MEDELLÍN, COLOMBIA

A region once stained by decades of violence and drug trafficking, the state of Antioquia, Colombia, has made huge strides in shrugging off its former reputation. Medellín, which was named “the world’s most innovative city” in 2012, is Columbia's second largest city and is now known instead for its cultural opportunities and progressive improvements to education, transportation, and infrastructure. Though social reformation has been quick, biblical reformation has not kept pace.

The region's population growth has headed east from Medellín and is spilling over into the surrounding area. Eastern Antioquia, as it is known, is the fastest growing region in Colombia, and this is precisely where the team desires to see a church-planting movement. Through university ministry, theological education, biblical counseling, and other mercy ministries, they hope to bring spiritual growth and renewal beginning in Rionegro, the principal city of this growth to the east.