Evangelism Surge Brings Nearly 9,000 Baptisms in Colombia

More than 10,000 Adventists gather in Bogotá as the South Colombia Union celebrates months of evangelism, indigenous outreach, and transformed lives.

November 5, 2026 | Bogotá, Colombia | Libna Stevens, Inter-American Division News

More than 10,000 Seventh-day Adventists, including hundreds of new believers, gathered at Bogotá’s G12 Convention Center on October 31, to celebrate months of evangelistic outreach across the South Colombia Union, where church leaders reported 8,830 baptisms since the beginning of the year.

The Sabbath celebration, broadcast live throughout the territory, featured music, testimonies, spiritual messages, and baptisms. Nearly 100 people were baptized during the morning program, while more than 700 others had been baptized across Bogotá during three evenings of evangelistic meetings held October 28–30.

The meetings brought Inter-American Division (IAD) Executive Committee members representing the division’s 25 unions, along with division administrators and departmental leaders, to dozens of congregations across the Colombian capital ahead of the IAD Annual Council business meetings.

General Conference Vice President Robert Osei-Bonsu, who also participated in the evening evangelistic meetings across Bogotá, addressed the gathering with words of encouragement and offered a prayer of thanksgiving for the evangelistic results.

For Henry Beltrán, president of the South Colombia Union, the celebration reflected a growing missionary movement that has engaged pastors, church leaders, and thousands of members throughout the union’s nine local fields.

Mobilizing Members Through Living the Mission 7-70

Inspired by a passage in Ellen G. White’s Evangelism, South Colombia Union President Henry Beltrán initially selected seven leaders to help advance missionary work. The approach was subsequently extended to local conference presidents and district pastors, forming the foundation of Living the Mission 7-70, launched in 2025.

Under the strategy, each district pastor selects seven leaders, who each recruit 10 additional members for Bible studies, small groups, and evangelistic outreach. The numbers draw on the biblical symbolism of seven as completeness and Jesus’ sending of the 70 disciples.

“Our goal is to mobilize the greatest possible number of church members,” Beltrán said.

According to Beltrán, the union now has more than 12,000 small groups and over 15,000 members mobilized through the initiative.

“We are very happy because the emphasis of Living the Mission is to mobilize the membership,” he said. “It is not an easy task if we leave the pastor alone to preach and visit.”

Although some pastors initially viewed the strategy as a challenge, Beltrán said they have embraced it as more members assume responsibility for outreach, allowing pastors to focus on mentoring and equipping leaders.

The union previously recorded approximately 6,700 to 7,000 baptisms annually, Beltrán said. With 8,830 reported by October 31 and additional campaigns planned throughout November, leaders are working toward 10,000 baptisms by year’s end.

“This will be the plan for the entire five-year period,” Beltrán said, emphasizing the union’s commitment to sustaining missionary involvement.

The union’s evangelistic efforts in recent years have also been strengthened through partnerships with It Is Written and Adventist World Radio (AWR), Beltrán said. Looking ahead, the union plans to continue these collaborations while working with Adventist World Aviation (AWA) to reach remote communities and with Maranatha Volunteers International to build churches and educational facilities. Beltrán said these efforts align with the Inter-American Division’s OneVoice27, Impact 2028, and Every Church, One Church initiatives, as well as the union’s broader Living the Mission strategy to expand evangelistic outreach throughout its territory.

Reaching Indigenous Communities Against the Odds

The Sabbath program also featured a video report on a missionary journey by South Colombia Union President Henry Beltrán and other union administrators and leaders to remote indigenous communities in the mountainous region between Risaralda and Chocó.

The report highlighted the work of Alfredo Nequeta Tequia, an indigenous Adventist lay member whose evangelistic efforts have contributed to approximately 400 people accepting the gospel.

Introduced to the Adventist message nine years earlier through visiting church members and religious literature, Nequeta said his missionary journey began after a dream in which he saw himself preaching in several indigenous communities.

Initially afraid to speak publicly, he began visiting families and gathering neighbors to share what he had learned about Jesus. As interest grew, he traveled to additional communities, where people expressed a desire to study the Bible and be baptized.

After repeated attempts to contact church leaders, Nequeta eventually connected with Jesús Alberto Cañón, district pastor, who began accompanying him on journeys requiring eight to 10 hours of walking through mountainous terrain. Together, they expanded the outreach, reaching hundreds of people and encouraging families and children to study Scripture.

Beltrán and other union leaders later traveled to the communities to witness the work firsthand. Their journey required an eight-and-a-half-hour trek through difficult terrain, carrying camping equipment and supplies.

“We had to buy rubber boots and tents,” Beltrán recalled.

At several points, he said, the exhausting journey brought the group to the ground, where they looked toward heaven and reflected on what it truly means to live the mission.

