LATIN AMERICA
Louis F. Morgan
ALMOST A CENTURY ago, Church of God ministers braved the unknown and sailed to Latin America to share the gospel. Even amidst persecution, periods of civil unrest, natural disasters, and other hardships, our movement in the Latin American countries has grown and increased as men and women have witnessed of Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Answering the Call to Argentina
The Church of God was first introduced into Latin America through the ministries of Lucy Leatherman and Fred L. and Nonie Ryder. Leatherman was baptized with the Holy Spirit at the Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles, California, in 1906 and supernaturally received the Arabic language. In 1907, she sailed to Jerusalem as the first Pentecostal missionary to that city. Returning in 1916 from ministering in almost 10 countries, Leatherman joined the Church of God at Valdosta, Georgia, received her ministerial license, and was appointed missionary to South America. Stopping briefly in Panama, she reached her destination of Valparaiso, Chile, in early 1917.
Later that year Leatherman relocated to Buenos Aires, Argentina, to join Fred L. and Nonie Ryder, Church of God missionaries who had recently arrived after making connections for the church in Jamaica. Together they ministered in Argentina, and in 1919, the Ryders reported two missions, 24 believers (of which 14 had the Holy Ghost), and a Sunday school with 47 enrolled. Despite those early efforts, no church was set in order. By 1921, the Ryders and Leatherman had returned to the United States.
The Church of God was first introduced into Latin America through the ministries of Lucy Leatherman and Fred L. and Nonie Ryder. Leatherman was baptized with the Holy Spirit at the Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles, California, in 1906 and supernaturally received the Arabic language. In 1907, she sailed to Jerusalem as the first Pentecostal missionary to that city. Returning in 1916 from ministering in almost 10 countries, Leatherman joined the Church of God at Valdosta, Georgia, received her ministerial license, and was appointed missionary to South America. Stopping briefly in Panama, she reached her destination of Valparaiso, Chile, in early 1917.
Later that year Leatherman relocated to Buenos Aires, Argentina, to join Fred L. and Nonie Ryder, Church of God missionaries who had recently arrived after making connections for the church in Jamaica. Together they ministered in Argentina, and in 1919, the Ryders reported two missions, 24 believers (of which 14 had the Holy Ghost), and a Sunday school with 47 enrolled. Despite those early efforts, no church was set in order. By 1921, the Ryders and Leatherman had returned to the United States.
“Madre Maria” in Mexico
Afterward, the Church of God had no presence in Latin America until 1932, when Maria de los Angeles Rivera Atkinson began a mission church in Mexico. She was a native of Mexico and accepted Christ at age 14 after receiving a vision of Jesus as “Ave Maria” was sung in her local Catholic Church. Following the death of her husband, Maria settled with her children in Hermosillo, Mexico, and worked as a nurse for two American physicians. During the Mexican civil unrest in 1916, the physicians relocated to Douglas, Arizona, and Maria joined them. She married Mark Atkinson in 1920, and four years later Maria was diagnosed with cancer. Medical treatments proved unsuccessful, but she was healed after being introduced to the Pentecostal faith. Atkinson became active in ministry and felt God leading her back to Mexico. As she preached in Arizona and Mexico, God performed numerous miracles of healing.
Afterward, the Church of God had no presence in Latin America until 1932, when Maria de los Angeles Rivera Atkinson began a mission church in Mexico. She was a native of Mexico and accepted Christ at age 14 after receiving a vision of Jesus as “Ave Maria” was sung in her local Catholic Church. Following the death of her husband, Maria settled with her children in Hermosillo, Mexico, and worked as a nurse for two American physicians. During the Mexican civil unrest in 1916, the physicians relocated to Douglas, Arizona, and Maria joined them. She married Mark Atkinson in 1920, and four years later Maria was diagnosed with cancer. Medical treatments proved unsuccessful, but she was healed after being introduced to the Pentecostal faith. Atkinson became active in ministry and felt God leading her back to Mexico. As she preached in Arizona and Mexico, God performed numerous miracles of healing.
“Work when it is day because the night approaches. It is my heart’s cry to labor for the Master with assurance in my soul that the coming of Jesus is at the door. To the ones who are looking forward to this glorious event is the plea given to take this good news of the gospel of peace to the ends of the world.”
