Our South America project represents one of Catalyst’s most expansive works. This project has grown to include four main countries, Bolivia, Colombia, Argentina, and Peru as well as open doors into other near cultures.
South America Project has…
350 students
10 first generation training groups
5 classes graduated
6 churches planted by graduates
BOLIVIA is a predominantly Spanish speaking country of roughly 11 million people with 39 indigenous languages. While largely Roman Catholic, Bolivia presents a diverse religious scene.
In August of 2014, Catalyst Missions began sensing God's direction to the South American country of Bolivia. Working through a missionary contact in Santa Cruz, Catalyst Missions took a vision trip in March 2015. With great interest in the leader training we offer, Catalyst went back for the first official training trip in October 2015.
Training of pastors, missionaries, and church planters is the greatest spiritual need in this area. With little access to theological formation, pastors and leaders often face an incredibly difficult task of preaching, teaching, and multiplying the gospel. Catalyst has taken further steps to develop and implement a long-term vision to plant training institutes in this country and raise indigenous leaders who will run with these biblical concepts. Needless to say, the training has multiplied rapidly. Now, with training sites in Cobija, Santa Rosa de Vigo, San Joaquin, Galilea, Rurrenabaque, and Tarija we have multiple opportunities for churches wishing to partner for the expansion of the gospel through trained pastors, church planters, and leaders.
In total, Catalyst has graduated 5 classes in Bolivia. In 2023, we plan to continue working with 8 training groups on the ground, including extension sites into Peru and Argentina. We pray and believe that the multigenerational impact of these pastors and disciples will produce healthy churches who spread the gospel throughout South America to unreached people groups who remain as well.
BOLIVIA IMPACT STORY
One of the 6 churches that has been planted as a result of the Catalyst training is in La Paz. This church, Aposento Alto, was birthed out of the San Pedro jail in La Paz as Catalyst graduates were trained and later released from prison. They saw the need for a church to minister to those who had been encarcerated. By God’s grace, this church has a vision to plant a network of churches in La Paz and El Alto.
COLOMBIA is a project that has just started in 2019 and as they say, the work has just begun! Through faithful leaders like Diego, Pablo, Angelica, Claudia, Gloria and many others, the Lord has opened the door for expansive multiplication of pastor training and women’s discipleship training. With pastor training in our central site of Chia occurring weekly and women’s discipleship being multiplied both in Chia and Bogotá (18 discipleship groups), the work has moved forward even amid the difficulties of travel. Catalyst is currently working with 50+ generational disciples in Colombia among the various training groups.
Catalyst’s plan for 2023 is to continue working in our central site of Chia, Cudinamarca as well our extension training site in Casanare where the work is being multiplied by God’s grace.
COLOMBIA IMPACT STORY
For our first women’s discipleship conference, 58 women attended, representing 6 different churches. Their thirst for God’s Word has led to a commitment to extend this training to Venezuelan immigrants who have fled their country for refuge in Colombia.
