LCI in Latin America in 2026
This year, under the leadership of Gustavo Sobarzo and two former LCI Catalysts, Dr Sandra Marquez and Deborah Vieira, LCI Latin America has three priorities:
- Strengthening networks of Christian academics who are engaged in integral mission
- Sharing resources and materials produced by the LCI
- Training new Catalysts in the dialogue between sciences and the Christian faith
Strengthening Networks
In 2024, former LCI Catalyst Pablo Gutiérrez and GBUCH, the IFES movement in Chile, hosted a regional gathering of Christian scholars interested in integrating science and theology in their work. In January, the gathering was held again for the third time with 38 participants from 6 countries!
According to IFES Engaging the University core member Wesley Chiang, this network fills a void. “Participants said they need catharsis and community because they have difficulties being open about their struggles in church, and that this community was an oasis for them.” Like the gathering in Chile, three of this year’s ten projects in Latin America will focus on strengthening academic networks engaged in mission.
Women form an important section of Christian academics. In previous LCI projects, Lorena Brondani has encouraged this subset through a mentoring group for Latin American mother-scholars and through the stories of six female Argentinian academics in her book titled Auténticas. Diálogos con mujeres académicas, seguidoras de Jesucristo / Authentic: Dialogues with Women Academics, Followers of Jesus Christ (Editorial Certeza; 2024).
This year, Lorena will host virtual meetings on different topics (such as singleness, family planning, and breast cancer), allowing for interaction, training, and mentoring among female academics from the region’s national movements. Studies show that women in the global South play a key role in Christian mission, leadership, and community building, and Lorena hopes this project will empower more women, thus strengthening national movements.
In 2023-2024, Dr Jaime Pena conducted the online course ‘Connecting Science and Faith’ for Christian students and academics, and in doing so identified a need for continued training. Now in 2026, he will be running an online peer support network that offers training, resources, and community for university instructors across the Latin America region. He hopes this will strengthen the role of Christian scholars in the spread of the Gospel, which will in turn complement the traditional undergraduate student mission of IFES.
Dr Jhonny Nieto, an arts training specialist and the General Secretary of the ABU, the IFES movement in Puerto Rico, will be forming a brand-new network of academics and students to investigate ethnodoxology – the study of how Christians from different cultures interact with God and the world through their own artistic expressions.
Few people have studied this from a Latin American university context, and how it can contribute to more authentic, inclusive, and transformative worship. The participants in Jhonny’s project will first survey students and dialogue about the theology of worship, cultural diversity, and the university vocation. They will then design training materials, develop contextualised artistic workshops, and create culturally sensitive strategies, strengthening IFES mission to form disciples of Christ in all fields of knowledge and culture.
Sharing Resources
Last year the LCI compiled the best resources created by Catalysts and staff into an online resource library, making these materials available to everyone in IFES. LCI LA is prioritizing the spread of these resources, one being Dr Elias Coreas Soto’s handbook titled Salud Mental en la Pastoral Universitaria / Mental Health in Campus Ministry.
As an LCI Catalyst, clinical psychologist Elias used his experience leading group therapy programs and training staff of four national movements to create a mental health handbook for staff. For his project in 2026, Elias will train staff in Costa Rica, Panama, and Paraguay, and create digital workbooks to be used alongside the training.
Mental health was identified by IFES Global Trends report as an issue that is highly likely to affect student ministry. LCI LA hopes that Elias’s resources will better equip national movements to address mental health and reduce its stigma within the student faith community.
Training New Catalysts
The third priority– training the 10 new Catalysts from 6 countries – will occur through online workshops led by the LCI LA leaders and mentorship from Christian Latin American academics. These Catalysts will also be involved in one of the ten projects in Latin America. The project leader will mentor the new Catalyst through the practical experience of the project, helping prepare the new Catalyst to run their own future project.
Please do be praying for LCI Latin America, as they work to train Catalysts to integrate their faith with the sciences, as well as impact and resource the national movements through projects.