Colombia

Challenges for Prayer

Colombian missionary vision is growing. Several Amerindian peoples are closed to foreigners, but Colombians are increasingly reaching them. The large majority of Colombian missionaries serve short term within their own country. A small but growing number of Colombians have gone to other lands, but church support is limited. Pray for the ongoing ministries of COMIBAM as well as Centro Cristiano de Misiones Mundiales in inspiring Christians to be involved in mission.

Unreached peoples. Pray specifically for:

a) The thousands of gamines, or street urchins, in the cities. Bogotá has one of the highest numbers of street children of any Latin America city. YWAM, LAM, Tearfund and several new local ministries provide food, shelter and preparation for a life off the streets.

b) The wealthier classes are small in number but control most of the economy. White rather than mestizo, they are overwhelmingly Catholic (although often very nominal) and generally isolated from evangelicals, who focus on the poor. Their wealth and ties to the circles of political and ecclesiastical power make them objects of resentment.

c) The Muslim community numbers around 35,000 of Syrian, Lebanese or Palestinian background.

d) Student and youth work is slow and hard. The history on campuses of Marxist ideology and then post-modern individualism hinders interest in serving others and seeking God. With more than half of the population under age 25, reaching the younger generation is crucial. Campus and youth ministries and even youth-oriented prayer movements such as Tribal Generation are all growing. Pray for their work to be creative, passionate and fruitful.

     For an additional 8 Challenges for Prayer see Operation World book, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM.