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Enormous
Challenges in There are no mountains, no jungles, no tropical heat, no spicy-hot foods and no indigenous population. And this is a Latin country?
Because of these realities, the BMW team is committed to these three main objectives:
BMW'S HISTORY IN URUGUAY
Then another single missionary, Paula Wiebe, was added to the mission team. She had already worked in Uruguay with CEF, and she continued on the field working in the city of Rivera. In 1976, Jerry and Linda Glass arrived in Uruguay and began working first with Paula in Rivera and later in the Montevideo suburb of San Fernando. Paula has since gone to be with the Lord.
Dave and Pris Wile arrived in 1990 to work with the Lopez and Spilman team in La Union area. Keith and Wendy Hock arrived also in 1990 to work with one of the national churches. A few years later, the Hocks and Glasses formed a new team and began ministry in the Montevideo neighborhood of Parque Batlle. Ron and Shelly Clipperton joined the Parque Batlle team in 1997.
BMW'S URUGUAY FIELD STRATEGY To realize their goal of accelerating the establishment of Bible-believing Uruguayan churches, the missionaries on the BMW/Uruguay team realize that their first task is to bring each church in which they are currently working to the point of true autonomy. The team has clear goals for this process, which historically has taken anywhere from 15 to 20 years. There is currently a healthy desire among Uruguayan believers to step forward and participate in evangelism and discipleship. However, preparing men to pastor churches and others to lead ministries alongside these men continues to challenge the BMW team. A church-based training strategy called Bible Center Training for Pastors/Leaders forms part of this leadership training, and students from various regions of the country are now enrolled.
For more information about joining BMW's team in Uruguay, contact Tim Willoughby, the Uruguay Field Leader, or Rob Heijermans, BMW's Area Director for the Americas. Home | About | Mission Fields | Opportunities | Support | Resources BIBLICAL
MINISTRIES WORLDWIDE Site
maintained by Biblical Ministries Worldwide |
Well,
no-that's just it. Uruguay is really not a Latin country in the popular sense,
even though it is located in South America. Spanish is spoken here because of
Uruguay's colonial roots, but its differences with other Spanish-speaking countries
in Latin America make Uruguay a unique and challenging place of ministry. The
population is 88% Caucasian, reflecting the waves of Spanish and Italian immigration
that established Uruguay as a nation in the eighteenth and ninteenth centuries.
During the first half of the twentieth century, Uruguay removed religion from
its government and educational system, established a "cradle-to-casket"
network of social welfare and called itself the "Switzerland of Latin America."
From then on the people have been paying the price for "throwing religion
out of their lives":
accurately due to most couples' refusal to marry. During the last two years, more
couples have filed for divorce than have registered to be married. 
In
1967 Tom Zartman, a single missionary with Worldwide European Fellowship, arrived
in Uruguay to help some churches already in existence there. He had a vision to
encourage and strengthen churches. After a few years in that ministry, a church
in the city of Rocha asked him to help their small congregation develop. He agreed,
and for the next couple of years he and his wife Jean, along with a single missionary,
Barbara Maneley, assisted that congregation as it matured.
In
the late 1970's and early 1980's two Uruguayan couples, Sam and Ruth Lopez and
Miguel and Miriam Garroni, came to BMW from a Bible institute operated by a church
in Uruguay. The Lopez family began working immediately in the area of Montevideo
and the Garronis headed to the city of Corrientes, Argentina. Belinda Spilman
arrived in 1978 to work first in San Fernando and then in Montevideo with the
Lopezes. Throughout the 1980's a number of graduates of Citadel Bible College
arrived on the field. Tim and Joellen Willoughby arrived in 1983, and worked with
the Lopezes in the Christ is the Way Church. After Joellen's death Tim returned
to Uruguay to work in the city of Minas with his new wife, Kari.
The
current BMW team in Uruguay consists of the Hocks, Glasses, Lopezes and Belinda
Spilman in Montevideo and the Willoughbys in Minas. The Garronis have retired
in Montevideo but are still active in ministry. Ivan and Tania Largent are preparing
to come to the field to assist a national pastor and his wife as well as to reach
the large agricultural community in Uruguay's interior. Joel Willoughby is planning
to serve a one-year internship with several BMW teams as he seeks God's direction
regarding a future permanent ministry.
The
future looks promising but equally challenging. New missionaries are needed on
the field to help plant churches in areas of the country without a gospel witness.
They will be trained to become church planting "technicians", forming
partnerships with nationals. We look forward to participating on the front lines
as the Lord continues to build His church in Uruguay.
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