“When we arrived, all we did was reinforce what he had already done and gather the fruits of a community deeply interested in spiritual matters,” he said.

Alejandro Trejos, president of the Central Colombia Conference, also described the demanding journey, recalling that the trek left him with blisters for several days. Despite the hardship, he considered it a privilege to witness the commitment of indigenous believers.

Nequeta, who traveled to Bogotá for the celebration, expressed amazement at visiting the large city for the first time.

“I feel very happy because I had never seen anything like what I am seeing here,” he said.

To meet the needs of growing congregations without permanent places of worship, church leaders announced plans to build churches in two indigenous communities, despite the challenges of transporting construction materials through the mountainous terrain.

Bibles donated through the Spanish-language It Is Written ministry have supported the outreach, while more than 40 additional indigenous communities remain to be reached.

The testimony took on a personal meaning when Nequeta’s son, Reynel Nequeta Arce, made a last-minute decision to be baptized during the Sabbath morning celebration, joining nearly 100 others who publicly committed their lives to Christ.

Lives Transformed Through Evangelism

Across Bogotá, the evangelistic meetings brought similar stories of faith and transformation.

At the Palermo Adventist Church, where IAD President Abner De los Santos preached during the week, 11 people were baptized, including 65-year-old Misael López, who made his decision on October 28.

An agricultural producer and cooperative manager, López had known about the Adventist faith for years through relatives but had repeatedly postponed baptism because of work and other responsibilities. A serious kidney-related illness requiring multiple hospitalizations became a turning point. During his recovery, he found strength in the prayers of relatives and church members, particularly in Psalm 91, which his sister read to him.

“Nothing bad will happen to me because the Lord is with me,” he recalled.

Now baptized, López hopes to share his faith through the relationships he has built with agricultural producers and cooperatives. “I am not a preacher, but I am going to learn quickly,” he said.

Elsewhere in Bogotá, Pastor Óscar Vera described how 10 months of preparation, including missionary committees and nine active small groups, helped prepare his congregations for the evangelistic meetings. Among those responding was Aura Yolima, who made a decision to accept Jesus during the October 29 meetings led by IAD Vice President Tomas Torres.

For Vera, the results demonstrated the importance of sustained congregational involvement rather than relying solely on public evangelistic campaigns.

During the October 31 celebration, newly baptized members also shared how years of spiritual searching and personal struggles had led them to Jesus.

Pedro Ortiz, 65, had known the Adventist message since childhood, with his mother and siblings already church members. Although he had attended different congregations and listened to biblical preaching over the years, he had postponed baptism until now.

“Jesus is everything to me,” he said. “He is the Savior, the one who died for my sins.” Ortiz now hopes to encourage others to prepare for Christ’s return and make their own decisions of faith.

For Carlos Mahecha, 46, a retired military serviceman, baptism marked a new beginning. In 2010, he survived an armed attack that killed three fellow soldiers. Fearing for his life, he prayed to see his newborn daughter again and promised to dedicate his life to God.

Years later, after struggling with alcohol, Mahecha began attending an Adventist church in San Vicente del Caguán, where he found peace and began transforming his life through faith in Jesus.

On the morning of his baptism, Mahecha said his nervousness gave way to peace. “I felt joy, as though a weight had been lifted from me,” he recalled. Determined to continue growing in his faith, he added, “I want to continue on God’s path.”

The union’s evangelistic efforts have also extended beyond local congregations through its Esperanza Hope Media television ministry. During the Sabbath program, leaders reported that 200 people joined the Adventist Church through television programming in 2025, while another 120 have been baptized so far in 2026.

Keeping Christ at the Center of Mission

During the Sabbath celebration, De los Santos urged members to keep Jesus Christ at the center of the church’s mission. Preaching under the theme “Not I, but Christ,” based on John 3:22–30, he emphasized John the Baptist’s declaration that Christ must increase while he must decrease.

“When Jesus grows in our hearts, He has the power to transform our lives and our characters,” De los Santos said. “No matter what your story is, no matter what your past may be, Christ has the power to change your life.”

Reflecting on the testimonies shared during the program, particularly the outreach among indigenous communities, De los Santos reminded the congregation that mission belongs to God and that every believer has a role in sharing the gospel.

“The only reason for the church’s existence is mission,” he said. “And mission is not the church’s mission; it is God’s mission.”

He cautioned against placing personal recognition, institutional accomplishments, or numerical achievements above Christ, emphasizing that the purpose of evangelism is to lead people to Jesus.

As the celebration concluded, Beltrán reaffirmed the union’s commitment to mobilizing members through Living the Mission 7-70, with additional evangelistic campaigns planned before the end of the year.

To watch the October 31 livestream, click HERE.

To view a photo gallery, click HERE.