Cuban Pastor Finally Visits US

Pastor Enrique Alvarez (pictured at left) came to the United States to, among other things, visit with and thank Christian Reformed Church (CRC) members and officials for the solid support they have shown over the years to his church, the Cuban CRC.

Alvarez (left in photo) is president of the Cuban CRC, a denomination of more than 20 churches that the CRC had a hand in founding.

He had applied more than two years ago for a visa to make his first trip to the US. Cuban officials only recently granted the visa.

Besides meeting with CRC members and officials, Alvarez was also able to visit family members and to experience first-hand how CRC members in the US worship.

“I’ve been totally impressed by all that I have seen” and by the range of opportunities and resources that churches here have that “we don’t have in Cuba,” said Alvarez.
 
He was also impressed by ways in which churches are using technology to spread the gospel as well as by the number of Christian schools.

In the final days of his trip, Alvarez met with officials from Calvin Theological Seminary and Christian Reformed World Missions (CRWM), which continues to provide grants for evangelism, church planting, and training to the Cuban CRC.

“It’s been a good visit,” Alvarez said, adding that he has seen things and developed relationships “that will be valuable for our ministry in Cuba.”

Begun more than 50 years ago, the Cuban CRC has an average attendance on Sundays of 3,000.

“Our church has a very strong evangelism program. We have recently planted five new churches in significant towns,” said Alvarez.

New work is going on in several cities such as Cardenas, Colon, Guines, Jovellanos, Santo Domingo, and Varadero.

“We are seeing a lot of fervor in our faith. Many young people are entering our churches,” said Alvarez.

The Cuban CRC has also established a strong link between evangelism and a ministry of mercy, for which it provides food and other resources to the elderly, the poor, the handicapped and children.

“We reach the most vulnerable people and  take care of their most basic needs,” he said.

As for the Christian church in Cuba, a new day seems to be dawning, if slowly and in modest ways.

Cuba’s communist government under its former leader Fidel Castro had curtailed  mention and practice of religion and promoted a belief in atheism for more than 50 years, forcing churches to assume a very low profile until fairly recently.

An example of this new-found openness, says Alvarez, came earlier this year when Pope Benedict XVI accepted the Cuban government’s invitation to visit the country.
 
To be sure, there are still obstacles such as an ongoing difficulty for members of churches to construct new buildings.

Still, says Alvarez, there is “a much bigger opening of the government toward the churches. You can say you are a Christian and to talk discreetly about Christianity with others.”

During this interview with CRC Communications, Alvarez’s Spanish was translated by former CRWM missionary Derk Oostendoorp (right in the photo).