—Maria W. Atkinson, 1932 LATIN AMERICA These dates represent the first permanent Church of God in a country or territory. Country/Territory Date Entered Mexico 1932 Guatemala 1934 Costa Rica 1935 Panama 1935 Argentina 1940 El Salvador 1940 Belize 1944 Honduras 1944 Uruguay 1945 Peru 1947 Nicaragua 1950 Brazil 1951 Chile 1954 Colombia 1954 Paraguay 1954 Bolivia 1960 Venezuela 1966 Ecuador 1971 |
In 1931, Atkinson met J.H. Ingram, whose influence helped guide her into the Church of God. This connection was vital in fulfilling God’s plan for each. Atkinson found a place of belonging and an avenue for ministry within the Church of God, and Ingram found his path for mission work. This connection helped extend our movement across Latin America.
Atkinson was assigned as a missionary to Mexico in 1932. People responded to her evangelistic work with increasing results, and she was able to establish several missions. At that time, female ministers were not permitted to set in order local churches, but Atkinson’s friendship with J.H. Ingram, then overseer of Arizona and California, proved helpful. The Church of God authorized Ingram to travel to Mexico to set in order the congregation she had started. An Ohio native, Ingram’s earliest connection with Latin America came in 1914 when he was stationed at Veracruz and served as an amateur war correspondent reporting on the Mexican Revolution. During this time, Ingram learned Spanish, which proved providential for his later missionary endeavors. After joining the Church of God in 1920, he heard a missionary’s testimony and sensed God’s call to mission work. During the years 1921–1922 and 1925–1926, he ministered in Bermuda with limited success. Not finding sufficient work or financial support to continue, he returned home saddened. His assistance in helping Atkinson renewed his passion for mission work. Of this 1932 journey, he penned: “I have traveled over seven hundred miles from my home in California getting here and have about two hundred and fifty more to go. The roads are trails…. Many rivers and creeks are to ford and I am water bound now between two rivers and it [is] raining every day. I am following up Sister Atkinson, our missionary, and can see the fruits of her labors everywhere. She writes that the church will be ready to set in order at Ciudad Obregón by the time I arrive.” In order to conduct services, one needed a government permit, had to build a place in which to worship, sign property over to the government, and secure a permit to enter and occupy the building. If someone other than a native minister was found leading a service, he or she could be penalized with a $500 fine, five years’ imprisonment, and expulsion from the country. But, Maria had strategically set everything in place for Ingram’s visit. Near the end of summer in 1932, the Ciudad Obregón, Mexico, congregation was successfully set in order with 41 members. In addition to Maria, some early national ministers were Francisco Araujo, Uriel Félix Avilez, David Burgos, Apolinar Castro, Apolonio González, Fernando González, Carlos Jiménez, Octavio Loustaunau, Roque Ortiz, Margarito Pineda, Alejandro Portugal Sr., and Rafael Rivera. Between 1934 and 1937, many churches were closed because of government restrictions, including the new building in Ciudad Obregón. Church of God members had to worship in homes and seek refuge in the mountains, always cautious of possible arrest by local authorities. Despite the persecution, several churches continued to experience growth. Of the church at Ciudad Obregón, Ingram reported in 1937, “[S]ince the mission was established 673 have been saved and 247 filled with the Holy Ghost. Many of these have gone into different parts of the Republic giving their testimony….” |
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Reaching Deeper Into Latin American
Ingram desired to extend the reach of the Church of God to other countries and wrote to the Guatemalan president requesting permission to minister there. The president replied with a letter of invitation, providing Ingram entrance and access. Ingram arrived in 1934 and found favor and welcome everywhere he went. He heard about a recent outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Totonicapan and made his way there. Upon his arrival, he discovered that missionaries Charles and Carrie Furman, who had embraced Pentecostalism many years prior, had been called back to the United States to face their denomination’s disapproval of the recent outpouring of the Spirit, as their denomination was not Pentecostal. Ingram realized God’s hand in the timing and, along with General Overseer Zeno Tharp, wrote and invited the Furmans to the 1934 General Assembly. It was there they joined the Church of God, bringing with them 14 mission churches. Later the Furmans’ longtime missionary friends in Guatemala, Thomas and Flora Pullin, also joined the Church of God.
Guatemala has proven to be a fruitful harvest for the Church of God, which is currently the largest Protestant denomination in that country. Many Guatemalan ministers have taken the gospel to other countries, such as Ecuador, Belize, Mexico, Morocco, and Turkey. Most recently, Luis and Ruth Beatriz Mazariegos have answered God’s call to minister in Spain.
Similar amalgamations with other groups have opened new areas to the Church of God. Marcos Mazzucco was an Italian immigrant to Argentina who established a Pentecostal denomination following his conversion. His efforts in Argentina laid the foundation for the Church of God, which he joined in 1940 after J.H. Ingram visited his home.
