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. Alongside the natural disasters, Uruguay is economically declining, with over 20 percent of its work force unemployed and another 30 percent hugely under employed. This has caused thousands of people to leave the country in search for other places to work.

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 the present 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 us to consider coming to Uruguay to start mobilizing the church for missions. Siegfried, born and raised in Uruguay, and his wife Yvonne decided to come back and establish OM Uruguay.

The current role of OM Uruguay is to mobilize the local church to action by motivating, developing and equipping people for world evangelism. The ministry specializes in building bridges of cooperation between foreign and local churches and organizations to strengthen and help plant more churches. The team provides training opportunities in the areas of evangelism, discipleship, missions, teen and youth leadership development, which it holds in churches all over the country. 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. The ministry also distributes food to churches with programs for children and families in need.

Our team currently consists of four full-time and four part-time workers. Most of our team members are Uruguayan and come for short-term work. We are praying that God brings long-term workers to develop the teen and youth ministries, strengthen administration and help develop Eagles Wings.