The Voice of the Martyrs - Partner in the Gospel with Front-Line Workers

The Frontlines of Ministry

Working in hostile areas and restricted nations can be lonely and difficult. It’s vital that front-line workers know their brothers and sisters in Christ are partnering with them in prayer and investing in God’s work alongside them. We want to tell you about Gonzalo and Edilma, front-line workers in Colombia. In 2016, Gonzalo and Edilma moved to plant a new church in one of Colombia’s “red zones,” violent areas that are controlled by militant groups and are dangerous for Christians. Gonzalo had grown up in red zones, working on coca fields run by Marxist guerrilla groups and right-wing paramilitaries. But after his life was transformed through putting his faith in Christ, he and his wife willingly returned to a guerrilla-controlled red zone — this time as ministers of the gospel. “God is faithful,” Gonzalo said. “He opened this door for us, … and we have seen the miracles God has done with these families. More people are coming and adding to the numbers. How have we seen God work? In the transformation of families through the Word. These families have changed, been restored. God has given us families, entire families, that have converted.” Support Front-Line Workers Those who have been restored and converted include some from the enemy camp — former guerrillas who had become disillusioned with the violence but were still rejected by their community because of their former affiliation with guerrilla groups. “They are rejected by others in the community, but we show them love,” Gonzalo said. That love, however, is seen as a threat by guerrillas who control the area. Christian workers in Colombia’s red zones face surveillance, kidnapping, assault, torture and murder by guerrillas as they advance the gospel. One of Gonzalo’s fellow church leaders was kidnapped and chained by the neck for four days during his captivity. Gonzalo is routinely watched, followed and questioned. And in early 2024, a local guerrilla commander gathered townspeople for a meeting and told them that church services were prohibited. “Sometimes we think we would be better off going somewhere else,” Edilma said, “but then we think of the souls that are in need. There are people who need Christ. Christ is the one who heals their heart, and we are there to reach them.”

Continuing the Ministry

With support from the global body of Christ, including Christians like you, Gonzalo and Edilma have been equipped with portable ministry tools to facilitate their work in the red zones. Amid the ongoing threat of violence, the couple requests prayer that the Lord will continue to give them passion for the ministry. We invite you to partner in the gospel with our brothers and sisters in Christ through your prayers and gifts. Your gift to support front-line workers will equip front-line workers like Gonzalo and Edilma with tools, training and encouragement to advance the gospel in the world’s most dangerous places to be a Christian. Partner with Them

Today in the Mission Yearbook - Churches in Colombia work for peace and reconciliation

DiPaz is accompanying armed groups that have signed peace agreements with the government

July 10, 2024

Participants at the International Meeting of Reconciliation 

in Colombia on Aug 9. (Contributed photo)

In Colombia, the Protestant evangelical churches and Christian organizations that are part of the Inter-Church Dialogue for Peace — DiPaz — have been organizing for about 10 years, working to overcome violence and achieve peace through dialogue based on an understanding of the gospel that calls us to commit to nonviolence and antimilitarism, the search for truth and justice that make reconciliation possible in our country.

This work has not been easy since the different governments and armed groups that generate violence have not maintained a clear and constant commitment to the search for peace. Given this reality, DiPaz, with its member churches and Christian organizations, has developed different strategies and pastoral actions to accompany armed groups that have signed peace agreements with the government. Today, its members are in the process of reintegration into civilian life in territories where they are rebuilding their lives and carry out reconciliation processes with the communities.

The Rev. Milton Mejía

The current president of Colombia, Dr. Gustavo Petro, a former guerrilla who signed peace with the Colombian government at the beginning of the 1990s, is currently calling on all armed groups to a dialogue to agree to set aside their weapons based on his proposal called Total Peace. According to the current government, Total Peace is the new social contract that will guarantee fundamental rights to all people in Colombia, where human security will be based on the protection of life and its full realization through the implementation of social, environmental, economic and cultural policies.

