March - 27

CHILE Population 14,237,000 Peoples A relatively homogeneous society. Chilean 91.6%. European 20% (Spanish, Italian, French, British, German, etc.), Mestizo (mixed Spanish/Indian) 71.6%. Amerindian 6.8%. Mapuche 600,000; Quechua 95,000; Aymara 68,000; six other small peoples. Polynesian 0.02%. Rapanui 3,500 on Easter Island. Other 1.6%. European 120,000; Arab 2,600; Chinese 1,500. Literacy 95%. Official language: Spanish. All languages 7. Languages with Scriptures 2Bi 1por. Cities Capital: Santiago 5,134,000. Urbanization 84%. 40% of the people live near the capital and 85% in the temperate central provinces. The northern desert, and wet, cold mountains in the south have few inhabitants. Economy Mining and export of minerals, especially copper, is the most important economic activity. Considerable industrialization and agricultural development. Draconian implementation of free market policies by the former regime brought economic stability, a trade surplus, and some growth but at great social cost. Unemployment 4.7%. Public debt/person $823. Income/person $2,900 (14% of USA). Politics Republic independent from Spain in 1810. The elected socialist government was ousted in a bloody military coup in 1973. The controversial Pinochet regime imposed political conformity and economic change with widespread human rights abuse. The referendum and electoral defeats in 1988/9 opened the way for a democratic government which is cautiously seeking to rectify the damage to health and education and to heal the deep divisions in society. Religion The Catholic Church was disestablished in 1925. Freedom of religion, but the period of military dictatorship divided the church -- both Catholic and Protestant. Non-religious/other 9.2%. Animist 1.4%. On the increase among the nationalistic Mapuche, but occult practices permeate Chilean culture. Jews 0.24%. Baha'i 0.1%. Muslim 0.03%. Christian 89%. Growth 1.8%. Protestant 27.9%. (Estimates vary from 16% to 30%.) Growth 5.2%. Nearly all Pentecostal figures are estimates; few keep records. Roman Catholic 57.7%. Attend 15%. Growth 0%. Orthodox 0.2%. Growth 0.6%. Foreign Marginal 2.8%. Growth 12.8%. Indigenous Marginal 0.43%. Growth 4.5%. 1. The growth of Evangelicals in Chile is unique. A Pentecostal revival in 1909 within the Methodist Church gave birth to a dynamic, indigenous Pentecostal movement with great evangelistic zeal. The lower classes were evangelized and churches and denominations multiplied. Possibly one quarter of the population is now affiliated with an evangelical group; 21.5% of these are linked with indigenous Pentecostal groups. Pentecostal growth has pressured the Catholic Church to change; there is a strong Catholic charismatic renewal movement. 2. The government faces an almost impossible task in closing the book on the traumatic events of the past 20 years. The just grievances of those who suffered and the fears of those involved in oppression have to be faced. Pray that: a) People might turn in repentance to God and thereby find healing and unity for the nation. b) Christians might repent of their carnality in allowing political divisions to divide them and that the prophetic role of the Church to the nation might be restored. Pentecostal enthusiasm for the discredited dictatorship has diminished such a role. c) God might raise up political and spiritual leaders for the nation who fear him and seek to do his will. 3. The Roman Catholic Church has been deeply affected by two major forces: a) Social upheaval and reaction to the excesses of the dictatorship in "Liberation Theology" and the Base Community movement. This led to coldness between Catholic leadership and the former regime. b) The widespread distribution and use of the Bible, the growth of the charismatic movement, and a significant exodus of Catholics to evangelical churches. Both are being challenged by the conservative Pope John Paul II. Pray that many Catholics may find true liberation and peace through a personal faith in Christ. 4. Consolidation of the work must follow decades of evangelical growth. Major areas to cover in prayer -- especially for the large number of Pentecostal denominations: a) Development of evangelistic strategies for the '90s. Widespread street preaching harvested many in the past, but no longer. Middle classes have been less affected by the indigenous Pentecostal movement. b) Effective teaching of believers. Personal revelations have often been made equal to the Bible. Preaching can often be unprepared exhortations; general Bible knowledge and understanding are limited among leaders and followers. Petty legalisms often are prized more than holiness of heart. Mormonism has grown rapidly -- mainly through winning Pentecostals. Pentecostal nominalism is becoming a problem. c) Leadership which tends to be strong and domineering. Power-seeking and rivalry have sadly led to many divisions. There may be anything from 1,500-5,000 denominations as a result. d) Effective grounding of leaders in the Scriptures. An earlier sentiment against Bible schools is changing. Pray for the Pentecostal Bible Institute launched by AoG and PHC for training pastors of indigenous denominations, and for its acceptance in these denominations. e) Local vision to become world vision. Lack of meaningful fellowship links with other lands has stunted exposure to the world's spiritual needs. 5. Evangelical denominations with foreign roots have, generally, been more effective in reaching the middle and upper classes. The Baptists, CMA, Anglicans (SAMS), AoG, CoN, SIM and others have made some progress in planting churches among them. Pray for every stratum of Chilean society to be reached. 6. The Chilean missionary movement has not developed as much as it could. Geographical isolation, political upheaval and lack of exposure have all contributed to this. The sinking of OM's ship MV Logos off the southern tip of Chile in 1988 contributed to a new level of interest in missions in the south. The influence of COMIBAM on the Latin American Missions movement and the involvement of CMA in their Bible school and OM and YWAM in setting up missions training programmes have further stimulated interest in missions. 7. Foreign missions in Chile. The major agencies are SBC (88 missionaries), SAMS (36), ABWE (32), YWAM (30), MTW (29), AoG (27), Gospel Mission of S. America (26), CMA (25), Brethren (21) and BBF (20). Major missionary contributing nations: USA (372), Germany (63), UK (33), Canada (23), Korea (21), Sweden (20), Brazil (18). The major task for missionaries is to serve the large Chilean Church in teaching, developing Chilean leadership and encouraging a missionary vision. Pioneer work is limited to some peoples listed below and among the upper class and the urban slum dwellers. Pray that the missionaries' contribution may prove vital for maturing the Chilean Church. 8. Unreached Peoples: a) The Mapuche (Auracanians) are the largest and most independent of Chile's indigenous peoples. A strong nationalist movement is agitating for improved land rights. About 70% are nominally Catholic, but the old religion is still the most influential spiritual force. The work of the Anglican Church has resulted in a strong community of 4,000 Christians. CMA, AoG and others have also initiated work among them. Two SIL workers are translating the New Testament into one of the dialects. b) Rapanui (Easter Islanders) are a largely Polynesian people. One SIL couple is translating the NT into their language. Most are nominally Catholic, but there are 50 evangelical believers in two small fellowships. c) The Jews of Santiago. SIM plans a ministry among them. 9. Christian literature is proving a vital evangelistic and teaching tool, but too few Christians have developed a reading habit. Pray that more pastors buy study books. CLC is the only major book distributor in the country; pray for the 26 workers, the four bookstores and the large wholesale distribution network. 10. Student witness in the 17 universities and among the 233,000 students is not strong. There are 10 GBU(IFES) groups, but only four are viable. CCC (40 overseas workers) has a considerable impact on secondary schools and some universities. 11. Christian radio and TV programmes are widely available on national, commercial and Christian stations. IBRA radio has continuous transmission from 10 stations. International broadcasts from TWR-Bonaire, HCJB-Ecuador and others from the USA beam many hours of Spanish programmes.