icon
close-icon
image description image description
image description image description
image description
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Where We Work
    • US Regional Reps
    • Our History
    • MTW Staff Careers
    • Contact Us
  • Pray
  • Go
    • Search Opportunities
    • Mission Trips
    • Summer Internships
    • 1–11 Months
    • Longer Term
    • Specialized Ministries
      • Medical
      • Workplace Ministries
      • Arts, Music & Media
      • RUF Mentored Internships
    • Multicultural Mobilization
  • Give
    • Donations Hub
    • Missionaries
    • Projects
    • Estate & Gift Planning
    • Disaster Response/Compassion Fund
  • Stories & More
  • Events
  • Resources
    • All Resources
    • Cultivate
    • Videos
    • 1% Challenge
    • Resources for Kids
  • My Account
    • My Giving
    • My Profile
    • Giving FAQs
    About arrow-dwn
    • Who We Are
    • Where We Work
    • US Regional Reps
    • Our History
    • MTW Staff Careers
    • Contact Us
    Pray
    Go arrow-dwn
    • Search Opportunities
    • Mission Trips
    • Summer Internships
    • 1–11 Months
    • Longer Term
    • Specialized Ministries
      • Medical
      • Workplace Ministries
      • Arts, Music & Media
      • RUF Mentored Internships
    • Multicultural Mobilization
    Give arrow-dwn
    • Donations Hub
    • Missionaries
    • Projects
    • Estate & Gift Planning
    • Disaster Response/Compassion Fund
    Stories & More
    Events
    Resources arrow-dwn
    • All Resources
    • Cultivate
    • Videos
    • 1% Challenge
    • Resources for Kids
    My Account arrow-dwn
    • My Giving
    • My Profile
    • Giving FAQs
Donate
image description image description
menu-icon menu-icon

Panama Embraces Their Venezuelan Refugee Neighbors

A church plant in Panama City found itself surrounded by refugees, and saw an opportunity to embrace a gospel imperative.
Andrew Shaughnessy|23 May 2017
image description

“God has used a dictator to send people to our church,” said MTW Panama team leader Marc Summers. 

In 2014 Marc, along with his wife, Sam, and teammates Michael and Tricia Lee, moved to Panama City, Panama, to plant a multicultural church in the diverse “El Cangrejo” area of the city­. But when they started Iglesia Comunidad de Cristo (Christ Community Church) and began to reach out into the community, they found, to their surprise, that many of their new neighbors were Venezuelan refugees. 

“There are over 40,000 Venezuelans here in Panama,” Michael explained. “Many of them would have preferred to stay in Venezuela, but the economic situation there has become so volatile that the country really is falling apart.” 

Venezuelan Exodus
Over the past few years, the Venezuelan government’s “21st-century socialist experiment” has wreaked havoc on the country’s once booming economy. Inflation has soared, the economy has plummeted, and price hikes, shortages of goods, and violence are all on the rise. “You can’t find basic commodities like Tylenol, baby diapers, or toilet paper,” Michael said. 

So hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans have fled to neighboring countries in search of better opportunities and food on the shelves. 

“We came with a desire to build a self-supporting, international church,” said Marc. God answered—in spades. The church is made up of Colombians, Panamanians, Americans, Mexicans, and about 85 percent Venezuelan refugees. 

“We weren’t targeting Venezuelans,” Michael added. “We were just targeting the people in the community—who turned out to be mostly Venezuelans.” 

Opening their Homes to Refugees
Many are highly educated and were middle-class professionals back in Venezuela. Now most are forced to take low-paying jobs well below their qualifications. People who not long ago owned cars and houses now struggle to make rent and pay for their children’s school fees. Though it’s against the law, most families rent a single room or even just a bed in an apartment shared by multiple families. 

So the Lees and the Summers do what they can. 

A young woman named Piella and her 11-year-old daughter stayed first with the Lees, and are now with the Summers. Piella has a master’s degree in marine biology, but she can’t get a job in that field in Panama, so she works as a receptionist. But it doesn’t even pay enough to cover typical rents, let alone groceries or school for her daughter. So now they are staying with the Summers until she can save money and find a better job. Marc and Sam Summers also housed another Venezuelan couple, Juan and Diana, a lawyer and journalist respectively, for the same reasons. Juan and Diana have since moved to their own apartment.

Mirrors of Christ in the Midst of Scarcity
Even though the majority of the 50-some adults that make up Iglesia Comunidad de Cristo have their own financial struggles, the little church plant still manages to use tithes to pay its rent and help out members who are in the most desperate straits. They also collect a weekly food offering and distribute it to the most needy in the community.

These basic acts of mercy are not external ministries, tacked on in addition to or instead of the church’s mission of discipleship and evangelism. They’re an example of the Church doing exactly what the Church is supposed to do—care for its members, care for the community, and care for the vulnerable, as emissaries and mirrors of Christ.

“We want to be a local church that reaches out and shows mercy,” said Marc. “We have been shown mercy by God, and so we want to show mercy also to the refugees.” 

“We’re here to do church planting,” said Michael. “It just so happens to be in the middle of a Venezuelan refugee community… and I think that we have a gospel obligation to help out in every way that we can. Can we help everybody? No, we can’t. There is a limit to the resources that are available. But the question is, How can the church do everything that it can to ensure that these people survive? Because anything less is not the gospel. 

“Whether in Panama or elsewhere, we need to be communities that get together and say, ‘How can the church meet the needs of this community?’” Michael added. “Whether they’re Christians or not is not the drawing line. They’re humans made in the image of God, and God says, ‘You, Church, go and be a witness of my mercy and grace by reaching out to everybody, not just the people that you like.’”  

