For 22 years, our primary ministry was mobilizing the church for missions, while also serving part-time in missionary training. During those years, our goal was to help the church recognize the need for cross-cultural ministry among unreached ethnic groups and to encourage believers to take the gospel to them.
After seeing the Lord bless those efforts, He opened the door in 2021 for us to begin the ministry for which we had originally been trained in 1996—a ministry among people who remain largely unreached with the gospel because they live in remote areas preserving their own little-known language.
This is what brought us from the comfortable, cool city of Bogotá to the hot and humid Amazon rainforest of southern Colombia. There we began researching the needs of the Ko’revajʉ people. As we learned more about their communities, we discovered that there are several churches led by indigenous pastors and that many people genuinely desire to seek the Lord. However, we also observed significant deficiencies in their understanding of the gospel of grace. Traditional beliefs are often blended with biblical teaching, resulting in syncretism, and preaching tends to place greater emphasis on emotional experiences than on sound biblical doctrine.
Another significant challenge is that, although most Ko’revajʉ believers have only a limited knowledge of Spanish and primarily speak their native language, the Bible commonly used for teaching is not the translation available in Ko’revajʉ but a Spanish version that is difficult for many to fully understand.
Although we grieve over this situation, it also strengthens our commitment to continue learning the Ko’revajʉ language and culture. We know that this process will enable us to better understand the people’s needs and, under the Lord’s guidance, serve this indigenous nation more effectively. Despite the presence of churches and outward expressions of faith, the Ko’revajʉ remain one of the least-reached peoples with a clear understanding of the gospel.
Even at this early stage, it is becoming evident that once we achieve a competent level of fluency in the Ko’revajʉ language and culture, our ministry will need to focus on discipling indigenous leaders so they can develop a deeper understanding of the gospel. We also anticipate working alongside them to review the existing New Testament translation and to continue the translation work that remains for the Old Testament.
By God’s grace, we have now completed the first of four stages of learning the Ko’revajʉ language and culture!
We would be very happy if you join us in this mission