80% of the world’s evangelical Christians live in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Over the last 50 years, God’s church has grown exponentially in these areas.

These regions have tremendous mission sending potential to help bring the gospel to unreached peoples, but they currently send only 20% of the world’s cross-cultural missionaries!

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Total Number of Evangelicals

Cultural Bridges to UPGs

Regional Access to UPGs

Religious Freedom

Prosperity

Current Sending Abroad

Mobilization Potential

Custom Mobilization Potential

Number of Evangelicals

Cultural Bridges

Strategic Access

Religious Freedoms

Current Sending

This infographic provides a visual score for seven data points ranked on a 0 to 100 scale. Faded icons show scores for other countries on the mobilization index. See below for actual scores and country-specific insights.

ADDITION

FINANCIAL DEPENDENCY

INACCESSIBLE

LIMITED MISSION FORCE

DISTANT AND FOREIGN MISSION FIELD

THE WORLD IS THE MISSION FIELD

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Moderate Numbers and Slight Threats

Shortly after the Spanish conquest, Catholic missionaries came to the Central and South American region, resulting in deep Catholic roots reaching back to the 16th century. This resulted in the Catholic church's rapid growth, which set the foundations to become lasting pillars of El Salvadorian culture for years to come.&nbsp;
Today, El Salvador is home to 2 million evangelicals comprising over 45% of the total population. [[3]]&nbsp;
The 2 million evangelicals within the country face a growing threat of violence in El Salvador. The infamous and violent drug cartels prevalent in many parts of Latin America have at times lashed out against evangelical believers who have sought to minister to the cartels and those they influence. Similarly, missionaries and youth leaders that work with cartel youths are experiencing tension with the police. This puts a hindrance and safety threat on El Salvadorian evangelicals that seek to minister or mobilize within the country.

Physically Distant but Culturally Bridged

With a median score of 20.7, El Salvador has many similarities with the unreached countries on our list. El Salvador's closest cultural neighbors are Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Burkina Faso. It is important to note that though El Salvador is not within ten median points of cultural distance from many nations, its three closest cultural neighbors are all Muslim-majority nations. Some of El Salvador's next nearest cultural neighbors are Jordan, Egypt, and Syria, which are also majority Muslim. Though the nation is not geographically close to the Arab world, it is clear that the Lord has designed Central and South American countries to share values and cultural bridges with the Arab world.&nbsp;
According to Hofstede's ranking of cultural values, El Salvador ranks extremely low in individuality, which means that their culture is one of community and group values. [[4]] This is a cultural value shared with the Arab world, which grants the El Salvadorian evangelical church a tremendous cultural bridge to billions of unreached Islamic peoples.&nbsp;
Despite its geographic distance from Islamic peoples, this cultural connection is a beautiful opportunity that the Lord has given to El Salvador.&nbsp; Pray that the heart of the El Salvadorian church would feel drawn to capitalize on the cultural similarities they have in common with many unreached peoples.

Little Regional Access to UPGs

According to the Joshua Project, El Salvador has the least access to unreached people, both in-country and in the surrounding region. There are approximately 600 unreached people within El Salvador, primarily made up of tribal groups, and around 814,000 unreached people regionally. The lack of easy access to unreached people groups speaks to the importance of the El Salvadorian church's growing strong desire to go to the unreached, both in and outside their borders. There is certainly still work to be done in the region, and we pray that our brothers and sisters in El Salvador continue to grow in their desire to reach the many UPGs in and outside of their region.

Low Religious Restrictions

According to Pew Research, the El Salvadorian church experiences very low rates of government and social hostilities toward Christians. [[5]] El Salvador has a higher score in social hostilities than they do in governmental restrictions, meaning that Christians are more likely to experience social outcasting, communal stress, or familial guilt for their religious choices than they are to feel pressure or harm from the government.
The constitution of El Salvador states that the country promotes religious freedoms, meaning that all individuals are free to promote and exercise religion as they see fit. [[6]] Though church leaders and individuals in ministry are free to work publically, the last few years have seen a rise in reports of unlawful police questioning or detaining of youth leaders and urban missionaries, as they often work with youths that are involved in the many drug cartels. Though this is done as a form of mission, El Salvadorian police often intervene in an effort to ensure that no unlawful work is being done.&nbsp;
Pray that the evangelical church of El Salvador would use their great opportunities to practice their religion freely and boldly! Pray further for any governmental prosecution, as ministry leaders must handle the problematic space between working with cartel youth and the legal stress that might subject them.

