The Lord has called our family to the city of Punta Arenas, Chile, home to approximately 132,000 people. To the best of our knowledge, the closest doctrinally sound, independent Baptist church in Chile is more than 500 miles to the north, in the city of Coyhaique.

 

Punta Arenas is located in Chilean Patagonia on the historic Strait of Magellan, the natural passage connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Because of its strategic location at the southern end of South America, the city has a significant Chilean military presence and serves as an important gateway for travelers journeying to Patagonia and Antarctica each year. Chile’s Presidente Eduardo Frei Montalva Antarctic Base, located on King George Island, is approximately 800 miles from Punta Arenas. The relative proximity of Antarctica is a remarkable reminder of just how far south God has called our family to serve.

 

The Magallanes and Chilean Antarctic Region, of which Punta Arenas is the capital, is known for its rapidly changing and often extreme weather. Its subpolar oceanic climate is influenced by the surrounding oceans, the Andes Mountains, Antarctica, and prevailing atmospheric circulation. As a result, it is not unusual to experience what feels like all four seasons in a single day. Summers are cool and windy, while winters are cold and relatively dry. Average temperatures are approximately 35°F during the coldest winter month and 51°F during the warmest summer month. Punta Arenas is also well known for its powerful and persistent winds, particularly during the spring and summer months. Strong winds and damaging gusts are a regular part of life in this region.

 

Because of Punta Arenas’s extreme southern latitude, the amount of daylight changes dramatically with the seasons. Near the height of summer, the sun rises shortly after 5:00 a.m. and does not set until after 10:00 p.m., providing nearly 17 hours of daylight. Even after sunset, twilight keeps the sky illuminated well into the night. In contrast, near the winter solstice, the sun does not rise until approximately 10:00 a.m. and sets around 5:30 p.m., providing only about seven and a half hours of daylight.

 

Yet the greatest challenge facing Punta Arenas is not its isolation, climate, wind, or darkness—it is its spiritual condition. Both literally and spiritually, Punta Arenas is a place of darkness. Thousands of people live without the hope of the Gospel, and while there are countless opportunities to pursue the things of this world, there are very few opportunities to hear the Word of God clearly preached. The people of Punta Arenas desperately need Bible-preaching churches and a clear, compassionate witness for the Lord Jesus Christ. God has called our family to help meet that need.

 

Our prayer and purpose is not simply to hold services or establish a single congregation. Our desire is to establish thriving, indigenous, independent Baptist churches that will faithfully preach the Gospel, disciple believers, train future Christian leaders, and eventually reproduce themselves by establishing other churches throughout southern Chile and beyond. We pray that those reached with the Gospel in this remote corner of the world will one day become pastors, teachers, soul winners, and missionaries themselves.

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