Paraguay
Summary
Paraguay achieved its independence from Spain in 1811. In the disastrous War of the Triple Alliance (1865-70) – between Paraguay and Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay – Paraguay lost two-thirds of its adult males and much of its territory. The country stagnated economically for the next half century. Following the Chaco War of 1932-35 with Bolivia, Paraguay gained a large part of the Chaco lowland region. The 35-year military dictatorship of Alfredo STROESSNER ended in 1989, and Paraguay has held relatively free and regular presidential elections since the country’s return to democracy. [1]
📷: Wikipedia
Statistics
From the The Joshua Project [2]
In the News
📷: Wikipedia
Prayer Guide
The Roman Catholic Church has long dominated the spiritual and political life of Paraguay. Although it admirably opposes corruption and immorality, there is also much superstitious traditionalism, strong devotion to Mary and occult-related bondage to many pre-Christian deities and customs. These practices keep millions from liberty in the Lord Jesus and must be broken by prayer. The Church often actively opposes the work of evangelicals. Paraguay has never had a true spiritual awakening, and few of the Catholic Spanish-Guaraní majority have a living relationship with Christ.
A large proportion of Paraguay’s believers are from immigrant backgrounds: German-speaking (Mennonites and Lutherans), Brazilian (Pentecostals), Ukrainian (Baptists and Pentecostals) and Korean (Presbyterians). These immigrant communities are sometimes inward-looking and isolated from mainstream national life. But there is a growing awareness of their responsibility to reach out with the gospel; Mennonites actively work with indigenous peoples in the Chaco, and Koreans are involved in outreach also. Pray for a spiritual awakening and great mission vision in the immigrant churches. [3]