Collection 646
Evangelical Committee on Latin America; 1959-1977
Records; 1966-1976
1.3 cubic feet (3 DC)
Restrictions: There are no restrictions on the use of this collection.
Brief Description. Financial records, correspondence, reports, committee memos, minutes, articles and newsletters related to the work of the Evangelical Committee on Latin America especially pertaining to its visits and consultations to Latin and South American organizations. Also contains many advisory reports given to the Board of ECLA, which was founded as a joint advisory committee by the Evangelical Foreign Missions Association (EFMA) and the Interdenominational Foreign Mission Association (IFMA) in 1959. Its purpose was to serve as a liaison between the EFMA/IFMA and Latin American churches and organizations.
Founded |
Founded in 1959 as a joint committee between the Evangelical Fellowship of Mission Agencies (EFMA) and Interdenominational Foreign Mission Association (IFMA). ECLA served as a liaison between the two organizations and national leaders for the effective growth of the church in Latin America, providing assistance through consultation, conferences and research. The Committee was disbanded in 1977 in favor of a new committee. |
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Headquarters location |
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1967-1977 |
Wheaton, Illinois |
Executive officers |
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Wade Coggins |
First spokesman of the ECLA |
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Jack Frizen |
Co-chairman of the board, 1963-1966 |
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Clyde Taylor |
Co-chairman of the board, 1963-1966 |
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Vergil Gerber |
Executive Director, 1966-1975(?) |
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Arno Enns |
Executive Director, until 1977 |
Other significant officers |
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J. Hubert Cook |
Evangelical Union of South America |
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Howard Fenton |
Latin America Mission |
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Melvin Hodges |
Assemblies of God Secretary for Latin America |
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George S. Constance |
Christian and Missionary Alliance |
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William H. Taylor |
The Central American Mission |
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J. Allen Thompson |
West Indies Mission, Inc. |
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C. Peter Wagner |
South America Mission/Andes Evangelical Mission |
Ministry emphasis |
Taken from the 1968 “Mini Report”: “The ECLA office functions as a liaison between Stateside mission offices and Latin American fields promoting: closer communication, closer cooperation and closer coordination. Correspondents from various Latin American countries gather significant data and keep the ECLA office posted on important trends and events.” This emphasis was further clarified in the Administrative Guidelines written in 1972 which stated that the ECLA would serve as a liaison between EFMA and IFMA in order to better fulfill the missionary mandate and growth of the church in Latin America. It was also to serve as a clearing house for information on significant trends relevant to that growth as well as to assist the Latin American church through education, research and consultation. The most significant ways in which ECLA communicated with its parent organizations were through publishing Latin America PULSE and contributing to Missionary News Service in conjunction with EMIS which began in 1967. ECLA accomplished these objectives through building and maintaining relationships with various Latin American organizations, communicating with Latin American missionaries and aiding with workshops and conferences in various countries. |
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Geographical emphasis |
Latin America, South America, Caribbean (mainly Haiti) |
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[Note: In the Scope & Content section, the notation “folder 2-5" means “Box 2, Folder 5"]
Scope and Content
Series: Paper records
Arrangement: Alphabetical, Folder titles retained from original organization
Date Range: 1966-1976
Volume: 1.3 cubic ft., 3 document cases
Boxes: 1-3
Geographic coverage: Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Haiti, Nicaragua, Peru, United States,
Venezuela
Type of documents: Financial records, correspondence, reports, committee memos, minutes,
articles, newsletters
Correspondents: C. Peter Wagner, Wade Coggins, Jack Frizen, Clyde Taylor, Vergil Gerber,
Arno Enns, Dorothy Gerber, J. Allen Thompson, Howard Fenton, George S. Constance, Melvin
Hodges
Subjects: Consultations in Latin and South America, Christian trends/culture and church growth
in Latin and South America, Relations between North American and Latin American ministries,
Evangelical Foreign Missions Association, International Fellowship of Missions Agencies, 1969
III CELA Conference, Latin American Theological Fraternity publications, information regarding
LEAL (Literature de Evangelica para America Latina), UNELAM (Unidad Evangelica Latina
Americana), Editorial Caribe, the National Evangelical Council-Peru, the National Association
of Evangelicals-Bolivia, 1967 CAMEO (Committee to Assist Missionary Education Overseas)
Consultation in Colombia, 1970 Haitian Consultation, and the 1970 Latin American Consultation
in Elburn, IL.
Notes: About one third of the collection contains financial records (Box 1 and folders 2-11, 3-5)
which typify where money was spent and where it came from. Most of the folder titles have been
retained to see how ECLA kept their financial records. As might be expected, some of the
folders in Boxes 2 and 3 have material in Spanish.
Exceptional items: Folder 2-3 contains many newsletters and articles from Latin American
organizations (Fraternidad Teológico Latinoamericana, Andes Evangelical Mission) and contain
information on aspects of Christianity in Latin America such as ecumenism (relationships
between Protestants/Evangelicals/Catholics), relations between evangelicals in North and South
America, impact of Communism and Liberation Theology on the church in Latin America.
]Information on these issues are also available in the “Committee Correspondence” and
“Minutes” folders as well as folder 3-6. Folder 2-5 contains an excerpt from a book by Chilean
Communist Eduardo Labarca Goddard about the “invasion” of evangelicals in Chile.
Provenance
The materials in this collection were given to the Archives of the Billy Graham Center by Arno
Enns in December, 1984 and the Billy Graham Center Library in March, 1990.
Accession: 84-146, 90-38
May 26, 2009
Noel Collins Pfeifer
Box Contents List
BOX LIST |
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Box |
Folders |
Title |
Dates |
1 |
1 |
Bank Statements and Cancelled Checks |
1969-1976 |
1 |
2 |
Checkbook Ledger |
1969-1972 |
1 |
3 |
Check Stubs and Receipts |
1966 |
1 |
4 |
Check Stubs and Receipts |
1967 |
1 |
5 |
Check Stubs and Receipts |
1968 |
2 |
1 |
Administrative Guidelines |
1972 |
2 |
2 |
Annual Report |
1972-1973 |
2 |
3 |
Articles and Newsletters of Latin American Organizations |
1968-1974 |
2 |
4 |
Board |
1973-1975 |
2 |
5 |
“Chile Invidado” chapter and report |
1969 |
2 |
6 |
Committee Correspondence |
1966-1971 |
2 |
7 |
Committee Correspondence |
1972-1973 |
2 |
8 |
Confidential Report of Peter Wagner |
1968 |
2 |
9 |
ECLA Report at IFMA Fiftieth Annual Meeting |
1967 |
2 |
10 |
EFMA Mission Executives Retreat Report |
1972 |
2 |
11 |
Financial Statements, Ledger |
1966-1976 |
3 |
1 |
Mini Report |
1968-1973 |
3 |
2 |
Minutes |
1966-1968 |
3 |
3 |
Minutes |
1969-1971 |
3 |
4 |
Minutes |
1972-1973 |
3 |
5 |
Receipts, Payments, Invoices |
1966-1975 |
3 |
6 |
Report of Latin America trip |
1967 |
3 |
7 |
Third Latin American Congress (III CELA) |
1969 |