Launched in 2003 as an attempt to 'surf' the growing wave of the internet, Protestante Digital was an effort to digitally unite evangelicals of all denominations in Spain to build a visible image before a society that still saw them as a foreign religion.

Starting with a weekly newsletter, later developing into a website with 3 weekly updates, medical doctor Pedro Tarquis worked step by step to bring together evangelical journalists from paper magazines, believers with technical skills, professionals from the secular field, pastors from different churches, and young people. A pioneer onlnie project was being created under the umbrella of the Spanish Evangelical Alliance.

After its professionalisation with a new generation of journalists, including its current director Daniel Hofkamp, Protestante Digital grew to reach hundreds of thousands of monthly readers, many of them in the Spanish-speaking part of the American continent (Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Venezuela, USA, amgon others).

The media project celebrated 20 years of existence in November.

In 2023, over 300,000 people visited Protestante Digital every month.

Also in Europe, Christians have followed the project over the years. Movements such as the European Evangelical Alliance, the European Leadership Forum and the Lausanne Movement have collaborated with the media project and expressed their support for the Protestante Digital and Evangelical Focus model (see opinions of below).

Limited resources, a committed core team

With a small core team and a very limited budget, Protestante Digital has managed to create an extensive network of hundreds of contributors.

Now the people behind the project are hoping to strengthen a sustainability which depends heavily on small donors who identify with the vision of “building bridges between church and culture, with a distinct evangelical perspective”.

This vision is shared with Evangelical Focus, the English-language daily site for Europe first launched in 2015.

Together, the two projects have set up a joint campaign, called #OneMoreYearEF, to connect with readers and other people who support their vision - both in Spanish and English.

'Protestante Digital' seen from Europe

Jim Memory, a British missiologist and Co-Director of Lausanne Europe, started following Protestante Digital soon after it was launched in 2003, while serving as a pastor in a town in Córdoba. “Already then, I was looking for information on evangelical initiatives in Spain, but above all for a Christian perspective on current issues”.

Later, as a seminary teacher and editor of a journal on mission in Europe (Vista), “Protestante Digital (PD) and Evangelical Focus (EF) have been a source for me, especially as they give new perspectives about God’s mission in Europe”, he says.

“In terms of Acts 1:8, Europe is ‘at the ends of the earth’ again, and that is why reflection on topical and societal issues is so important”, explains Memory. “I see the PD and EF team as my collaborators. Their aim of ‘promoting the encounter and dialogue between church and society’ makes them also participants in God’s mission in Spain, Europe and the world”.

Addressing the people behind Evangelical Focus, Jim Memory added: “I give thanks to God for all of you, and especially to the Lord for inspiring you to begin this path. You serve as a model for other many countries in Europe”.  

Images of the 20th anniversary event of Protestante Digital, in Madrid, November 2023:

A project to be replicated elsewhere in Europe

Julia Doxat-Purser, the socio-political representative of the European Evangelical Alliance (EEA) has also followed the evolution of the Spanish journalistic project for over a decade.

“I am so glad that Protestante Digital was created. It provides professional reporting for Spanish but also Europe’s Evangelicals, drawing in input from a wide range of Christian leaders but with the foundation of its own quality journalists”, she told this site.

“We all need to follow a range of secular news media so that we can understand the times and discern the truth”, Doxat-Purser continued. “But secular news outlets will often ignore the positive Christian news and are unable to give biblical analysis. It would be wonderful if we could see similar Evangelical news organisations in every European country”.

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Beyond the daily analysis on its website (using news stories, interviews, podcast…), Protestante Digital has also produced a Protestant Style Book for secular media in Spain, the book Evangelicals in the New Era of Communication, the annual “Unamuno: Friend of the Protestants” award, and other more specific projects such as the magazine “Líderes Empresariales" (Business Leaders).

The intentional search for collaboration with churches on a grassroots level has led to publicising thousands of local initiatives across Spain.

Furthermore, evangelical organisations of all backgrounds have been given a platform to share with a large audience the impact the Christian faith makes in areas such as the reception of refugees, the fight against sexual exploitation, the care of creation, the world of arts, theological reflection, and the support of young Christian leaders.

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Being a creative minority

In Italy, the initiative of Spanish evangelicals has also been followed closely. Leonardo De Chirico, theologian, evangelical pastor in Rome and board member of the European Leadership Forum, said Protestante Digital’s “reports, articles, commentaries, the range of contributors and the European breadth of its journalism have immensely helped Evangelicals worldwide to appreciate a perspective on church and world affairs that is often missing in the mainstream secular and religious press”.

“The fact that PD and then EF come from a context (like Spain) where evangelicals have traditionally been a minority fills my heart with gratitude”, he added. “PD has embodied what it means to be a creative minority that thinks globally at the service of the evangelical church and beyond”.