Conferences and Unions Collaborate for Indigenous Evangelism
16 June 2025 |
According to Adventist Review, a historic congress was hosted under the theme “Huastecs United,” aimed towards indigenous people.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Mexico recently gathered more than 1,000 members from its Huastec regions during a special congress for division and union leaders in El Higo, Veracruz. The event, organized by the North Mexican and Inter-Oceanic Mexican unions, welcomed Huastec members, who mostly speak Mayan-derived languages and dialects, for worship and fellowship. Congregants came from six of the states that make up the Huastec region: San Luis Potosí, Tamaulipas, Querétaro, Veracruz, Hidalgo, and Puebla.
The congress was the culmination of a five-year plan. The plan consisted of evangelistic campaigns and resources translated into the three main Huastec languages—Nahuatl, Tének, and Pame. The Gulf Mexican Conference, which oversees the church in the states of Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosí, and Querétaro, comprises 1 million Huastecs, divided into the aforementioned six distinct groups. Rather than forcing the indigenous group to adapt to the local language or practices, these evangelistic efforts are designed to meet the people where they are. Those involved in the project express their desire for accessibility and unity, sharing their intentions to make the congress an annual event.
The two unions and two conferences involved in the event intend to continue their collaboration beyond the congress itself. Other partnerships have been made. Adventist World Radio, supplied 300 solar-powered radios containing the Bible in the Nahuatl language, along with other resources in Spanish. Ministers fluent in both Spanish and the Nahuatl language are being trained. The conferences and unions have continued their efforts to connect with indigenous communities by adapting evangelistic resources while respecting the regions cultural roots.
