belize, 1980 - Prolades.com

Revival led to a spiritual awakening during 1861-1862, particularly among the Methodists and
Baptists.
The effects of a worldwide awakening between 1900 and 1910, particularly the Welsh
Revival of 1904-1905, soon reached Jamaica, where thousands of conversions were reported
during 1906. The impact of these events was felt in other West Indian islands, and also in British
Honduras, where the Baptists and Methodists were again touched by revival. Robert Cleghorn,
pastor of the Queen Street Baptist Church in Belize City, reported that the years 1905-1914 were
"years of in-gathering," with 166 new additions to his congregation alone, mostly among young
people. Beginning in 1910, daily Bible classes were held by the Baptists in Belize City, attended by
large numbers of young men. High attendance was reported at camp meetings in Crooked Tree
Village in May 1910. Soon, church buildings were too small to hold the crowds of people attending
services in Belize City, and plans were made for constructing larger churches. However, the
outbreak of World War I in 1914 brought an end to religious revival in Belize, as well as the
beginning of a period of economic decline that continued for over 30 years.
Not until the 1950s were there signs of new spiritual life among the churches of Belize. In
1951, the Rev. Efraim Alphonse arrived in Belize City from Panama to hold a city-wide evangelistic
campaign, sponsored by the Latin America Mission of Costa Rica. Alphonse, a noted Panamanian
Methodist pastor and evangelist who had been a pioneer missionary among the Guaymí Indians in
northwestern Panama, preached in a series of evangelistic meetings along the Caribbean coast,
from Belize City in the north to Panama City in the south. Although this was a good beginning
among the English-speaking population of Central America, Belize was bypassed during the decade
of Evangelism-in-Depth campaigns of the 1960s, even though special meetings were held in Puerto
Cabezas and Bluefields in Nicaragua, Puerto Limón in Costa Rica, and in several Panamanian cities
among English-speaking West Indians.
Most evangelistic efforts in Belize have been denominationally oriented, with the exception of
the Alphonse Crusade in 1951, when temporary interdenominational cooperation made united
meetings possible. However, the fruits of mass evangelistic efforts have been notably limited in
Belize, even along denominational lines, especially among the West Indian population that largely
resides in Belize City. More recently, greater success has been reported by churches working
among the Spanish-speaking and Amerindian populations, rather than among the Creoles. The
Nazarenes, the Gospel Missionary Union and various Pentecostal groups have spearheaded new
evangelistic efforts among non-Creoles, aimed at planting new churches.
During the late 1970s, chapters of the Full Gospel Businessmen’s Fellowship and
Women's Aglow were established in Belize City, where the Charismatic Renewal movement has
kindled fires of love and unity among some Protestants and Catholics, mainly of the upper class.
6.6 LITERATURE
Christian literature is available in all the denominational schools which are operated by many
churches in Belize. Since English is the national language, literature is most abundant in that
language, although Spanish materials are also obtainable. Four Christian bookstores exist in Belize
City, operated by the Adventists (Belize Adventist Book Center), the Anglicans (The Belize
Bookshop), the Gospel Missionary Union (The Christian Literature Center), and the Mennonites (a
book deposit is located at the Mennonite Center). Bibles are also distributed by local
representatives of the Bible Society and the Gideons. Films are available from the Christian
Brethren, the Mennonite Center, Outreach Ranch (operated by Outreach for Belize), and King's
College (run by the Gospel Missionary Union). Correspondence courses for evangelism and
Christian growth are offered to the public by at least six Protestant denominations.
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