To make this peace policy a reality, the president is inviting all of society to participate in its construction. This is how he has invited me, a Presbyterian pastor, to be part of the peace dialogue team with the National Liberation Army-ELN guerrilla.

In addition, he has asked DiPaz to support other peace dialogue processes and encourages the international ecumenical movement and churches in other countries to accompany the search for peace agreements with armed groups and the reintegration of former guerrillas into civil society.

For this reason, we invite you to pray and walk with us in the hope that a peace that is the fruit of justice in Colombia is possible.

The Rev. Milton Mejía is pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Colombia and national coordinator of DiPaz.

Today’s Focus: Inter-Church Dialogue for Peace — DiPaz, Colombia

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Janeen Lush, Accountant 1, Accounts Payable Office, Administrative Services Group (A Corp) 
Catherine Lynch, Regional Relationship Manager, Presbyterian Investment & Loan Program 

Let us pray

You who are the Word made flesh, we thank you for the many ways we have to spread your good news. May the presence of your churches reach many who are in need of ministry and the news of your living presence in our midst. Amen.

WCC News: In Colombia, WCC executive committee will focus on life and witness of churches

From 6-11 June, the World Council of Churches (WCC) executive committee will meet in Bogota, Colombia, where the governing body will focus not only on the business of the WCC but also on absorbing the life and witness of churches at the heart of the Pilgrimage of Justice, Reconciliation, and Unity. The Casa de Nariño, official residence of the President of Colombia. It houses the main office of the executive branch and is located in the capital city of Bogota. Photo: Marcelo Schneider/WCC 29 May 2024 The executive committee is meeting at the invitation of the Presbyterian Church in Colombia and in support of the churches’ involvement in peace-building and reconciliation. The programme includes discussion, visits, and celebrations with the churches, communities, and government to learn more about the work for total peace in Colombia.  The meeting is a significant encounter on the Pilgrimage of Justice, Reconciliation, and Unity. “The reason for our intuitive agreement to bring the WCC executive committee to Colombia is part of our mission as WCC,” said Bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, moderator of the WCC central committee. “We acknowledge the important role the churches are playing in the peace process and we feel a great readiness to do whatever we can to support all those who are engaged overcoming conflict and violence in Colombia.” The business agenda includes receiving 2023 narrative programme reports and audited financial reports, and monitoring the implementation of WCC strategies, 2024 plans, and budget and planning for 2025. The meeting is hosted by the churches and ecumenical partners in Colombia, including DiPaz, a national ecumenical platform of churches and faith-based organizations that promote dialogue for peace in Colombia. The Swiss ambassador will host a welcome reception for the executive committee with different embassies, representatives of the Colombian government, and church leaders. The spiritual life includes prayer each morning with different churches. The Colombian Ministry of Interior, through the Office of the Deputy Minister for Social Dialogue, Equality, and Human Rights, will host a session on the importance of international engagement for peace-building and social cohesion. Also on the agenda is monitoring the implementation of WCC strategies, the 2024 budget, programme work, membership matters, and the Green Village property development project. The executive committee will also issue statements on public issues affecting the life and witness of the churches. In 2023, the WCC, with the Colombian Episcopal Conference, United Nations Mission in Colombia, and Organization of American States, has been appointed as a permanent accompanier for peace talks with the Estado Mayor Central (EMC) FARC-EP. During the executive committee meeting, Dr Humberto Martin Shikiya, WCC special envoy for the peace process in Colombia, will lead a session presenting the work of the WCC, churches, and partners in the peace process. WCC at peace dialogue table with UN Security Council in Colombia (WCC news release, 15 February 2024) WCC sees firsthand those most affected by conflict in Colombia (WCC news release, 15 December 2023) WCC general secretary speaks before Colombian senate (WCC news release, 15 December 2023) WCC appointed as permanent accompanier in Colombian peace talks (WCC news release, 21 September 2023) See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 352 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa. Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches 150 route de Ferney Geneve 2 1211 Switzerland