Ayacucho Initiative

South America Mission’s Ayacucho Initiative church-planting team works among university students and professionals, in the city of Ayacucho, Peru, to lay the ground work for a new church inclined towards both local and national outreach that meets spiritual and physical needs. The team also focuses on the formation of English Language Learning and Church Planting institutes to shape leaders prepared to serve the city and world.

In the 80s, Ayacucho was ground zero for the Shining Path, a terrorist organization whose founder taught in the city’s University of San Cristobál de Huamanga. Today, the memory of the Shining Path’s reign of terror lingers heavily among the people of Ayacucho. Families were torn apart, loved ones lost, and a distrust of outsiders grew. This unique cultural context of the city of Ayacucho cries out for gospel healing and redemption (3 John 1:2).

High in the Peruvian Andes, with a significant Quechua population, the Ayacucho region boasts more than 650,000 people. Statistically, 51% of this region’s inhabitants have not received an education. The city of Ayacucho is the capital of this region and it serves as a cultural center for work, education, and medical care, and the Ayacucho Initiative strives to provide redemptive ministry which can holistically serve these people.

South America Mission longs to see the city and its people inclined towards Jesus and His unique love and righteousness. We believe the gospel, transmitted by dynamic, local churches, draws people to Christ, heals brokenness and gives hope for a better future. Only by His power and through His workers will Ayacucho become a redeemed city which transforms its region.