Also in 1940, the church was organized in El Salvador through a friendship formed with Frederick Mebius, an elderly Canadian missionary who began ministering in El Salvador before 1910. Mebius, who mended shoes for an income, felt unable to maintain the work efficiently and prayed for someone he could trust with the ministry to which he had devoted his life. In 1939, H.S. Syverson, a student at Northwest Bible and Music Academy, became the answer to Mebius’s prayers. J.H. Ingram and Charles Furman helped connect Syverson with Mebius, and from this relationship grew the Church of God in El Salvador. Within a year, Syverson had licensed 14 El Salvadorian ministers and then established one of the first Bible schools in Latin America, now located at Santa Tecla. From this humble beginning, other ministers have continued the work and carried the message to other countries. Among them was Miguel Flores, an El Salvadorian, who in 1950 introduced the Church of God into Nicaragua by preaching to the Indians across the border.
Ingram also visited Costa Rica in 1935, where he preached to mostly English-speaking immigrants from Jamaica and organized a church with 14 members following a week of ministry. In 1951, Noel de Sousa of Panama organized a Spanish-speaking church there following much persecution, including being arrested numerous times for preaching.
Ingram desired to extend the reach of the Church of God to other countries and wrote to the Guatemalan president requesting permission to minister there. The president replied with a letter of invitation, providing Ingram entrance and access. Ingram arrived in 1934 and found favor and welcome everywhere he went. He heard about a recent outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Totonicapan and made his way there. Upon his arrival, he discovered that missionaries Charles and Carrie Furman, who had embraced Pentecostalism many years prior, had been called back to the United States to face their denomination’s disapproval of the recent outpouring of the Spirit, as their denomination was not Pentecostal. Ingram realized God’s hand in the timing and, along with General Overseer Zeno Tharp, wrote and invited the Furmans to the 1934 General Assembly. It was there they joined the Church of God, bringing with them 14 mission churches. Later the Furmans’ longtime missionary friends in Guatemala, Thomas and Flora Pullin, also joined the Church of God.
Guatemala has proven to be a fruitful harvest for the Church of God, which is currently the largest Protestant denomination in that country. Many Guatemalan ministers have taken the gospel to other countries, such as Ecuador, Belize, Mexico, Morocco, and Turkey. Most recently, Luis and Ruth Beatriz Mazariegos have answered God’s call to minister in Spain.
Similar amalgamations with other groups have opened new areas to the Church of God. Marcos Mazzucco was an Italian immigrant to Argentina who established a Pentecostal denomination following his conversion. His efforts in Argentina laid the foundation for the Church of God, which he joined in 1940 after J.H. Ingram visited his home.
Also in 1940, the church was organized in El Salvador through a friendship formed with Frederick Mebius, an elderly Canadian missionary who began ministering in El Salvador before 1910. Mebius, who mended shoes for an income, felt unable to maintain the work efficiently and prayed for someone he could trust with the ministry to which he had devoted his life. In 1939, H.S. Syverson, a student at Northwest Bible and Music Academy, became the answer to Mebius’s prayers. J.H. Ingram and Charles Furman helped connect Syverson with Mebius, and from this relationship grew the Church of God in El Salvador. Within a year, Syverson had licensed 14 El Salvadorian ministers and then established one of the first Bible schools in Latin America, now located at Santa Tecla. From this humble beginning, other ministers have continued the work and carried the message to other countries. Among them was Miguel Flores, an El Salvadorian, who in 1950 introduced the Church of God into Nicaragua by preaching to the Indians across the border.
Ingram also visited Costa Rica in 1935, where he preached to mostly English-speaking immigrants from Jamaica and organized a church with 14 members following a week of ministry. In 1951, Noel de Sousa of Panama organized a Spanish-speaking church there following much persecution, including being arrested numerous times for preaching.
Taking the Gospel to the World
The Church of God has spread across Latin America as the Holy Spirit guided and blessed the efforts of native ministers, missionaries, and other means of spreading the gospel, including the printed word. An example is El Evangelio de la Iglesia de Dios, a Spanish version of the Evangel first published in Mexico in 1945 by Vessie D. Hargrave. Leopoldo Dominguez and Rafael González assisted with publishing songbooks, a correspondence course, sermon materials, and other Christian literature in Spanish. Such publications served as evangelistic tools, as evidenced by Enrique Chavez, who read about the Church of God in El Evangelio and was led to organize the first Church of God congregation in Chile.
