So close, yet so lost”—that’s how one Southern Baptist missionary describes the spiritual lives of the Mestizos of Mexico in the “Heart of Darkness” — an area of six states in central Mexico.
But through prayer support and local Christians starting churches, he says that’s going to change.
Neil Treme supervises missionaries as they develop a strategy to start new churches in every town and city in an area where less than 2 percent of the population is evangelical. His wife, Leanne, helps new missionaries adjust to the field through cultural studies and language learning. The couple has five sons.
In the Heart of Darkness, there is a strong cultural Catholic presence — about 97 percent of the people are Catholic — but few claim to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
“They’re so religious, yet religion doesn’t save,” Treme says. “Religion has become a barrier to the gospel. There is a real sense of devotion.”
International Mission Board missionaries Charlie and Robin Janney have faced this barrier as they attempt to start new churches and build up local leadership for those churches.
The Alabama natives — Charlie from Alexander City and Robin from Jacksonville — said they are very careful when sharing with the people in Aguascalientes, Mexico.
“They are taught that we as Baptists are a sect or a cult,” Charlie said. “We have to be careful how we try to reach them or how we present ourselves so as not to be seen as other groups who are active here such as Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses.”
Although there is a greater openness that has occurred over the last couple of years, Charlie said there is still a struggle for Mexicans to make a decision that would make them leave their Catholic roots.
Neil said leaving the Catholic church comes with great risk. Converts who are baptized could lose their relationship with their family, their inheritance, jobs and property. People are risking it all to have a personal relationship with Christ.
He can share dozens of stories of how God has changed lives in recent years in this area. He said one man accepted Christ after a couple days of translating for a missions team that was street evangelizing.
“One day they couldn’t find him and later found out that he was on the street witnessing to people by himself. “When people clearly hear the gospel, there is a hunger for truth, but the sad part is that they rarely hear the true gospel,” he says. “When they hear the true gospel they will respond.”
There have been other signs of progress. Two years ago, only five to 10 homes were starting Bible studies, but now there are 40 to 50 homes starting Bible studies.
The typical Baptist church in Aguascalientes is relatively small, Charlie said. “The smallest congregations typically have 25-30 people who attend, and the medium-sized congregation would have between 50-75 people, while the largest church has over 100.”
He added that there are only five official Baptist churches that are registered by the national Baptist convention. Two of those meet in church sanctuaries, and the others meet in houses converted into churches.
He said there is also one Baptist congregation that is not yet recognized by the national convention. “For the most part, the churches are very traditional, mostly singing hymns, with some variety in the evening services,” Charlie said.
For the Janneys, serving in Mexico has its rewards.
“When someone begins to demonstrate the fruits of the spirit, it is exciting,” he said. “When someone develops a hunger and thirst for learning more and more about being a follower of Jesus, it makes it worthwhile.”
The secret to success is prayer, Neil says. Southern Baptists must pray for church-planting movements and for God to raise up local leaders and trainers who will take responsibility for teaching others to be church planters. “Prayer is our No. 1 strategy in church planting,” he said.
Editor’s note — Reprinted from the upcoming December 2004 issue of Missions Mosaic, Woman’s Missionary Union, Birmingham, Alabama. Used by permission. Information on the Janneys was added by The Alabama Baptist.
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