Costa Rica
Summary
Although explored by the Spanish early in the 16th century, initial attempts at colonizing Costa Rica proved unsuccessful due to a combination of factors, including disease from mosquito-infested swamps, brutal heat, resistance by natives, and pirate raids. It was not until 1563 that a permanent settlement of Cartago was established in the cooler, fertile central highlands. The area remained a colony for some two and a half centuries. In 1821, Costa Rica became one of several Central American provinces that jointly declared their independence from Spain. Two years later it joined the United Provinces of Central America, but this federation disintegrated in 1838, at which time Costa Rica proclaimed its sovereignty and independence. Since the late 19th century, only two brief periods of violence have marred the country’s democratic development. On 1 December 1948, Costa Rica dissolved its armed forces. Although it still maintains a large agricultural sector, Costa Rica has expanded its economy to include strong technology and tourism industries. The standard of living is relatively high. Land ownership is widespread. [1]
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Statistics
From the The Joshua Project [2]
In the News
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Prayer Guide
The Roman Catholic Church is deeply impacted by charismatic renewal. Many have come to a living, personal faith in Christ, which has strengthened the Catholic Church (higher mass attendance, more indigenous seminarians and priests). Although 73% of the nation is Catholic, this percent declines every year, and most Catholics are quite nominal in their faith. From the charismatic renewal, many left the Catholic Church for evangelical churches; however, large and increasing numbers of “post-evangelicals” have returned to the familiarity and structure of Catholicism. Pray for both charismatics who stayed in the Catholic Church and those who have returned – may their faith bring further renewal to the mainstream of Catholicism.
These are signs of progress:
a) Increased cooperative efforts for outreach and mission, despite lingering hesitations on the part of some evangelicals. The Costa Rican Evangelical Alliance, representing the majority of denominations, initiated the programme “Costa Rica Century XXI” to promote the development of churches at every level. Pray for a cutting edge to this vision, and for the leaders of this ambitious programme.
b) Some of the best training options in Latin America. There are 26 Bible schools and seminaries and a very extensive and effective TEE programme (SEAN). Two of the most influential are UNELA (Evangelical University of the Americas) and UBILA (Latin American Biblical University); both train Christians to minister effectively to all segments of society – be it through church work, missions or marketplace ministry. There are plenty of training opportunities; pray that Costa Ricans would use them to raise the bar for leadership and to strengthen the Church. [3]