Since its start, God has grown the church plant in El Cangrejo both in number and in the depth of its members’ faith in Christ. In a context rife with poverty and destructive prosperity gospel teachings, the Lees and the Summers are sharing the true gospel of grace in word and deed, and the people are loving it. 

“There are a number of refugees who have come to know Christ for the first time,” said Michael. “Many have needs that only God can meet, but it is exciting to see the local church reach out in seeking to be part of the answer.” 

Explore opportunities to serve in Panama at mtw.org/serve. 

author-img
Andrew Shaughnessy

Andrew Shaughnessy is a long-time word slinger who spent nearly six years as MTW’s staff writer, gathering and telling impact stories from missionaries across the globe. These days, he’s off working as an analyst and editor in the publishing industry, writing fiction, and mountaineering. He holds a B.A. in history and English literature from Covenant College, and an M.S. in political science from Portland State University.

Get Involved

video

Student Ministry Coordinator

1–11 Months, Longer More right-arrow
video

Church Planting and Community Outreach Coordinator

1–11 Months, Longer More right-arrow
video

Business as Mission Developer

Longer More right-arrow
video

Grief Transformed by Community: Venezuelan Refugees Find Family in Panama

Refugees William and Sol know the ache of loneliness of having left their home country. A Panamanian church welcomed them as family.

See More right-arrow
video

And to the Ends of the Earth

When a remote jungle community needed the gospel, nothing could stand in Tony Elswick's way. Not even quicksand.

See More right-arrow
video

MTW’s Refugee Ministry Expands, Spanning Four Continents

Missionaries across the globe are working increasingly with refugees. Our 2016 year-end appeal focuses on this critical opportunity.

See More right-arrow

Pray for Venezuelan refugees in Panama and for the diverse body of Christ at Iglesia Comunidad de Cristo.

Related Story right-arrow

Pray for the Embara people who live in the jungle in Panama, that they will continue to grow in the Lord while missionaries are unable to visit. 

Related Story right-arrow

Pray for the MTW church plant in Panama City, Panama, and the local Venezuelan refugees who play a significant role in the church. 

Related Story right-arrow
video

Student Ministry Coordinator

1–11 Months, Longer More right-arrow
video

Church Planting and Community Outreach Coordinator

1–11 Months, Longer More right-arrow
video

Business as Mission Developer

Longer More right-arrow
video

Grief Transformed by Community: Venezuelan Refugees Find Family in Panama

Refugees William and Sol know the ache of loneliness of having left their home country. A Panamanian church welcomed them as family.

See More right-arrow
video

And to the Ends of the Earth

When a remote jungle community needed the gospel, nothing could stand in Tony Elswick's way. Not even quicksand.

See More right-arrow
video

MTW’s Refugee Ministry Expands, Spanning Four Continents

Missionaries across the globe are working increasingly with refugees. Our 2016 year-end appeal focuses on this critical opportunity.

See More right-arrow

Pray for Venezuelan refugees in Panama and for the diverse body of Christ at Iglesia Comunidad de Cristo.

Related Story right-arrow

Pray for the Embara people who live in the jungle in Panama, that they will continue to grow in the Lord while missionaries are unable to visit. 

Related Story right-arrow

Pray for the MTW church plant in Panama City, Panama, and the local Venezuelan refugees who play a significant role in the church. 

Related Story right-arrow
close-icon

Donation Error

Please enter valid amount.

mtw logo
Mission to the World
1600 North Brown Rd
Lawrenceville, GA 30043
United States
Donor-Advised Fund Portal
Circle Portal
About
  • Who We Are
  • Where We Work
  • US Regional Reps
  • Our History
  • MTW Staff Careers
  • Contact Us
Pray
Stories & More
Events
My Account
  • My Account
    • My Giving
    • My Profile
    • Giving FAQs
Go
  • Search Opportunities
  • Mission Trips
  • Summer Internships
  • 1–11 Months
  • Longer Term
  • Join the Story
  • Specialized Ministries
    • Medical
    • Workplace Ministries
    • Arts, Music & Media
    • RUF Mentored Internships
  • Multicultural Mobilization
Give
  • Donations Hub
  • Missionaries
  • Projects
  • Estate & Gift Planning
  • Disaster Response/Compassion Fund
Resources
  • All Resources
  • Cultivate
  • Videos
  • 1% Challenge
  • Resources for Kids
image description
image description
image description
image description
image description
image description
1-678-823-0004
[email protected]
mtw logo
Mission to the World
1600 North Brown Rd
Lawrenceville, GA 30043
United States
Donor-Advised Fund Portal
Circle Portal
About arrow-down
    • Who We Are
    • Where We Work
    • US Regional Reps
    • Our History
    • MTW Staff Careers
    • Contact Us
Pray
Stories & More
Events
My Account arrow-dwn
    • My Account
      • My Giving
      • My Profile
      • Giving FAQs
Go arrow-dwn
    • Search Opportunities
    • Mission Trips
    • Summer Internships
    • 1–11 Months
    • Longer Term
    • Join the Story
    • Specialized Ministries
      • Medical
      • Workplace Ministries
      • Arts, Music & Media
      • RUF Mentored Internships
    • Multicultural Mobilization
Give arrow-dwn
    • Donations Hub
    • Missionaries
    • Projects
    • Estate & Gift Planning
    • Disaster Response/Compassion Fund
Resources arrow-dwn
    • All Resources
    • Cultivate
    • Videos
    • 1% Challenge
    • Resources for Kids
image description
image description
image description
image description
image description
image description
1-678-823-0004
[email protected]
Manage Consent

To provide the best experience, we use cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent may adversely affect certain features and functions. If you wish, you may view our privacy policy.

Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}