US missionary receives award for ‘changing hearts’ among Colombia’s FARC

Russell Stendal, right, meets with FARC negotiators Yuri Camargo, left; and Noel Pérez, center, in Cuba in Early 2015.
Russ Stendal.World Watch Monitor   An American missionary has received an award for his decades of work ministering to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or the FARC, whose 50-year fight against the government had been the world’s longest continuous war when it ended in a peace agreement last August. . . . Read More

Analysis: Latin American Christians need protection from organized crime

Analysis: Latin American Christians need protection from organized crime
For three days last month, El Salvador was the deadliest country in the world. The 125 people killed in gang-related violence from 16-18 Aug. could not be matched even by the horrors in Syria and Iraq. Violence related to organized crime is perhaps the most significant threat to Latin America’s . . . Read More

Among the FARC, a growing Christian presence

Among the FARC, a growing Christian presence
FARC Commander Ivan Marquez gives a press conference, on Nov. 19, 2014 in Havana to commemorate the second anniversary of the beginning of the peace talks with the Colombian government.ADALBERTO ROQUE/AFP/Getty Images After a half-century of continuous civil war in Colombia, a new story is beginning to emerge: Guerrillas in . . . Read More

Colombian Christian leader accused of FARC affiliation

Colombian Christian leader accused of FARC affiliation
Ricardo Esquivia Ballestas, pictured in 2012 at a Lutheran World Federation event in Bogotá, Colombia.Milton Blanco / Flickr / Creative Commons   As peace talks continue between the Colombian government and Latin America’s oldest left-wing guerrilla insurgency, FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia), a case involving a prominent Christian leader . . . Read More