Historically the Nicaraguan Church has been disengaged from their neighbors. A large part of our work with churches in Nicaragua is helping them be salt and light in their communities; to do something about the orphaned children, abused women, corrupt civic leaders, dirty streets, unemployed fathers, ostracized youth, or forgotten elderly... We recently met with some pastors in Hamilton, Ontario, who are encouraging their churches to better engage the society around them. They made an interesting observation: Canada [and the United States] already has a number of service providers for people that need help, so while the church should also play an active role in providing a service, the essential role of the church is to be the relationship provider. They would argue that for salt and light to be effective, they need to just be there first. Nicaragua does not have very many service providers, so the church is often the only option, but they would be wise to keep the salt and light in balance between being and doing; to keep relationships at the forefront. Relationships bring about change…and Churches [in the name of Christ] can be the relationship providers in ways that service providers cannot.

By Steve & Kim Holtrop (Christian Reformed World Missions, Managua, Nicaragua)