El Salvador
April 22nd

“Blessed is El Salvador, whose God is the Lord!”
Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he chose for his inheritance. (Psalm 33:12,NIV)

》 Country Profile

Continent | America
Population | 6.57 million
Area | 21,041㎢, Located on the Pacific coast of Central America, bordering Guatemala and Honduras.
Capital City | San Salvador (1.11 million)
People Groups | Total 10 groups Mestizos (Salvadorians) 93.4%, Native Americans (mixed-race Indians, Pipils, Lencas) 5.5%, others 1.1%
People Groups Unreached | 1 group (Turks 600 people)
Official Language(s) | Spanish
Total Languages | 8
Bible Translations | Completed 5, New Testament 1, Partial 2
Religion | Christian 94.5% (Protestant 24%, Catholic 58%), Non-religious 4.8%, Ethnic religion 0.4% Evangelical 44.9% 2.93 million people

》 About El Salvador

El Salvador became a colony of Spain in 1542 and gained independence in 1821. It then became part of the Mexican Empire of Iturbide, then a member of the Central American Federation, and finally gained full independence from the Central American Federation in 1841. Since then, territorial disputes with neighbouring countries, military dictatorships, frequent coups d’état and popular uprisings have caused much suffering and turmoil. In 1981, a civil war broke out between left-wing rebels and the authoritarian government with the help of Cuba and Nicaragua. By the time a UN-brokered peace treaty was signed in 1992, 75,000 people had been killed and more than one million refugees, or 20 per cent of the population, had been displaced. El Salvador suffers from one of the world’s highest murder rates and widespread criminal organizations. Nayib Bukele has been president since 2019 for five years. In 2024, he avoided the constitutional ban on re-election by taking a leave of absence six months before the end of his term, and challenged for re-election as president, winning the election. 

El Salvador’s economy has grown steadily since the end of the civil war in 1992, driven by construction and services. Coffee, sugar, light industry, and services are the main industries. More than 30 per cent of the population lives abroad for economic reasons. Remittances from immigrants to the United States account for 20 per cent of the gross domestic product. Between 2007 and 2016, the poverty level decreased from 39% to 31% of the population, and absolute poverty decreased from 15% to 10%. El Salvador’s GDP per capita is approximately $8,100.

》 Scripture Focus

》 Prayer Points

1. El Salvador, whose name means “The Savior” in Spanish, is constitutionally a Catholic nation, with Catholics making up 58% of the population, though this percentage is steadily declining. Evangelicals, who represented just 2.3% of the population in 1960, have experienced remarkable growth, reaching 45% by 2020. Some of Latin America’s largest churches are based in El Salvador, including Elim Church and Tabernacle Baptist Church, each boasting around 100,000 members. Evangelical churches saw a passionate revival for evangelism and church planting starting in the 1990s. However, this momentum has slowed over time, affected by the rise of hedonism, materialism, and prosperity-focused beliefs that have slowed growth.
Pray for the restoration and use of the opportunities and resources of the Salvadoran church to proclaim the Gospel and serve their neighbors. Let us seek the purification of the church through the Gospel of the cross and prayer so that El Salvador, whose God is the Lord, may be blessed as His heritage.

2. There are numerous domestic mission organizations in El Salvador, including the Latin American Mission Union (COMISAL, the local adaptation of COMIBAM) and the Assemblies of God (AoG), which have significantly advanced the vision for missions. International mission organizations like Operation Mobilization (OM) and Youth With A Mission (YWAM/JUCUM) also collaborate with churches. However, many church leaders tend to focus heavily on mysticism, such as speaking in tongues, healing, and miracles. Pray for believers to be strengthened and rooted in the fear of God through Bible schools, seminaries, and Theological Education by Extension (TEE), even amid economic challenges.
Pray that missionaries who have been troubled by social insecurity and a lack of public safety will look to the Lord’s mercy and boldly unite with churches to spread the Gospel. Let us seek God’s intervention to bring justice to El Salvador’s ongoing political instability, social unrest, and poverty, and to nullify ideologies while establishing salvation and holiness. Pray that God would end the ongoing  political and social instability and the injustice caused by poverty in El Salvador. May God thwart the purposes of the peoples and bring about salvation and holiness.

3. Among the indigenous people of the Americas, 48,000 Lenca and 12,000 Pipil people are Catholics. The Pipil people speak Nahuatl, and the New Testament was translated into their language in 2012, with an audio version also available. Let us  pray for the Gospel to reach these people and for them to be nurtured as disciples of the Lord.
Many young people are joining the violent gangs known as “maras,” becoming involved in drug abuse, pornography, and violence, including killing. One in every 100 people in El Salvador is part of a gang, and on average, 10 people are killed by firearms every day. Millions of Salvadorans live abroad as laborers, with 1.5 million in the U.S., mostly in harsh conditions as undocumented workers. Let us  pray for the Lord to rescue them from death and provide for them when they are hungry, becoming their shield and protector.

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