Puerto Rico
The Land and the
People
Puerto Rico, only 1,000 miles from Miami, is politically and socially related to the United States. It is a lovely, mountain-graced island in the Caribbean. Nearly four million people are packed onto this island composed of only 5,325 square miles.
Religion
The dominant religion in Puerto Rico is Roman Catholicism.
Past and Current
Work
In the early 1970s James and Janet Stinedurf and Theodore and Ruth Hummel joined Baptist Mid-Missions. They had previously worked in Puerto Rico with another mission. The Fundamental Baptist Church of Caguas was established. It now has its own pastor and the bulding is used for an evening Bible Institute program. A church was also planted in Cidra.
Churches were planted in Cayey and Santa Isabel, and the missionaries were involved in extensive literature distribution.
The missionaries have also been active in translation of Sunday School materials into Spanish and materials for Theological Education by Extension. The Theological Education by Extension program has now been incorporated into the Theological Instruction/Ministry Enrichment (TIME) ministry.
Other missionaries have transferred to Puerto Rico for a time and have been used of the Lord to start ministries in Trujillo Alto and Luquillo. At the present time, two couples are planting churches in the Spanish language, one in the central part of the island and the other in Sabana Grande.
Goals
Challenges
Of the 78 major cities and towns, more than 30 have no Baptist work of any kind. Puerto Rico represents a wide open field for work in Spanish and English, not only in the San Juan metropolitan area but also in other cities and towns.
Workers Needed
Church planters are needed to plant Baptist churches, especially in the many areas lacking strong, Bible-preaching churches.