6 Missionaries live under great stress and the constant threat of kidnapping and murder

7 Colombian missionary vision still needs stimulation

8 Unreached peoples

a) Less evangelized cities

b) The tens of thousands of gamines, or street urchins

c) The urban middle class, shrinking and crippled by political and economic crises of past years

d) The Syrian-Lebanese Muslim community

e) Amerindian peoples closed to evangelical church planters

f) Student work has been slow and hard

g) Over 1 million internally displaced refugees, 70% of whom are women and children

9 Work among Amerindians has been a constant struggle

a) Strong, viable, well-led churches, able to cope with drug traffickers and modernization

b) Church-planting ministries

c) Bible translation

10 Support ministries:

a) Literature is an area that is increasingly important but still under-utilized

b) Christian radio

c) The JESUS film is available in Spanish and is being translated into 4 other languages

Politics

Independent of Spain in 1819 as part of Grand Colombia.

Religion

After years of persecution of and discrimination against religious minorities, the privileged position of the Roman Catholic Church was ended in the 1991 Constitution, which accords greater freedom to ethnic and religious minorities.

Churches in Colombia

Missionaries from Colombia

286 in 33 agencies to 28 countries

Missionaries to Colombia

820 in 84 agencies from 28 countries

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Geography

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Area 1,141,748 sq.km. Northwest corner of South America.

Population (2000) 42,321,361 +1.89%AGR

Capital Santa Fé de Bogotà 6,834,000.

Peoples

Spanish-speaking 98.6%; Indigenous Amerindian 0.8%; Other 0.6%.

Literacy 70%. Official Language Spanish. All languages 77. Languages with Scripture 1Bi 31NT 21por 26w.i.p.

Economy

Coffee and oil are the main export commodities, along with cocaine. HDI 0.768; 57^th/174. Public debt 18% of GNP. Income/person $2,140 (7% of USA).

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