What Is the Opportunity?

A new reformation is dawning in the Spanish-speaking church. From the south in Chile to the north in Mexico, and throughout the Caribbean, the historic Christian faith is spreading now more than ever. More than four hundred million people speak Spanish, so this represents a significant opportunity.

While there are significant variations from country to country, approximately 69 percent of adults in Latin America identify as Roman Catholic.¹ Some 84 percent of adults say they were raised Roman Catholic. But more people are embracing the truth of the gospel. God is raising up gospel preachers in their native lands, and hundreds of men are following their example and flocking to the ministry. In cities where there were once few believers, now congregations of thousands of people are gathering every week to sit under expository, biblical preaching.

Many of these Latin American leaders, such as Miguel Núñez, Sugel Michelén, Otto Sánchez, Salvador Gómez, and others, have been influenced by the teaching of R.C. Sproul and are now themselves spreading the doctrines of grace with an emphasis on the holiness of God.

Today, 19 percent of adults in Latin America identify as Protestant, even though only 9 percent of Latin Americans were raised in Protestant churches.² However, the prosperity “gospel” is making deep inroads, leading many people into empty promises of worldly success. Research shows that a majority of Protestants in every Latin American country say that God will grant wealth and good health to believers who have enough faith, from 59 percent in Chile to 91 percent in Venezuela.³

In Spain, about 71 percent of the population identifies as Roman Catholic, but the influence of secularism is widespread. Only 0.25 percent of Spaniards identify as Protestant (about 120,000 people). The largest minority religion is Islam. There are about 1.5 million Muslims in Spain.⁴

How Is Ligonier Meeting These Needs?

We strive to reach Spanish-speaking pastors, laypeople, and unbelievers from all walks of life through the following outreach efforts:

The Reformation Study Bible

Our Reformation Study Bible helps to deepen Christians’ study of God’s Word. As with the English edition, the Spanish Reformation Study Bible has more than 1.1 million words of verse-by-verse commentary and topical explanations, maps and visual aids, trusted contributions from seventy-five distinguished scholars, theological summaries from R.C. Sproul, and nearly two thousand years of creeds, confessions, and catechisms. As R.C. Sproul said, “The light of the Reformation was the light of the Bible.” The same is true today.

La Biblia de Estudio de La Reforma, the Spanish edition of this renowned work, was released in 2020 and the condensed edition is now available. Many pastors in Latin America lack formal theological education and prepare their sermons without the commentaries and other resources so prevalent in the United States. Ligonier, with the help of generous supporters and partner churches, has distributed over 25,000 Bibles to pastors and church leaders in Spanish-speaking countries as of April 2024.

Testimony from Latin America:

“The Reformation Study Bible is one of the best study tools I could have for reading the Word. In my short walk as a Reformed Christian, I have understood many clear concepts of theology thanks to this tool. Praise the Lord for the life of all who have made such a great resource available for His people.”

-Julio, Bolivia

Podcasts in Spanish

Along with Ligonier’s Spanish website, Renovando Tu Mente launched globally in March 2018. Renovando Tu Mente airs weekly in over 220 radio stations and on all digital platforms. The radio broadcast and internet podcast are reaching Spanish-speaking Christians in their native language. Like its counterpart in English, Renovando Tu Mente instructs listeners in the life-changing truths of historic Christianity.

Dr. Stephen Nichols’ podcast, 5 Minutes in Church History, is also available in Spanish with new episodes released weekly on digital platforms. This podcast offers an accessible glimpse into how God has worked in the church and how this can encourage us today.

Ligonier Connect

Our online learning platform, Ligonier Connect, is now available in Spanish. Conexión Ligonier offers an interactive online learning environment that can be completed individually or in groups. More than twenty-five teaching series are already available covering a wide range of biblical topics.

The Ligonier Statement on Christology

Confusion abounds regarding Christology—the doctrine of Christ—in Latin America and around the world. As the church continues to grow, it is imperative that believers learn the truths of Scripture as summarized in the great confessions of faith. We produced The Word Made Flesh: The Ligonier Statement on Christology to help Christians know what the church has historically taught and regain clarity regarding the person and work of Christ. Our goal is to distribute this statement worldwide, and it has already been translated into numerous languages, including Spanish. A video in Spanish is available here.

Social Media

Ligonier’s dedicated Spanish-language website, Facebook page, Twitter account, and Instagram account have enabled us to reach further into Latin America.

There have been more than five hundred thousand views of our short video ¿Qué es la Reforma Protestante? (What Was the Reformation All About?), which was released online for the five hundredth anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. Social media is spreading biblical truth far and wide, as the printing press did for the Reformers, and it is equipping hundreds of thousands of growing Christians throughout Latin America.

The two-minute Coram Deo video (Behold the face of God) is available in Spanish, so more people can discover what it means to be a Christian—saved by God’s grace to live humbly under His authority and joyfully for His glory. Social media is spreading biblical truth far and wide, as the printing press did for the Reformers, and it is equipping Spanish-speaking Christians everywhere.

