Where the church stands in Latin America
Latin America is the most Christian region on earth by share — around nine in ten people identify as Christian. Historically Catholic, the region has seen one of the most significant religious shifts of the last fifty years: evangelical and Pentecostal Christianity has grown from a small minority to roughly a fifth of the population, and in some countries approaching a third.
That growth turned the region from a mission field into a mission force. Brazil is now among the top missionary-sending nations in the world, with particular fruitfulness in the Arab world and among peoples that Western workers cannot easily reach.
Signs of hope
Brazil and its neighbours sending thousands of cross-cultural workers, many into the Muslim world.
The honest difficulty
Shallow discipleship behind rapid growth, prosperity teaching, and unreached indigenous peoples inside the continent's own borders.
How to pray for Latin America
Take one of these for a week rather than all of them for a day.
- Thank God for a continent that received the Gospel and now carries it to others.
- Pray for discipleship deep enough to hold a generation, not just a decision.
- Ask God to protect Latin American workers serving in dangerous and restricted places.
- Pray for Amazonian and Andean indigenous peoples still without Scripture in their language.
Nations in Latin America on this site
Each profile carries church size, unreached peoples, what is going well, what is hard, and four prayer points.
Questions people ask about Latin America
How many Christians are there in Latin America?
About 603 million of Latin America's roughly 665 million people identify as Christian — around 90.7% of the population. The trend is strong. Figures follow Pew Research Center's regional definitions and the Center for the Study of Global Christianity, and are rounded estimates that vary by source and year.
Is Christianity growing in Latin America?
Nine in ten identify as Christian, and a once-receiving continent now sends. Brazil and its neighbours sending thousands of cross-cultural workers, many into the Muslim world. At the same time: Shallow discipleship behind rapid growth, prosperity teaching, and unreached indigenous peoples inside the continent's own borders.
Which nations in Latin America are least reached?
Of the 1 Latin America nations profiled on this site, 0 are frontier and 0 are unreached. Every profiled nation in the region has an established church.