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It all began in March of 1995 when Peter and Kerstin Kinast, German missionaries, assumed the responsibilities of pastoring an evangelical church in Juliaca. |
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They soon discovered a great need for the schooling and training of
Peruvian leaders and church workers. They felt called to found a training
center to teach and equip indigenous Christians. Consequently, they handed
over the church to Peruvian leadership and bought land in Yocará, 15 km
outside of Juliaca and began to create the basis for the training center. |
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Construction begins, September 1997:
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In March 2000, a small plot of land on a nearby hill was bought in order to construct a house dedicated especially as a place for prayer.
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Peter and Kerstin Kinast travelled to the (even) higher regions of Peru in 2000, where they found the need for pastoral training even greater than they had thought. For this reason they began in June, 2000, their first training programs in very primative conditions. Peter visiting a church at 5000 meters (15000 ft) high:
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Birgit Ufermann, missionary from Germany, arrived in mid-2000 in Juliaca
to assist with the developement of the Center. She lived for the first
year in the city of Juliaca, learning Spanish and the highland culture.
Then she moved to her new house in the Center of "Chacra de Dios".
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The German missionaries together with a Peruvian pastor found the non-profit organisation "Chacra de Dios" in 2001. The association is officially recorded in the city's register shortly afterward.
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The Prayer House was constructed on a nearby hill. It was officially dedicated by the President of the Evangelical Alliance of Juliaca in July, 2001. The Prayer House:
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The work of the ministry intensifies. Increasingly, new seminars, retreats and youth camps are held by the missionaries at the Center. Meanwhile, more and more evangelical and pentacostal churches hold their own seminars and events at "Chacra de Dios". Kerstin Kinast teaching during a youth camp:
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The first discipleship training school is held with 10 students in the Spring of 2002. The outreach team goes to towns on the banks of Lake Titicaca, up to remote churches high in the Andes and even to Moquegua, a city in the south of Peru near the Pacific coast. |
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Our vision to create a training center for Christians in Juliaca has become a reality. We are continuing to work in order to improve the Center "Chacra de Dios" as a place to equip highland Peruvians to serve the Lord and their own people. The Training Center "Chacra de Dios" at the beginning of 2003:
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