COLOMBIA
CBC's ministry in Colombia has been primarily in the International Baptist Theological Seminary in Cali where Roy and Joyce Wyatt served as professors for 26 years and have continued to serve since their retirement in short-term teaching opportunities. The Seminary was founded in 1952 by the Foreign Mission Board of the SBC to offer theological training for the Spanish-speaking countries of Central and northern South America. In 1967 there were students from nine countries and seminary graduates served as pastors and in other leadership positions throughout the continent and Central America. Baptist work was begun in many areas and strengthened in others as a result of the ministry of the Seminary.
For many years the Seminary sought accreditation as an educational institution of higher learning so that its students would have full recognition of the degrees they had earned. Repeatedly papers were submitted for consideration and rejected on technicalities. However, after a long and costly effort the seminary was finally recognized as an institution of higher learning under the name Fundacion Universitaria Bautista in 2003.
Today the Seminary/University has 120 residential students in the theological program. In addition some 800 students throughout the country are studying in specially designed program in Pastoral Formation.. This enables pastors who have had little or no formal theological training to take intensive classes in 12 areas of pastoral training (1 area each month of the year.) Professors from Cali or local Seminary-trained pastors teach in these programs. The Seminary has long opened its doors to students from different denominations, and this program has attracted the interest of several denominations that have enrolled their pastors for this training.
I. Central Baptist Church of Bearden has helped the Seminary in many ways
1. Providing scholarship aid.for students who have come from tribal areas. Many times they are the only person in their tribe who has sought training for church leadership, but because of the poverty in the tribe they cannot pay the full cost of their education. Scholarship aid made it possible for two indigenous students to enroll in the Seminary.
2. Upon the seminary's receiving accreditation one of the requirements of the Ministry of Education was that more of the present faculty would have to receive their doctoral degree. At that precise moment the Lord opened the opportunity for three of the professors to join a new doctoral program offered in Cali by one of the major universities in Bogotá. CBB has helped make their studies possible by offering scholarship aid on two different occasions. These students have successfully completed two years of study and are now in the process of presenting the projects for their theses. The Seminary/University is much closer to sustaining its accreditation and CBB has had a part in helping to make this long sought-after goal a reality.
3. The Seminary continues to have many financial problems since it no longer receives any financial aid from the International Mission Board and the Colombian Convention in unable to assume the additional financial need.. CBB has helped with excessive utility and tax bills and with the renovation and repair of plumbing and electrical installations in one building of student housing
4. The School of Missions provides training and experience for those who are called to be missionaries. CBB contributed with scholarship aid, and helped in the project to send four student-missionaries during their summer recess to areas where the Gospel was not known. The students worked hard to provide funds for four of their number to be sent as summer missionaries. CBB joined their efforts en two ways: 1. by sending small toys collected by the children's Sunday School classes to be used in a money-making Missions Fair and 2. with financial aid. As a result two missionaries served in Colombia, one in Peru, and one in Pakistan! The Lord greatly blessed this young man in Pakistan as he was able to give his testimony for Christ around campfires and in large groups, doing what North-American missionaries could not do following the terrible and destructive earthquake there.
II. Help has also been given to relief work among the internal refugees
1. Colombia has had a great deal of internal violence for many years, beginning between the political groups of Conservatives and Liberals. During "La Violencia" in the 50's many people lost their lives, their homes, and their way of earning a living. This has now given way to violence between Guerilla groups usually of pro-Marxist bent, para military groups, the armed forces and the drug lords. While there may be some alliances among the various groups, all are ruthless and many people have had to flee for their lives when these groups are fighting one another, or when they have descended on a community and terrorize and frequently kill or kidnap the people.Thousands of people have left their homes in the mountains and in the interior of the country and settled in Internal Refugee Camps on the northern coastal area, near the cities of Cartagena and Santa Marta.. They live cramped in unhealthy shacks with high rates of unemployment and disease. Baptists have a constant presence among these people through missionaries and Colombian Christians. Churches have been formed among these needy groups.
One of these ministries has been to help two groups of children. CBB has provided medicine for children with epilepsy so that they can go to school and lead a more normal life. In addition CBB has provided bus fare and uniforms for blind children so that they can attend the school for the blind in the city.
III. Help has been given for the Baptist Camp --- CASA GRANDE near Baranquilla.
This camp has been a source of inspiration, training and discipleship for Baptists for many years. Today it continues to serve this purpose, but in addition it is being used as a training center for lay leaders in New Church Starts on the northern coast of the country. Many small groups have been organized in homes, in schools, in storefronts and in neighborhood streets. The majority of these people are new converts and need to have leaders who are trained in the Bible as well as to learn how to lead and work with their group. CBB helped to fund urgently needed repairs for the camp so that it could accommodate these groups who come periodically for training and inspiration. The growth of churches in this area has been phenomenal and CBB has had a part in assuring its healthy growth by helping to provide a secure setting for leadership training.
IV. The Central Baptist Church of Cartagen
The Central Baptist Church of Cartagena, Colombia, is one of many large impressive church structures that were built with funds donated by Maxey Jarmon (Jarmon Shoes) in major cities in Latin America. Mr. Jarmon realized that as Baptists were beginning in their witness in these countries many times they were only able to meet in small structures on out-of-the-way streets. Thus they were looked down on by the major religion with its' large and impressive cathedrals. These new Baptist buildings gave early Christians a sense of "status" and pride as the gospel took root in these South American lands.
The Central Baptist Church of Cartagena was built on a large lot in an extremely advantageous position - right in from of the Spanish Fortress that guarded the city and was the deposit of the gold brought from the colonies before it was sent to the "mother country" during the 15th to the 18th centuries. Central Baptist Church was built in the early 1950's, just a few years after Southern Baptists began their work in the country.
On November 28, 2005, as a result of torrential rains for several days, the tall tower of the structure collapsed. The rains continued and the following day the roof caved in. Fortunately, no one was in the building at the time of either of these events, and so though there has been terrible structural and material loss, there was no loss of life.
While the church had done what it could to repair the building, spending over $18,000US and many hours of labor by members of the church in the removal of debris, the cost of its repair was well beyond their means. CBB joined them in providing $10,000.00 to help finish the repair of the entrance to the church, and basic repair to the auditorium, including the installation of new windows.
The church is centrally located and has an elementary school on its property. In addition, they serve meals to poor children from four local schools who are "sponsored" by a program known as "Compassion." The church is a leader in the Colombian Baptist Convention and active in evangelistic and social service ministries in the city and province where there are thousands of internal refugees who have fled their homes in the mountains to the less dangerous costal areas. Baptists have been in the forefront of ministries to these people.
