Hello !

In a previous email, I shared about the important role key leaders play in advancing CETI's mission. In order for holistic, contextual theology to reach people at the ground level, you need committed leaders to pave the way and help people get on board. And in order for positive change to happen in a company, a community, or a society, you need people of integrity who are willing to speak out, make hard decisions, and cast a vision for a better future.

Thanks to decades of theological formation and relationship building in Latin America, CETI has been able to construct partnerships with organizations and leaders who have facilitated the formation of thousands of lay leaders at a grassroots level. Here are just a couple stories:

In El Salvador, thanks to the partnership with Semillas de Nueva Creación (Seeds of New Creation), hundreds of students have received CETI training. Part of our success is due to the costly backing provided by one mega church pastor, Mario Vega, who brought CETI training to his church, despite heavy pushback from some sectors. In this context, CETI's theological formation has reached and transformed marginalized communities riddled with gang violence. It has helped pave the way for greater inclusivity of women in leadership and equality in homes. It has been used to embolden media teams and church leaders with a passion for justice so they can use their voices on behalf of the vulnerable.

In Brazil, it is thanks to our partnership with Igreja Batista de Água Branca - IBAB (White Water Baptist Church) that CETI's Life & Mission training program was first translated into Portuguese. IBAB blazed the trail for several other Baptist churches from across the country who have since used CETI's training for their members (and even one church in Portugal!). Over the last ten years, hundreds of church members across the country have been able to explore the implications of their faith for every area of their lives.

We are so extremely grateful for the partners across Latin America who have made the courageous decision to bring holistic, grassroots-level theological formation to their communities. Check out more stories of the impact this has had on our Facebook and Instagram pages.

But our work is not done. Mainstream evangelical faith in Latin America is still deeply resistant to a holistic understanding of the Gospel. The inequality, corruption, and abuse in our societies are a reflection of this. Pray with us for more brave leaders who will help holistic theological formation reach churches and lay leaders in their own communities.

In Christ,

Join us in prayer

God who sees the vulnerable and those on the margins, empower your people to participate in your work in their contexts, for the transformation of their communities.