Chile
LHM Ministry Response
Ministry in Chile:
The Lutheran Hour Ministries (LHM) ministry center in Chile was opened in June 2007 with the purpose of serving as the evangelistic arm of the new Evangelical Lutheran Church of Chile (IELCHI) mission (Mission Santiago) in the mega-city of Santiago. Since then, the office has conducted mass media outreach campaigns, and has worked closely with the local community to reach people with the Gospel through materials and messages that relate to the challenges they face in daily life.
The Catholic Church in Chile was disestablished in 1925. While there is complete freedom of religion, legislation to make all religious denominations equal under the law floundered in the 1990s on Catholic objections. Today, the Catholic Church maintains a strong following in Chile, with close to 73% of that country's population being Catholic. Of those, only 15% regularly attend church.
It has been noted that evangelicals are poised to play a more pivotal role in this millennium as a significant majority of Chileans are starting to attend evangelical churches. It has been noted that the growing number of churches, coupled with an increased standard of living, has led to complacency and more sporadic church attendance. In fact, church attendance overall has plateaued over the last 15 years.
LHM—Chile ministry programs:
- Text messaging
- Booklets
- Rallies that include music and cultural entertainment
- Youth Ministry
- Senior Ministry
- Bible Correspondence Courses
- Small Group Ministry
- Equipping the Saints Workshop