For decades, Cuba was officially considered an atheist country, and the Church suffered a brutal persecution. Today the Church is growing and has a lot more freedom. In fact, hundreds of churches recently completed a historic evangelistic campaign in Havana.
We have already talked about powerful movement of Christian churches in Cuba.
Today, CBN News reporter Heather MPEI cells are ready to share the details about what is happening on Liberty Island.
MIN: Heather, it is really unusual time for the Cuban Church.
Heather MPEI cells, a reporter for CBN News:
Yes, it’s incredible. The body of Christ grows and the Church show a striking unity. During the evangelistic campaign, which ended recently, over three hundred churches from 30 denominations gathered together and covered 55 thousand people.
In 2015, we visited Cuba and found the living Church, which uses simple tools to share the message of Christ.
According to the Associated Press, the fastest growing Church in Cuba at present is the Church “Assembly of God”. For 25 years it has grown from approximately 10 thousand members to 120 thousand. In a country that once declared a faith outside the law, to date, there are 100 of thousands of Baptists and 40 thousand Methodists.
MHN: Cuba remains a poor country in all respects. How can the Church grow in the face of such poverty?
I like that they use a very simple model and it is really an example for all of us. They just encourage people to share their testimony. Someone becomes a believer, and encourage him to share with his neighbor, his colleague: “that’s what I’ve been through, that’s what Jesus means to me.” They use the basic principles that we can find in the New Testament, and the Church is growing. It is interesting that in Cuba due to restrictions of the government are growing house churches. Thus, what was initially considered a negative turned into a positive, and the number of churches on the island is increasing rapidly.
MAN: the head of the Council of churches of Cuba, recently told the Associated Press that in Cuba there is freedom of religion. Do you think this is so?
I think it is very interesting that they say that. I don’t quite understand why they say this now. And I would definitely say it’s a double-edged sword. Cuban believers can’t be sure until the end that they had not intended. Many constraints prevent their activities? Yes, we already talked about restrictions on construction. There are also some restrictions regarding the activities that they can perform in public areas. So they definitely have to be careful in what I say. But “persecution”? Most of them would say that it is too.
MAN: Well, finally, how effective was recently held evangelistic campaign?
A lot of people love it. They are happy because of the Church gathered together. They were excited because 55 thousand people received a book, a collection of testimonies. So much good happened because of this campaign.