Peru
The Land and the
People
Peru is the third-largest country in South America. The greater part of the Indian population lives in the rural, central Andean mountain zone and in the eastern jungle area of Peru. In the western, coastal region the people are mainly mestizo and European.
Religion
Constitutionally, religious liberty is granted. The prominent religion is Roman Catholicism, which is protected by the state.
Past and Current
Work
Over the years, more than 40 missionaries have labored in Peru under Baptist Mid-Missions. By 1965, there were five churches and five mission works. At about this time God started using Peruvian workers in a marvelous way to start many more churches than the missionaries have. As of 1990, there were 300 churches and groups in fellowship with BMM.
The work in Peru has focused on three major areas: the Cuzco area, the Northern Peru area, and the Greater Lima area. The work in Peru began in 1937 in the Cuzco area. Today in this area there are around 100 organized churches or mission works with which BMM works. Peruvians pastor almost all the churches, and the great majority have been started by Peruvians. Most of the services in the countryside are in Quechua. Radio is used to keep in contact with and to teach the many far-flung congregations. Baptist Mid-Missions owns three radio stations: Radio Mensajero, an FM station that serves Urubamba, an AM station and Radio Chaski, a short-wave station based in Cuzco. Churches in this part of Peru now have the benefits of a Bible college and a Christian camp.
Baptist Mid-Missions next began working in the northern Peru area in 1938. The work has centered in the coastal city of Trujillo. Today in the broader Trujillo area, BMM fellowships with over 30 churches. Here, the Seminario Bautista del Perú is a joint effort between Peruvians and missionaries for training laborers from the entire country. The area also enjoys a camping ministry, with its own property since 1998.
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, BMM started a church in both Chiclayo and Sullana, two other cities in northern Peru. Since the middle 1960s, BMM has not had resident missionaries there and has only provided indirect help. The Peruvian pastors of these two churches and their daughter works have started many others in these cities and in the broader northwest area of Peru.
Baptist Mid-Missions’ efforts in the capital city, Lima, began in 1954. At 8 million persons, it is the largest city in Peru. Thirty percent of the people in Peru live here. As in the other areas, God has raised up many Peruvian laborers to multiply BMM’s efforts. Today BMM fellowships with approximately 30 established churches. Since the late 1960s, Lima’s camp has bolstered church planting by producing many decisions for salvation and full-time ministry. Baptist Mid-Missions’ Arthur G. Fetzer Memorial Christian Academy provides schooling for MKs, and the missionaries here also serve the rest of BMM-Peru in financial and legal aspects.
Since 2002, Lima has been the home base for the ¡Arriba! program. ¡Arriba! is an 11-month missions internship program for college students who have a heart for missions. Over 30 hours of academic credit are earned in conjunction with Faith Baptist Bible College during the year.
Goals
Lima personnel needs
Church planters, MK teachers, camp director
Trujillo personnel needs
Church planters, Bible college theology professors, Bible college conservative music professors, camp director
Cusco personnel needs
Church planters, Bible college theology professors (especially with post-grad degrees), Bible college conservative music professors, director for summer camps, computer technician, secretary/organizer
Hundreds of towns and villages in Peru await a gospel witness.