Praying for Cuba

Where the church stands in Cuba

Cuba was officially atheist until 1992. When the constitution changed, a church that had survived quietly for thirty years began to multiply — much of it in thousands of small house churches, because permission to build new church buildings was almost never granted.

The pressure has not gone away. Unregistered churches are harassed, pastors are watched and sometimes detained, and the economic collapse since 2020 has driven a historic wave of emigration that has taken many pastors and young leaders with it. Those who stay are ministering in a country short of food, medicine and power.

Signs of hope

One of the most remarkable church-growth stories in the Americas, built largely in homes.

The honest difficulty

State surveillance of churches, a severe economic crisis, and the loss of leaders to emigration.

What "Less-reached" means

There is a church, but it is small relative to the population, or the Christian identity is far more widespread than active faith. Much of the nation can still live a whole life without meeting a follower of Jesus.

In Cuba the majority religious context is Christianity (~59%), unaffiliated (~23%), Afro-Cuban folk religion (~17%). The largest population still considered without meaningful Gospel access is the Practitioners of Afro-Cuban religions and a largely secular younger generation.

How to pray for Cuba

Prayer is not a substitute for going; it is how going begins. Take one of these for a week rather than all of them for a day.

• Praise God for the Cuban house-church movement.
• Pray for pastors who remain under surveillance and pressure.
• Ask God to raise up new leaders to replace those who have emigrated.
• Pray for families struggling with shortages of food, medicine and electricity.