In previous years, missionaries from North America were appointed to oversee the work, such as Bill and Lorraine Alton, James and Virginia Beaty, Wayne and Charlotte McAfee, William and Frances McCall, and Bill and Rhoda Watson. Latin America soon developed its own capable leaders, and much of the ministry has been accomplished by national workers. Through the years, many pastors have taken care of four and five churches on meager incomes and often sacrificed their incomes and personal conveniences to build the church, but their efforts have extended the message of Jesus and the reach of the Church of God. A few examples include:
• Alejandro Portugal Sr., a blind pastor who was an effective church planter in Mexico’s Sierra Madre Mountains, where civilization was little known and he often had to travel on horseback;
• Pablo Castillo, who was unjustly imprisoned in Nicaragua during the 1979 Sandinista Revolution and, while in prison, began preaching to other inmates and established seven churches within the prison with approximately 1,200 members;
• Eliel Morias, a Brazilian who ministered to indigenous groups living in fishing communities along the Amazon River;
• Bolivar DeSouza, who in 1948 reached Macano, Chiniqui, Panama, on horseback to minister in a village where many had walked for hours to hear the message, including a 112-year-old man, and most of the group gave themselves to the Lord;
• José Minay, a Chilean pastor who organized the church in Paraguay in 1954. Interestingly, the Paraguay congregation was comprised mainly of German families, due in part to a Church of God Evangel mailed from Germany to an ill relative living in Asunción, Paraguay. The relative was healed and family converted after reading the Evangel. Minay suffered much persecution, but through his faithfulness to his call, the church increased.
In addition, Latin Americans have answered the call to take the gospel to other countries, such as Bulgaria, China, France, Mozambique, the Philippines, Russia, Spain, and the United States. This emphasis is the result of decades of training about the importance of spreading the message of Jesus. In 1950, Willie Lee Darter noted the evangelistic spirit of Latin Americans after a sermon on missions: “No sooner had [the minister] finished when the people began to give. In just a short time, $7,291 (pesos) was counted in the offering. My heart burned with compassion and love as I saw precious Indians with their worn sandals and thread-bare cloaks say, ‘I'll give one hundred (or maybe two hundred) pesos.’ They would think little of having to fast some meals or sacrifice the only burro they possessed in order to give to the cause they love so dearly.”
God has honored the spiritual hunger, sacrifice, and faithfulness of Latin American members and ministers. Facing natural disasters, persecution from various military regimes, and ethnic conflicts among various groups represented, the church has endured and moved forward to share the message of Jesus. Today, the Church of God covers the continent with orphanages, Bible schools, various social ministries, and Pentecostal preaching, singing, and worship in local churches and missions. Latin America has some of the largest churches in our movement and creates innovative ways to minister in the 21st century. With more than 825,000 members and 13,500 churches and missions in 18 countries, the Church of God in Latin America has developed and transformed from a mission field to a valuable source from which missionaries and ministers follow Christ’s command to take the gospel to the ends of the earth.
The Church of God has spread across Latin America as the Holy Spirit guided and blessed the efforts of native ministers, missionaries, and other means of spreading the gospel, including the printed word. An example is El Evangelio de la Iglesia de Dios, a Spanish version of the Evangel first published in Mexico in 1945 by Vessie D. Hargrave. Leopoldo Dominguez and Rafael González assisted with publishing songbooks, a correspondence course, sermon materials, and other Christian literature in Spanish. Such publications served as evangelistic tools, as evidenced by Enrique Chavez, who read about the Church of God in El Evangelio and was led to organize the first Church of God congregation in Chile.
In previous years, missionaries from North America were appointed to oversee the work, such as Bill and Lorraine Alton, James and Virginia Beaty, Wayne and Charlotte McAfee, William and Frances McCall, and Bill and Rhoda Watson. Latin America soon developed its own capable leaders, and much of the ministry has been accomplished by national workers. Through the years, many pastors have taken care of four and five churches on meager incomes and often sacrificed their incomes and personal conveniences to build the church, but their efforts have extended the message of Jesus and the reach of the Church of God. A few examples include:
• Alejandro Portugal Sr., a blind pastor who was an effective church planter in Mexico’s Sierra Madre Mountains, where civilization was little known and he often had to travel on horseback;
• Pablo Castillo, who was unjustly imprisoned in Nicaragua during the 1979 Sandinista Revolution and, while in prison, began preaching to other inmates and established seven churches within the prison with approximately 1,200 members;
• Eliel Morias, a Brazilian who ministered to indigenous groups living in fishing communities along the Amazon River;
• Bolivar DeSouza, who in 1948 reached Macano, Chiniqui, Panama, on horseback to minister in a village where many had walked for hours to hear the message, including a 112-year-old man, and most of the group gave themselves to the Lord;
• José Minay, a Chilean pastor who organized the church in Paraguay in 1954. Interestingly, the Paraguay congregation was comprised mainly of German families, due in part to a Church of God Evangel mailed from Germany to an ill relative living in Asunción, Paraguay. The relative was healed and family converted after reading the Evangel. Minay suffered much persecution, but through his faithfulness to his call, the church increased.
