Country Profile: Uruguay

Although Uruguay has European ancestry, as most people are from a Spanish or Italian background, the country is still among the least evangelised in the world. Boarding the South Atlantic Ocean between Argentina and Brazil, Uruguay has a population of approximately 3.3 million. In recent years the country has experienced numerous devastations, including hail storms and flash floods, which have caused damage to crops and livestock. After a period of financial crisis, the country's economy currently is growing stronger.

The Uruguayan Church
The church is very small. Approximately 5 percent of the population are believers. The average congregation has about 50 members and 80 percent of pastors have to have a second job to support themselves and their families. Uruguay’s suicide rate is reported to be the highest of all Latin American countries. The pressures of economic crisis have increased this rate.

OM in Uruguay
The ministry of Operation Mobilisation in Uruguay began in 1988 when Siegfried Klassen and a group from the recently shipwrecked Logos came to Uruguay to share with the church the stories of God’s protection and future plans for the ship ministry. During this time several church leaders and former Doulos missionaries asked him to consider coming to Uruguay to start motivating the church for missions. Siegfried, born and raised in Uruguay, and his wife Yvonne decided to come back and establish OM Uruguay. In 2008, Uruguayan Alejandro Las took over the leadership.

The role of OM Uruguay is to motivate the local church to action by developing and equipping people to share the gospel locally and worldwide. The team provides training opportunities in the areas of sharing the gospel, discipleship, missions, teen and youth leadership development. The office provides a wide selection of Christian literature, Bibles and study materials for all levels of Bible students.

OM Uruguay’s goal is to provide hands-on, practical, dynamic training that can be passed on to others and call believers to action by serving the local church in practical ways. The ministry also gives churches an opportunity to work with team members from various backgrounds, and it always works in direct partnership with a local church.

TeenStreet
TeenStreet Uruguay began in 2002. Its goal is to help teenagers learn practical ways to trust God, develop a friendship with Jesus, face difficult times and make the right choices being supported by their 'NET' (small accountability group). These teens then return to their churches excited and equipped to share their faith and to serve God, and strengthened in their relationship with God and others.