Cuba (MNN) — Cuba is seeing one of the fastest church growth
rates in the world–the Southern Baptist
International Mission Board says that's evidenced by the fact that there just
aren't enough churches to hold all the believers.
In 1960, Cuban Baptist churches numbered 210. Growth was slow over the next three decades,
increasing that number by just 28.
However, within the
last 20 years, a church-planting movement began sweeping the island nation. Today, according to the IMB, the number of
Cuban Baptist traditional churches, missions, and house churches exceeds 6,200.
Church growth is
surpassing the speed of construction for houses of worship, which leaves some
of the congregations worshipping in houses, garages, yards or on rooftops.
A similar phenomenon in Asia revealed a critical need for trained
and Scripturally-grounded leaders for these new Christians. Without the proper training, the risk of
heresy grows. The leaders also find they
need tools to cope with the other needs of their burgeoning congregations. So, IMB missionaries regularly form teams
help train and disciple new leaders.
This team also discovered another close tie-in that helps
the church: music. It's a big part of
life in Cuba. An estimated one of every
five people is involved in music in some way.
When the church-planting movement gained steam, leaders saw many
musicians coming to Christ. It made sense to develop schools that would teach
musicians to grow as disciples and to use their skills in leading worship. As a result, these 50 train about 1,000 Cuban Baptists each year.
Ask God to keep the pipeline full of church leaders in the
making. Find ways to resource them
through our Web site.
Join in praying for Cuba through "50 Days of Prayer for
Cuba," a seven-week prayer guide featuring stories, photos, and prayer
requests. It's available in English or Spanish. Click here.
