Many ministries
but a single Saviour

by Larry Jerden, UBS Photojournalist

CHIHUAHUA, Mexico — When a dozen evangelical groups began work among the 190,000 or so families who speak the Tarahumara language, the result was confusion: the people could not understand why there seemed to be so many different versions of the Christian faith.

So missionary David Borja, who has served among the Tarahumara for almost 30 years, has worked to bring 12 churches, missions, and denominations together into an Evangelical Council, to divide the work on a geographical basis and, moreover, to strive to present a single picture to the people.

Success

A further factor in the success of the work, says the veteran missionary, will be the Tarahumara having God’s Word in their own language. For this both Protestant and Roman Catholic evangelicals are looking to the Bible Society of Mexico.

The Bible Society is responding by making the objective of giving the Tarahumara Scriptures in their own language part of the Mexico Opportunity 21 (O-21) project, Hope for the Marginalised.

In advance of the funding becoming available, however, earlier this year the Bible Society sent Efraín Amaro Palermo, the O-21 National Program Co-ordinator for Mexico, and Regional Bible Society Promoter Ricardo Arredondo to meet Mr Borja and others to help assess the Scripture needs of the churches ministering among the Tarahumara.

n Bible Society Promoter Ricardo Arredondo distributes Scripture Selections to two Tarahumara women living in a cave

Mr Arredondo, who works with both the Evangelical Council and the Roman Catholic Church in their ministries to the Tarahumara, says the O-21 effort will provide materials for both, though he is still contacting Catholic leaders about it.

Mr Borja, who is also a representative of the government’s Indian Affairs office, is already appreciative of what the Bible Society of Mexico is doing to help the work of the Baptists, charismatics, Methodists, Four-Square Christians and others in the Evangelical Council.