Bolivian Evangelical Lutheran Church
Encyclopedia
The Bolivian Evangelical Lutheran Church (Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

: Iglesia Evangélica Luterana Boliviana (IELB) is a Protestant Church denomination located in Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...

 that professes the Lutheran branch of Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

. Formed in 1972 by Lutheran missionaries from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, the church takes its members primarily and entirely from the indigenous people of Bolivia
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...

 such as the Aymara and Quechua, with its members scattered across the Bolivian highlands and in and around La Paz
La Paz
Nuestra Señora de La Paz is the administrative capital of Bolivia, as well as the departmental capital of the La Paz Department, and the second largest city in the country after Santa Cruz de la Sierra...

.

History

The Bolivian Evangelical Lutheran Church was founded by Lutheran missionaries from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 working amongst the indigenous peoples of the Americas who generally have belonged to the poorest sectors of society and In Bolivia, where in some cases more than in any other Latin American country, the indigenous peoples have been marginalized and have suffered from exclusion by the Mestizos. It is only in recent years that they have become better organized and are able to claim their rights and participation in society. As the missionaries, who generally ran the day to day affairs of the young church, left in 1972, the local indigenous people claimed greater participation in the decision-making bodies of the church. The Bolivian Evangelical Lutheran Church was constituted that same year and since then it has become the largest Amerindian Lutheran church on the continent of South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

. Despite this success the socio-economic and political situation of Bolivia still remains particularly burdening to the ministry of the church.

Purpose

The IELB considers its main priority is to promote a holistic approach to evangelism and service. The church is involved in a variety of projects: alternative agriculture, animal husbandry, provision of drinking water, educational campaigns to prevent cholera, formal education (elementary school), vocational training, and communication. All these projects are planned with the communities and respond to their needs; at the same time, they provide good opportunities to introduce the gospel in a natural way to the communities involved. At the same time, the church is aiming to strengthen its institutional presence within the Bolivian context. Important contacts and even agreements in the field of education have been achieved in the past years with the Bolivian government.

Church Governance

The highest decision-making authority of the church is the assembly. It elects the twelve members of the board which, through its chairpersons, exercises legislative, executive and judicial authority. The work is organized in three departments: evangelism, communication, education, health and social development.

External links

and , Official Website of the Bolivian Evangelical Lutheran Church.
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