abraham Tzic, field secretary of the 16,000-member Northwest Adventist Mission office in Totonicapan, said 1,200 active church members have registered in the discipleship program since October 2011. The region aims to have 3,000 by the end of 2012.
Like many ministers in the region, Tzic pastors more than 25 churches.
With a shortage of pastors, Vision 60,000 has drawn more participation from church members and laypeople who have taken it upon themselves to reach those around them with the gospel, with positive results, said Guenther Garcia, president of the Adventist Church in Guatamala.
"So far, this has been a record-breaking year for Guatemala," Garcia said.
A baptism of more than 300 people in Lake Atitlan on April 1 drew spectators to see the results of their months-long efforts to bring the gospel to their friends and neighbors. The Adventist Church in Guatamala typically holds a mass baptism in the lake each year on the last Sunday of the first quarter, Menendez said.
—Libna Stevens, Inter-American Division
Published in June
Funeral Home Leads People to Jesus in Seoul
Rick McEdward Elected MENA President
Adventist Church Tops 19 Million Members
Refugees Get Free Ski Lessons
Saw Samuel Elected SSD President
More in this category: « Groundbreaking Adventist University in Liberia Guatemala Outreach Yields Baptisms »