Chile: New Opportunities

The decentralized faculty of Seminario Biblico Nazareno Chile met this past June for training, along with two leaders of ASIT.

Increasingly, evangelical churches are finding much more acceptance in this Latin American country, opening doors for the Church of the Nazarene as well as other denominations.

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This fall the world watched as 33 trapped miners in Chile were finally rescued after 69 days of being trapped 2,050 feet below ground. A media blitz covered every aspect of the rescue - with little emphasis on the spiritual tone. Now, there are rumors of books to be written, movies to be made, even video games to be created.

What didn't fill international headlines is how the open and free expressions of faith in Jesus Christ during the miners' crisis hint at how Chileans are increasingly seeking answers to their spiritual questions. Nazarene missionaries say this national acceptance of the evangelical movement is an opportunity that the church must not miss.

Evangelical Christians in the news
According to Campus Crusade for Christ International, miner Jose Henriquez, who fell on his knees when he stepped from the tube that brought him out of the collapsed mine, is an evangelical Christian and a lay-pastor who has worked in the mines for 33 years. He reportedly took the role of the miners' pastor, organizing Bible studies and leading daily prayers.

Above ground, the miners’ families set up a camp they called Campo Esperanza (Camp Hope), where they held vigil with pastors and priests supporting the families.

Another miner, Jimmy Sanchez, was quoted in an October 12 Time magazine article as saying, "There are actually 34 of us, because God has never left us down here."

The miners' faith in the midst of the crisis highlights the openness in Chilean society to evangelical Christianity, which is experiencing a time of open support from the Chilean government.  For instance, the current president, Sebastian Piñera, repeatedly gave thanks to God when the miners were rescued. The video is still available on YouTube.com.

Another visible support of evangelicals is seen in a document called "30 Promises to the Christian Evangelical World" that President Piñera presented when he was elected this March. The document promises that the government will officially recognize theological education of those evangelical institutions affiliated with ASIT (Association of Seminaries and Theological Institutions), according to Susan McKeithen, Nazarene missionary serving as decentralized theological education coordinator for Chile, who attends weekly meetings with ASIT.

This promise directly affects the Seminario Bíblico Nazareno Chile (Nazarene Bible Seminary of Chile), which recently re-affiliated with ASIT and is in the process of becoming accredited by ASIT. Government recognition is also important for the 16 other Chilean theological institutions affiliated with ASIT because it means the degrees and diplomas that the graduates of these institutions earn will have legitimacy in the country.  It was reported at a recent ASIT meeting that a school of theology does not exist in any Chilean university -- even in the Catholic universities -- so these promises made by President Piñera are historic, McKeithen said.

October held many special events in which the Chile government publicly celebrated the work of evangelicals in Chile. Fifteen evangelical pastors -- one from each of Chile's 15 regions (Chile’s equivalent of states) -- were honored at the National Congress in Valparaiso on October 28. Rev. Fidel Arenas Pizarro, who has served the Church of the Nazarene for 25 years in Arica, was chosen to represent his region. Known for his compassionate ministry to the homeless, he pastors the Plenitud de Vida Church of the Nazarene, which feeds more than 60 homeless people every Saturday. The congregation has done this faithfully for the last eight years, including holidays. The following day President Piñera recognized Rev. Fidel Arenas Pizarro, among other specially invited evangelicals, in another ceremony in the capital, Santiago.

In Santiago, Plaza Italia is the place famous for celebrating national sports victories. On October 27-30, this plaza was used for a different type of celebration: the Luis Palau Festival. Luis Palau is an Argentine evangelist who holds evangelistic campaigns around the world. The first night of the festival 25,000 people attended. Three Nazarene churches -- San Ramon, Estacion Central and Villa el Dorado -- supported this city-wide evangelistic event.

Nazarene missionary to Chile Tim McKeithen sees all of these events pointing to a wide open door in Chile.

"We pray that our leaders and people here will respond to the opportunities that God is giving Chile," he said.
 
Nazarenes respond
This openness to the Gospel is where churches can join the Holy Spirit in what He is already doing in the hearts of Chileans.

In August, the Chilean National Ministry Summit launched "Disciples in Ministry" in the Bio-Bio District – the very place where a huge 8.8 magnitude earthquake occurred in February 2010. The summit's purpose was to initiate the nation-wide program to call and train 2,000 Chilean Nazarenes who will commit to use their God-given spiritual gifts in ministries such as evangelism, youth work, discipleship, compassionate ministries and missions, serving as lay pastors and in communications, literature, ladies' ministry and church leadership.

Children's ministry also rose to the forefront recently when five Chilean Nazarene congregations (Labranza, Viña, Estacion Central, Coquimbo and San Ramon) committed to a three-year evangelistic campaign to reach children. Church leaders attended an "Evangelism Explosion for Children" clinic. Each of these five churches will train 60 children to evangelize 10 of their friends over the next three years. By this plan of multiplication, at the end of three years, 3,000 children will have given their lives to Christ.

In October another ministry event was held in the city of Arica through Work & Witness, a Nazarene program in which one or more local churches send a team to another country. Members use their vacation time, volunteer their labor and share Christ in multiple ways. These teams join local Nazarene churches to help carry out national goals, serving for one to three weeks.

In the desert region of Northern Chile, Arica is located several hundred miles north of where the miners were trapped this past summer.  During the miners' rescue, an 18-member Work & Witness team representing eight churches from the Upstate New York District came to renovate the North District Multi-Ministry Center. Along with the construction work, they participated in worship services, prayer times and shared their testimonies.

One evening after helping feed the homeless of Arica, they showed Magdalena: Released from Shame, an evangelistic film about Jesus from the perspective of Mary Magdalene, a woman who followed Jesus in the New Testament. Two members of the Work & Witness team were deaf and one member was trained as a translator in American Sign Language. Whether the team was leading children or youth, or on ladders painting the center, there was always translation from Spanish to English to sign language.

When praying for Chile, remember the four district superintendents, the 10 national ministry coordinators, the pastors and congregations, as well as missionaries Tim and Susan McKeithen. Join them in prayer for the accreditation for the seminary and for young people to receive the call to preach the gospel, even taking it beyond the borders of Chile.

Talk about it

• How can following current events in the news help believers be aware of where God is at work?
• How should believers respond when they become aware that the Holy Spirit is opening hearts in a country or region?
• In what ways can the church prepare in advance for such movements?
• In what other parts of the world have you heard about movements being sparked by the Holy Spirit?
• How is theological training and education important for sustaining and developing God's work?
• Churches in Chile are focusing on evangelism to children. Why is ministry to children important?
• How can you pray for the Church of the Nazarene in Chile?