In addition, Latin Americans have answered the call to take the gospel to other countries, such as Bulgaria, China, France, Mozambique, the Philippines, Russia, Spain, and the United States. This emphasis is the result of decades of training about the importance of spreading the message of Jesus. In 1950, Willie Lee Darter noted the evangelistic spirit of Latin Americans after a sermon on missions: “No sooner had [the minister] finished when the people began to give. In just a short time, $7,291 (pesos) was counted in the offering. My heart burned with compassion and love as I saw precious Indians with their worn sandals and thread-bare cloaks say, ‘I'll give one hundred (or maybe two hundred) pesos.’ They would think little of having to fast some meals or sacrifice the only burro they possessed in order to give to the cause they love so dearly.”
God has honored the spiritual hunger, sacrifice, and faithfulness of Latin American members and ministers. Facing natural disasters, persecution from various military regimes, and ethnic conflicts among various groups represented, the church has endured and moved forward to share the message of Jesus. Today, the Church of God covers the continent with orphanages, Bible schools, various social ministries, and Pentecostal preaching, singing, and worship in local churches and missions. Latin America has some of the largest churches in our movement and creates innovative ways to minister in the 21st century. With more than 825,000 members and 13,500 churches and missions in 18 countries, the Church of God in Latin America has developed and transformed from a mission field to a valuable source from which missionaries and ministers follow Christ’s command to take the gospel to the ends of the earth.
ADVANCEMENT THROUGH EDUCATION
SINCE THE BEGINNING, preparation for effective ministry has been important to Latino ministers. Vessie D. Hargrave, a major proponent for education, was a native Texan who lived in Mexico as a child. As a youth, his calling was encouraged by his friend Edmund Stark, a missionary to Africa, who admonished Hargrave at a Texas Camp Meeting, saying, “Vessie D., you will someday be in missions work.” This journey began in 1943 when he returned to Mexico for six weeks as an interpreter for Executive Missions Secretary M.P. Cross. Hargrave preached his first message in Spanish at Esperanza, Mexico, and 17 people accepted Christ. That sealed his commitment to missions. Thereafter, he established the International Preparatory Institute (IPI) in San Antonio, Texas, in 1947. The school initially opened with students from seven countries and provided training to Spanish-speaking ministers in both the United States and Latin America.
When IPI closed in 1954, Hargrave joined others promoting short-term Bible courses taught in various countries. When participation increased, some countries established Bible schools, including one in Guatemala that is now the Central American seminary known as SEBIPCA. It began largely through the efforts of Vergil Wolf, a former teacher at IPI. While Wolf and Guatemala-native Francisco Son were in prayer at the 1960 General Assembly, the Holy Spirit confirmed it was time to begin the Bible school. When the Guatemala church council unanimously approved the endeavor, construction began with students helping build for half a day and having class half a day. The first graduates were Manuel Batz, Santiago Yac Sam, Santiago Mazariegos, and Wilfredo Calderón.
Latin America’s commitment to ministerial preparation is significant. In almost every country, the Church of God has educational centers, including Bible schools, colleges, and seminaries.
When IPI closed in 1954, Hargrave joined others promoting short-term Bible courses taught in various countries. When participation increased, some countries established Bible schools, including one in Guatemala that is now the Central American seminary known as SEBIPCA. It began largely through the efforts of Vergil Wolf, a former teacher at IPI. While Wolf and Guatemala-native Francisco Son were in prayer at the 1960 General Assembly, the Holy Spirit confirmed it was time to begin the Bible school. When the Guatemala church council unanimously approved the endeavor, construction began with students helping build for half a day and having class half a day. The first graduates were Manuel Batz, Santiago Yac Sam, Santiago Mazariegos, and Wilfredo Calderón.
Latin America’s commitment to ministerial preparation is significant. In almost every country, the Church of God has educational centers, including Bible schools, colleges, and seminaries.
Louis F. Morgan, Ph.D., is professor and director of Library Services at Lee University