by Rev. Casey Southerland
PMU Field Director, Cincinnati, OH
the Missions Banner, January/February 2022
The title of this article is posed as a question because it is an important one that we at PMU are asking today. Will the Lord answer our prayer and give us preachers for Peru?
But why Peru in particular? If you’ve been tuned in to PMU’s work during the past few years you’ll recall that in January 2020, we sent a Team Timothy to Peru to serve in and around the remote city of Iquitos. The team ministered among believers in Iquitos and ministered to children and adults in 3 villages along the Amazon and Ucayali Rivers. We learned that Iquitos, which can only be reached by boat or plane, serves as an economic hub for villages all over the region. The vast majority of people in these villages have no means of traveling to a church. If there is no church in their village then there is no going to church at all. Bible-believing churches are even more difficult to find. We could only identify 6 Bible-believing church in Iquitos, a city of nearly 500,000. These churches also minister in 3 villages. Their missionary, Pastor Roldan, exclaimed to the team, “The fields are white unto harvest!” and encouraged us to come and plant BP churches!
Do you recall Paul’s series of questions highlighting the beautiful feet of those who take the gospel? Paul proclaimed, “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13), and then posed these pointed questions (Romans 10:14-15a),
- “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed?
- And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard?
- And how shall they hear without a preacher?
- And how shall they preach unless they are sent?”
The sending of preachers makes possible the hearing, believing, and calling of the gospel of peace with God! PMU’s desire is to have this gospel declared all over the world.
We are glad to hear of some others who are ministering in Peru with the true gospel, but the sobering reality is that there are more than 33 million souls in Peru and vast regions filled with lost Peruvians that do not hear the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ that brings peace with God. Even more alarming is the effort being made by other groups who preach a different “gospel”. In Iquitos, the Jehovah’s Witnesses have five Kingdom Halls, the Mormons have 11 LDS churches, and the Seventh Day Adventists have 17 churches. Searches for reformed or presbyterian churches have come up empty so far.
Will you join us in praying for laborers whose feet would take the gospel to those without the gospel in Peru? We know there is a great need. If PMU is going to participate in meeting that need, we need preachers to be sent, so that the lost may hear and believe. This brings us back to the original question, “Will there be glad tidings for Peru?” Please pray the Lord would grant the workers who will go and preach the gospel of peace!
“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!” (Romans 10:15b)
For more information about Peru, please contact Pastor Casey at fielddirector@pmumissions.org. He would love to talk with you!