News & stories Peruvian Mennonites challenged by rapid church growth A remarkable people movement to Christ is occurring high in the Andes Mountains. For the past two years, a team of two young Peruvian Mennonites have lived and worked out of a van, showing The Jesus Film in Quechua throughout the remote Andean region, six hours from the church base in Cusco. They labored for more than two years; but seeing little fruit from their efforts, they were on the verge of giving up. Then last spring, six new groups of believers emerged unexpectedly. “Whole villages, from the leader on down, are welcoming the gospel and wanting to start churches,” marveled Steve Shank, EMM's representative to Latin America. In this environment of rapid church growth, Peruvian Mennonites find their biggest challenge is leadership development. The two-year long Bible institute program they had started for pastoral training is undergoing radical revision. They are planning to reorganize the whole church along the lines of “G-12,” modeled on the ministry of Cesar Castellanos and the International Charismatic Mission in Bogota, Columbia, the fastest growing church in Latin America. In “G-12,” short for “Groups of 12,” every new believer goes through an “encounter weekend” to find deliverance from past sins and to understand the power of the cross and the presence of the Holy Spirit for ongoing victory. Leaders each choose 12 potential leaders to intentionally disciple. These leaders are then invited to each choose 12, and so on. This pattern creates an environment in which people are rapidly being discipled and beginning to disciple others. “We’re trying to be supportive – asking God and the national leaders how we can stand with them in this exciting time of harvest,” Shank said. Look for more information in Global Giving, a flier distributed quarterly in our supporting churches, and view a short 2 ½ minute video of this story. Consider downloading and showing the video at your church this coming Sunday!