Mission History

Bolivian Evangelical Lutheran Church

The IELB is the outcome of missionary work started in 1938 by the World Mission Prayer League (WMPL) among Aymara Indians in the community of Mocomoco in the Andean highland province of Camacho. By the 1940s several more preaching points were established in the Department of La Paz, and in 1943 an orphanage was founded in Coaba. A Bible institute was begun also in Coaba in 1956. Over the decades the work expanded, and by the early 1960s, WMPL had 30 missionaries in Bolivia.

At this time the first “missionary period” of IELB history was coming to an end as Bolivian nationals began to assume a greater role in the life of the church. During the second period, Bolivian participation in the church´s evangelism increased and the church grew rapidly, as the majority Aymara and Quechua-speaking people were able to share and hear the Gospel in their own language. In 1972 a third period of IELB history began as the American missionaries left the country and Bolivians claimed greater participation in the decision-making processes of the church. The IELB was officially organized in 1972 and became a member of the Lutheran World Federation in 1975. The IELB celebrated its 70th anniversary on September 9, 2008.