Conferences

• Ligonier is hosting a Spanish-language conference in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, October 4–5, 2024, on The Centrality of the Gospel. Studying Romans 5 together, we will immerse ourselves in the life-giving truth at the heart of the Christian faith.
• Beginning in 2017, Ligonier’s National Conferences in Orlando, Fla., are live streamed in Spanish on Facebook and YouTube, reaching thousands of Spanish speakers throughout the world.
• On Reformation Day in 2020, Ligonier hosted an online event in Spanish on Romans 8. During the online event, our Spanish YouTube channel had 1,500 connections and now has more than 36,000 views.
• Ligonier continues to partner with many conferences throughout Latin America to distribute key resources.

Books

Growing interest in the Reformed faith has sparked an eagerness for more resources from R.C. Sproul and Ligonier Ministries. Our plans include translating, printing, and distributing the following titles:

• Crucial Questions booklet series by R.C. Sproul
• Matthew: An Expositional Commentary by R.C. Sproul
• Hard Sayings: Understanding Difficult Passages of Scripture by R.C. Sproul
• Abortion: A Rational Look at an Emotional Issue by R.C. Sproul
• Romans: An Expositional Commentary by R.C. Sproul

Recently Published Books

• A Field Guide on False Teaching
• A Little Book on the Christian Life by John Calvin
• The Affectionate Theology of Richard Sibbes by Mark Dever
• Are We Together?: A Protestant Analyzes Roman Catholicism by R.C. Sproul
• By Grace Alone: How the Grace of God Amazes Me by Sinclair Ferguson
• The Barber Who Wanted to Pray by R.C. Sproul
• Chosen by God by R.C. Sproul
• Crucial Questions booklet series by R.C. Sproul
• The Donkey Who Carried A King by R.C. Sproul
• Everyone’s a Theologian: An Introduction to Systematic Theology by R.C. Sproul
• Final Word: Why We Need the Bible by John MacArthur
• Five Things Every Christian Needs to Grow by R.C. Sproul
• Good News: The Gospel of Jesus Christ by John MacArthur
• Growing in Holiness by R.C. Sproul
• The Heart of the Reformation: A 90-Day Devotional on the Five Solas of the Reformation
• The Holiness of God by R.C. Sproul
• In Christ Alone: Living the Gospel-Centered Life by Sinclair Ferguson
• The Knight's Map by R.C. Sproul
• Lessons from the Upper Room by Sinclair Ferguson
• The Lightlings by R.C. Sproul
• Luther and the Reformation by R.C. Sproul
• The Masculine Mandate: God’s Calling to Men by Richard D. Phillips
• Moses and the Burning Bush by R.C. Sproul
• None Other: Discovering the God of the Bible by John MacArthur
• The Prayer of the Lord by R.C. Sproul
• The Priest with Dirty Clothes by R.C. Sproul
• The Prince’s Poison Cup by R.C. Sproul
• The Reformation Study Bible
• Sammy and His Shepherd by Susan Hunt
• Stand Firm: Living in a Post-Christian Culture by John MacArthur
• Surprised by Suffering: The Role of Pain and Death in the Christian Life by R.C. Sproul
• The Trinitarian Devotion of John Owen by Sinclair Ferguson
• What Is Reformed Theology?: Understanding the Basics by R.C. Sproul
• What’s so Great About the Doctrines of Grace? by Richard D. Phillips

Teaching Series

Our video teaching series help promote theological education in the Spanish-speaking world, and the accompanying study guides encourage students to interact with the material. In addition to Conexión Ligonier, some teaching series are freely available on YouTube.

Teaching Series

• The Holiness of God with R.C. Sproul
• What Is Reformed Theology? with R.C. Sproul
• Chosen by God with R.C. Sproul
• Foundations: Parts I, II, III, and IV with R.C. Sproul
• Dust to Glory: Old Testament and New Testament with R.C. Sproul

What Is Needed?

• Renovando Tu Mente weekly program — $76,800 USD (annually)
• Translation, production, and distribution of select Ligonier resources, including the Long Line of Godly Men Profile series, the Crucial Questions series, audio books, and more — $66,000 USD
• Digital outreach — $84,720 USD (annually)

Funding needs reflect quoted estimates based on September 2022 foreign exchange rates and current translation fees.

How Do Your Gifts Help?

These are just a few of our many international outreach projects underway. We ask you to prayerfully consider supporting our efforts through your financial gifts and prayers for the Spanish-speaking and global church. Your generosity helps us translate, print, and distribute trustworthy resources, providing countless opportunities to reach people with the truth of God’s Word. You can donate here.

Our policy is to apply gifts given toward a specific program. If we receive more contributions than can be wisely used for a given project, we apply these funds to meet other pressing needs in our outreach efforts. We are committed to stewarding all gifts wisely toward the goal of proclaiming the holiness of God to as many people as possible. Ligonier Ministries is a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.

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¹ See http://www.pewforum.org as at May 17, 2018

² See http://www.pewforum.org as at May 17, 2018

³ See http://www.pewforum.org as at May 17, 2018

⁴ See http://www.studycountry.com as at May 17, 2018