Peru

Field Office Information

C&MA Field Entry in 1925

Field Director:

Mailing Address:

c/o Rev Michael Chang Calle 9 #1028 Dpto 301
Corpac San Isidro Lima, PERU

Phone:

011-51-1-475-3449

Email:

[email protected]

Website:

National Church

The Christian and Missionary Alliance Church: 203 organized churches, 154 unorganized groups, 53 ordained ministers, 37,305 baptized members, and 111,915 inclusive members

Team Initiatives

• Complete the fund-raising effort for the construction of a multipurpose Alliance center/church in the district of San Borja.
• Disciple new believers in two church plants in Lima in the districts of San Borja and Los Olivos.
• Continue church-planting efforts in Lima’s Chinatown.

G.C. Kids Mobilized for Missions

2013-04-15 15:12:24

By Molly Midgette, serving at Appleton (Wis.) Alliance Church

God is at work and lives are being shaped for Kingdom commitment in the Great Commission (G.C.) tree house at Appleton Alliance Church.

Each week students ascend the stairs of the tree house and are taught Jesus’ Great Commission: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). Since the grand opening of the G.C. tree house last fall, our kids have been learning about what it means to participate in the work of Jesus Christ around the world.

Go!

This past Christmas the students filled 1,080 shoeboxes for Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child. Many of these boxes were sent to children at Appleton Alliance’s sister national church in Lima, Peru, where families from our church had the opportunity to go to pass out the shoeboxes.

Give!

Recently, the children raised money for Awana around the world, using the idea “Bottle the Change, Change the World.” They filled empty water bottles with spare change; the money collected was sent to an Awana club in another country.

One mother wrote: “In the past, we needed to ‘push’ our child, Nick,* to give to missions projects. This year, we were surprised that he took the lead and gave generously to this project. It was a joy as a parent to see the smile on Nick’s face as he gave to the Lord!”

Our G.C. kids generously gave $3,600—$1,000 more than last year!

Pray!

“God wants to use what you love to do!” has been the main theme in the G.C. tree house this year. The kids are encouraged to pray for international workers on the mission field and to ask God how they might take part in His work around the world. Several weeks ago, one student, Amy,* approached a Sunday school teacher after the lesson, said that she loves to draw, and asked if God could use that. Our teacher told her that God could use her love of drawing if she asked Him to.

It was obvious the wheels were turning in this little girl’s mind as she wondered aloud if she might one day draw pictures of Bible stories to share with those who can’t read. Running down the stairs of the tree house to catch up with her class, the child turned around and called back to her teacher, “I’m going to pray that God will make me a really good artist so that I can draw the Bible for people around the world.”

The G.C. tree house is a fun, safe place for children to learn about God’s mission to reach all nations and to ask how they might participate. It’s been inspiring to see them rise to the challenge of stepping outside their own comfort zones and committing themselves to serving Christ’s Kingdom first.

When talking about how God is at work among our kids in the G.C. tree house, Kris Smoll, director of the Discovery Land children’s outreach, said it best: “They’re getting it!”

* fictitious names

Demographics

Population

Population--27,925,628 Infant mortality rate--31.9/1,000 Life expectancy--69.5

Capital City

Lima (8,113,000) pop.

Geography

Slightly smaller than Alaska, Peru (496,223 sq. mi.) consists of arid coastal plain in the west; peaks over 20,000 ft., lofty plateaus, and deep valleys in the central region; and Amazon jungles in the east.

Languages

Spanish, Quéchua (official), Aymara, Amazonian languages

Ethnicity/Race

Amerindian--45%; Mestizo--37%; White--15%; Black, Japanese, Chinese, other--3%

Economy

Per capita income--$5,600 Inflation--3.8% Unemployment--9.6% Literacy rate--91% (2003 est.)

Government/Political Climate

Constitutional republic; fully independent from Spain in 1824, Peru has a long history of repressive military rule, economic problems, and violent insurgency.

Religion

Roman Catholic--90%; other--10%