Developing Indigenous Leadership in Miskito Evangelization

Abstract

The author describes an approach to evangelization motivated both by the shortage of priests and by the need to be relevant in the Miskito setting. Native lay evangelizers, democratically selected by their own peoples, were given training in an institute to become leaders of local groups of believers. Because the men who merited and gained the respect of the group were often older and illiterate, they were usually assisted by younger, literate aids. Periodic meetings of a day or two, and annual sessions for further training became occasions also for development of esprit de corps and for group planning of the pastoral ministry. Priests spend most of their time in the training program, while the native evangelizers carry on most of the day-to-day evangelization and parish work. Other ingredients in this effective, culturally relevant program include frequent youth conferences, and a cooperative program for mutual help in agriculture, health, and other aspects of human welfare. The entire approach is genuinely indigenous and effectively integrated, and is on the whole quite successful, though there are problems.