Christian Pentecostal Church of Cuba
Cuba
The Christian Pentecostal Church of Cuba (ICPC) is a grassroots church established in 1956 by Puerto Rican missionaries. After the revolution, its founder left Cuba and the church reorganized under Cuban leadership. The church is presided over by Reverend Rafel Columbie, pastor of the congregation in Placetas. The ICPC has grown from 42 congregations in the 1980’s to 191 congregations attended by 49 ordained ministers, 40 licensesd ministers, 87 preachers, and 108 lay workers. Its total membership is approximately 15,000 people and is scattered throughout Cuba.
Some of the ICPC priorities include:
- Evangelization, given the spiritual search of many Cubans
- Building, reconstruction, and equipping of many church buildings and parsonages
- Theological education to equip church leadership through the ICPC’s Bible Institute ELIM, founded in 1959
- Systematizing its church structure and procedures
The Christian Pentecostal Church of Cuba is a member of the Cuban Council of Churches (CIC), the Latin American Council of Churches (CLAI), and the Caribbean Conference of Churches (CCC). It is a long-standing partner of Global Ministries and has been an important window into Cuban society for U.S. and Canadian Christians.
The ICPC’s current theme is: our passion is forgotten souls, our frontier is the world, our decision is until death. Global Ministries seeks special support for projects with the ICPC such as a retirement fund for its growing number of retired pastors; improvement of church facilities; and the development of a campground in Las Tunas where the church owns a parcel of land.