The city of Córdoba is hosting the 7^th Ibero-American Congress for Life and the Family (CIPVF in Spanish language), an annual meeting place for evangelical leaders, with participants from 17 countries, including well-known politicians and pastors from all over Latin America.

On Tuesday 19 April, at the church Cita con la Vida (venue of the gathering), the president of the CIPVF, Hugo Márquez, opened the meeting by welcoming and thanking the church, its pastors Carlos Belart and Evelyn Belart, for their hospitality.

Aarón Lara, secretary general of the CIPVF, then addressed how the gender ideology agenda is triumphing because “truth no longer matters”, entering with ease in international institutions and national constitutions. “They promote anomie. They teach children to hate their sex, the West to hate its history. They vandalise and burn churches but then say they are vulnerable”.

In his presentation, Lara argued that “the way out is not only electoral, but a change in the social fabric that reaches the soul of nations. The Church is the only one that can achieve this”.

For this, he emphasised, “historically, we evangelicals - even without being a majority - have changed the culture. First with the translation of the Bible. Then with public education and with the establishment of the democratic system”.

However, Lara continued in its plenary session, today the Church “should not limit ourselves to indignation, we are going to face reality with the spirit of David before Goliath. We will raise up the name of Christ from Cordoba to the whole world”.

Four thematic panels

The participants then chose one of four panels: Participation in the Organisation of American States, the Ibero-American Union of Christian Parliamentarians (UIPC), Pro-Life Associations in the USA, and Youth.

The UIPC meeting was chaired by politician Nadia Márquez, in the place of Costa Rican presidential candidate Fabricio Alvarado, together with Spanish evangelical leader Xesús Manuel Suárez.

The document Plataforma Política Continental (Continental Political Platform) was presented, which is a basic text for reflection and for building a common political agenda of evangelical politicians from all over Ibero-America. The text has points of interest that fit in with the whole political spectrum.

This starting point was considered necessary by all, and its availability was highly valued. The creation of a database of legislative initiatives of the different evangelical parliamentarians was also announced.

The panel on participation in the OAS was chaired by Gilberto Rocha, that of the US Pro-Life Associations by José González, and that of the Youth by Guillermo Ledezma.

John Milton Rodríguez: from spies to conquerors

In the afternoon, Colombian politician John Milton Rodríguez spoke on “How to go from spies to conquerors” (based on Matthew 5.14 ff.).

The first thing, he said, is to be certain of the purpose and eliminate the spirit of Cain by being grateful for what God gives us.

The second, to train God’s people, preparing them to face a post-truth world that has no mercy. “Our people cannot immaturely take on board what they read on the net without checking it out. Moreover, the scenario and dynamics of the family is not that of the Church or of politics, and Christians must know how to work in each one. Training the membership means insisting like Ezekiel on dry bones. We were not called to be just a church, but to be God’s chosen people who are capable of transforming their society”.

The third thing to teach is to recognise the call of each person and to form him or her specifically. “Those who are not firmly established in Christ end up being corrupted, especially when they enter political life and see that it is normal to allow oneself to be corrupted. This is a painstaking process”.

Fourth, Milton spoke of a strategy of conquest. “There is nothing we do that does not have a cost; don’t expect immediate results. The church has to form schools of worldview and government for that”.

Prayers for the soul of America

Closing the day, Alvaro Dastugue prayed for pastoral leadership, Tomás Zambrano for legislative and government leadership, and Harim Cruz for citizen leadership.