Iglesia Luterana Synodo de Nicaragua

In the early 1990s, the vast majority of Nicaraguans were nominally Roman Catholic. Many had little contact with their church, however, and the country's Protestant minority was expanding rapidly, particularly Assemblies of God (Pentecostal) churches. Roman Catholicism came to Nicaragua in the sixteenth century with the Spanish conquest and remained, until 1939, the established faith. The Roman Catholic Church was accorded privileged legal status, and church authorities usually supported the political status quo. Not until the former President José Santos Zelaya came to power was the position of the church seriously challenged. Over time, syncretism with pre-Columbian pagan elements had crept into the Church, to the point where the Gospel had been seriously obscured. In the mid-1980s, there was approximately 1 priest for every 7,000 Roman Catholics, (a ratio lower than the Latin American average) making proper cathechisis an extremely difficult task. It was under this climate that the Lutheran Church Canada was invited to come to Nicaragua to preach the Gospel.

At the height of the Contra-Sandinista conflict in the 1980s, a man named Sandor Arguello - fearing for the safety of his family - fled Nicarauga and came to Montreal, Canada. It was in a Lutheran church in Montreal that Sandor says he first heard the Gospel - the free gift of salvation through Christ - preached. It was literally life-changing. He entered the seminary and became an ordained servant of the Word. At first he and his family remained in Canada, but in the 1990s the Lutheran Church Canada was invited by some Nicaraguans to come to Nicaragua to establish a mission and preach the Gospel. Rev. Sandor Arguello was called by the church to be the missionary to Nicaragua.

At first the work was disappointing and unfruitful. Rev. Arguello was viewed with suspicion by those he attempted to preach to. The people had all kinds of distorted impressions about Lutherans - that they weren't really Christians, that they worshipped Luther, etc. - that made the work difficult.

But then something totally unforeseen happened that changed the situation - Hurricane Mitch. The hurricane devastated the country. It triggered mudslides in the area of Chinandega that killed 3000 people in one night. Rev. Arguello reported the devastation and desperate needs of the Nicaraguan people and the Lutheran Church Canada mobilized into action, sending wave after wave of much needed relief supplies. The once suspicious Nicaraguan people now viewed the Lutheran church much differently. They now saw God's love in action and they began to respond to the Gospel call.

Since that time, the mission work in Nicaragua has flourished. I'm not sure exactly how many churches have been planted over the last 10 years - dozens though. Earlier this year, the Nicaraguan mission of the Lutheran Church Canada became it's own autonomous church body - Iglesia Luterano Synodo de Nicaragua (Lutheran Church Nicaragua Synod). The church continues to grow rapidly and has begun to expand missions into Honduras and Costa Rica. Missions to Latin America are desperately needed as syncretism in the established RC church is rampant. The LCC has helped ILSN to establish a seminary and a mission centre in Nicaragua and we continue to help the new church financially.

I know that some Catholics are offended when Protestants send missionaries to nominally Catholic countries. I think it's important to note a couple of things...

First and foremost, the LCC and now the ILSN have gone into these countries because they were invited. The church has responded to persistent calls from native Latin Americans to bring the Gospel to their countries.

Second, the rampant syncretism throughout the RC church in Latin America has seriously obscured the Gospel message. Understand - I'm not saying the church is teaching syncretist docrine, but the people, who have little regular connection with their church, have picked up many false teachings that have distorted their understanding of the Gospel. As a result of this, many (like Rev. Arguello before them) have never truly heard the Gospel in truth and purity until it was preached to them by a Lutheran missionary.

Third, clearly the RC church has not made sufficient resources available in these countries to reach their own people and correct the false doctrine that has corrupted them. (Note: I'm NOT judging this inaction - I have no idea what the particular circumstances are down there. I'm simply stating a fact.) In the absence of remedial action from the RC church, the Lutheran church has stepped in to fill a void. We're not "stealing" Catholics. We are preaching to the lost.

For more information about the mission work in Nicaragua and Latin America, see here.