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A nation torn
Every year, the hurricane season rips through the already-impoverished villages. The already-bleak economy recently took a turn for the worse, and violence is on the rise. But the spiritual landscape is just as torn as the land itself.
Religious freedom is touch-and-go for those outside the state church, which wields its clout with a heavy hand. And widespread occultism attracts a majority that calls itself Christian.
The Dominican people need more than can be offered by religious traditions and superstitious rites.
A powerful witness
Bible League-trained church planters have a heart to reach out to their fellow Dominicans with the only hope that can heal their land: the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
After struggling through a tumultuous history of achieving independence and falling back into foreign domination, the Dominican people are now independent, but they are still dominated by the sugar cane industry and the unstable economy.
But in the midst of overwhelming hardship, Dominican Christians can have a powerful witness.
From misery to hope
In the poorest parts of the country, more than a million Haitian immigrant workers
live in miserable conditions—made even more miserable by corruption and manipulation
among the higher officials.
To these poorest of the poor, looked down on by the rest of their society, the Word of life can give them what they long for: hope and a future.
And they are responding to the Gospel! As people trust Jesus, churches spring up in areas where people previously had no reason to hope.
From stagnancy to vibrancy
In many existing evangelical churches-—almost one third of them-—pastors have struggled for long years with only a few believers and little growth. But the Bible League is equipping them with the training and Scriptures they need to turn stagnancy to vibrancy.
As a result, a group of 5 or 10 believers can become a thriving church of more than 50 people.
A powerful impact
God is using Bible League's ministry among the Dominican people to make an impact that cannot be ignored. And recently, even the president of the nation had to take notice.
Former president Hipólito Mejía had invited a group of evangelical church leaders to meet with him, but he got more than he expected when he was presented with a special leather edition of our Devotional Study Bible.
The directors of ministry in the Dominican Republic recount their excitement that God's Word had been placed in the hands of the leader of their nation.
"President Mejía never let go of his Bible during the entire meeting-an unusual thing as most gifts are passed on to a secretary or someone else. The next day the President spoke to the nation on television, and the Bible was still displayed prominently on his desk. We pray that the Lord will use His Word to affect his life and those he leads."
Please pray
Bible League-trained workers continue to labor faithfully in the harvest field, bringing hope and truth to the many lives stricken by poverty and corruption. Pray that God will bring more church planting trainers and other leaders who will work to reach their countrymen with the Gospel. Please ask the Lord to raise up more church planters through the Bible study programs and empower them for service among the people of this nation.
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To send Bibles to people in the Dominican Republic, click
here.
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Dominican Republic