The protestant mainstream Seventh-day Adventist Church in Peru is continuing its astronomical growth with a series of evangelism meetings in five of the country's major cities from May 23 to 28. The meetings, called "Caravan of Hope," will be led by Pastor Mark Finley and the It Is Written television ministry.

The meetings will be held in stadiums and coliseums, with capacities of up to 60,000 people, in Tacna, Arequipa, Trujillo, Lima South and Lima North. The meetings will also be broadcast on radio and television.

At a recent preparation for the Caravan of Hope meetings, Melchor Ferreyra, president of the church in Peru, spoke to more than 6,000 lay leaders in the capital city of Lima.

"There is no time to lose. We no longer need to talk about advancing the cause of God; we have to talk about finishing it," Ferreyra said.

After more than 100 years in Peru, Adventist church membership in that country is more than 660,000. Some 50,000 people joined the church last year, overfilling church buildings. At the meeting's conclusion it is estimated that at least 10,000 new members will be baptized.

The growth strategy for the church in Peru is modeled at the Miraflores Adventist Church, the largest in the South American church region, with approximately 1,500 members.

Royce Williams, It Is Written's director of global television and evangelism, and Robert Costa, the ministry's Hispanic ministries coordinator, witnessed the church's outreach efforts earlier this year.

"When we arrived for Sabbath School, our curiosity was piqued when we were told that the majority of those in attendance were visitors, and only half of the church members were permitted to attend church for the purpose of ministering to the visitors," said Williams. "The other 50 percent were involved in small groups, organizing new congregations, and picking up [those] who needed a ride to church."

New visitors to the church are assigned to the first in a series of Bible study classes. At the end of the series he or she will have learned the Biblical doctrines, started tithing and keeping the Sabbath. The visitor can then choose to be baptized as a new member. New members are encouraged to begin training to lead either Bible studies or small groups, or to become a lay pastor in a church.

Before the Miraflores Church began this plan, their yearly baptisms were approximately 12 to 15 people. Since then, their yearly baptism average has grown to 250, and other congregations throughout Peru are experiencing similar results.

Prior to the "Caravan" meetings, church members and administrators held public events weekly, inviting people to attend festivities and services.