Guatemala. World Factbook, 2005

Mennonite involvement in this Central American republic began in 1964 when the Conservative Mennonite Fellowship began work among villagers in Chimaltenango, leading eventually to the Conservative Mennonite Fellowship, Guatemala. In 1968 the Eastern Mennonite Board of Missions and Charities (MC) and the Washington-Franklin Mennonite Conference (later continued by the Franklin Mennonite Conference) began work with Spanish-speaking (Iglesia Menonita de Guatemala) and Kekchi-speaking (Iglesia Nacional Evangélica Menonita Guatemalteca) people. The Eastern Pennsylvania Mennonite Church carries on mission work in Quetzaltenango. Mennonite Air Missions was organized in 1972. In 1977 the Church of God in Christ Mennonite (CGC), began mission work in Guatemala, where they had participated in reconstruction following the 1976 earthquake. The first missionaries were Alvin and Mildred Koehn and Vada Unruh. In 1988 four couples and three single women served the three congregations (Progreso, Sanarate and Jutialpa) and seven outposts located one to two hours north and east of Guatemala City. There were 19 baptized members and no ordained Guatemalan national leaders. A close relationship was maintained with the Church of God in Christ mission work in Mexico where the mission has published in Spanish the CGC hymnal and several booklets. Membership in the four Mennonite-related groups in Guatemala totaled circa 3,100 in 1987. In 2003 there were 128 congregations with 6,700 members.

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Scottdale, Pennsylvania, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 5, p. 358. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

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