Falling Prosperity and Safety Concerns

El Salvador ranks 97th on the Legatum Prosperity Index, which is moderate compared to the other countries on the Mobilization Index. Regionally, the country falls as Latin America's 17th most prosperous nation. [[7]]
El Salvador ranks highest in Infrastructure &amp; Market Access and Social Capital categories and lowest in Safety and Security. The drug cartel in El Salvador makes up most of this problem, as they instill a culture of violence and fear throughout the country. These low scores could be an obstacle for potential missionaries and mobilizers considering launching from El Salvador.&nbsp;
As a whole, the country's prosperity has decreased by 15 places in the past decade. If this downward trend continues, mission mobilization could look very different in El Salvador in the coming years. Ask the Lord to instill a culture of peace and bravery in his church so that His name might be made known despite any societal barriers or safety concerns.

Sending 0.1% of the El Salvadorian Church Could Change the Unreached World

Reports of current sending within El Salvador show nearly 90 missionaries in-country and 120 missionaries serving out of the country. A prayer goal of the Mobilization Index is to see 0.1%, or 1 in 1,000, of a nation's evangelical population mobilized for the unreached. With 120 missionaries going abroad, El Salvador currently sends .00006% of their evangelical church. Imagine the impact that the El Salvadorian church could have on unreached people groups all around the world! If just 0.1% of El Salvador were mobilized, the world would see an increase of 2,000 missionaries going to people and places that have yet to hear the name of Jesus.
Ask that more laborers would be sent out into a ready harvest.

High Potential, Regardless of Obstacles

El Salvador is uniquely positioned to do great work reaching those who do not know the gospel. The country currently lacks significant regional access to the unreached and a strong sending culture.
Despite these obstacles, El Salvador still has a high potential to be a considerable force for mission sending. Considering their cultural similarities to the unreached Arab world and their low religious restrictions, the Lord can use El Salvador in mighty ways for His kingdom! Ask that the Lord would put the unreached in the hearts of the El Salvadorian church and that their geographic distance or lack of sending culture would not hinder their launching abroad.

Obstacles:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>El Salvador has a relatively small sending culture compared to their overall potential. &nbsp;</li>
<li>Like some other Latin American countries on the Mobilization Index, El Salvador's prosperity has decreased over recent years. This could be an obstacle when it comes to raising up and sending missionaries to the unreached. &nbsp;</li>
</ul>
Opportunities:
<ul>
<li>El Salvador has great religious freedoms through their government. The Church is legally free to promote and raise up missionaries to spread the gospel.&nbsp;</li>
<li>El Salvador has a relatively close cultural connection with many majority Muslim countries, having high numbers of unreached people. Imagine the mission field being flooded with missionaries from El Salvador going to unreached Muslim countries to share the gospel!"</li>
</ul>

Pray for:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>Pray for the El Salvadorian church that they would grow in their love and passion for the unreached and a willingness to send and support the missionaries that desire to launch. &nbsp;</li>
<li>Pray that the Lord would make clear to church members where their most strategic position lies in the kingdom work of completing the great commission.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;Praises:
<ul>
<li>For El Salvador's high mobilization potential, despite the many areas of growth in their country.</li>
<li>For close cultural connections within so many unreached people groups in the Arab world.</li>
</ul>

PEW religious restriction numbers Myanmar

El Salvador Constitutional Religious freedoms

Official Country Name:The Republic of El Salvador

Population:6,454,000

Region:Latin America

Government:Presidential Representative Democratic Republic

Official Languages:Spanish

Religious Demographics:Christian 94%, Evangelical 31%, Non-religious 4%, Unevangelized 1%

El Salvador