The human tendency is to equate religious traditions with a relationship with God, or a way to reach Him. During Jesus’ earthly ministry, people resisted believing in him in favor of observing their traditions. By contrast, those who truly believed in him, when asked if they would want to leave, as many others had, they answered: “To whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life” (John 6:68).
No matter which country of Latin America you visit, the religious traditions permeate many areas of the Hispanic culture. Those traditions remain, with the support of that which has dominated the religious and cultural thinking of Latin Americans for more than five hundred years. That mindset, with all its customs and practices, is difficult to break with. In addition, the god of this world blinds the minds of the unbelieving (2 Cor. 4:4). SPANISH WORLD MINISTRIES desires to help people in every Spanish-speaking country to hear of, and believe in, the “Holy One of God” (Jn. 6:69). This task became more difficult these last two years. Several radio stations shut down due to the pandemic, and several others canceled our broadcasts on account of their need to charge for airtime. We feared that this would mean a decrease in the number of stations airing our programs. But God, in His sovereignty, guided our missionaries in their quest to find and contact new radio stations. Thanks to the Lord’s guidance in the missionaries’ efforts, we ended the first quarter of 2022 with 2,926 radio stations. Please pray that all of this translates into more people hearing and believing the words of eternal life.
By means of the Internet, our programs are sent to thousands of people every day through WhatsApp. In the last three years, we have seen a constant increase in the number of plays of our programs. Making use of this means, Pedro Salces, our missionary in Bolivia, sends our daily devotional to approximately 900 people every morning. Cesar is one of the many contacts that receive the programs, and at the same time, he forwards them to a group of friends. This helps him to open spiritual conversations with people who do not know Christ. From the time that he has been sending the programs, some people have talked with him about their need for Christ. One such person is Carlos, Cesar’s old friend, who, not having any interest in spiritual matters, lived surrounded by alcohol, drugs, and a promiscuous lifestyle. This kind of life distanced him from some of his relatives, but listening to our programs, God’s word began to speak to his heart. If he didn’t receive the daily program, he would contact Cesar to ask why. He was coming to realize that his foolish lifestyle led him to a deep sense of emptiness. This led him to have a conversation with Cesar about his need of Christ. He accepted Him as his savior and was recently baptized.
The chart below reflects the increase in the number of plays through our App. From 80K in 2019 to more than 140K at the end of last year; a 75% increase in two years! In the first quarter of 2022, we already have 40,000 plays. We thank the Lord that He has graciously given us the privilege of being his witnesses to such a significant number of people in Latin America. Christ alone has words of eternal life, and there are still multitudes that need to hear those words. We desire to communicate them to as many people as possible in that part of the world.
As the fear of the pandemic begins to fade away, many other problems remain in the world. Wars, financial crises, violence, the proliferation of drugs, political discord and scandals, and an evident decadence in moral values. These things can only lead to a hopeless future for the human being. Only Christ and His word can make a difference in lives. Our missionaries strive daily to make this known to many of those lives, by seeking to increase the distribution of the gospel message contained in our programs. Please, join us with your prayers that together we might move forward in this great work for eternity. If the Lord leads you to support us financially, you can donate online. We are fully dependent on God’s provision as His people respond to the invitation to join our ministry financially. Thank you for considering in prayer to support the proclamation of the Gospel through the radio waves and over the Internet.
In His love,
Daniel Sandoval
Director