Church Planting & Evangelism in Spain
In Spain, a cultural landscape punctuated by soaring cathedrals and symbols of Catholic tradition conceals a spiritual reality obscured by shadows.
While over 70 percent of Spaniards claim to adhere to Roman Catholicism in some form, a majority do not participate in regular worship, and as many as 25 percent reject any belief in God. Only 1.6 percent of the population professes an evangelical faith in Christ, leaving many Spanish cities and towns without any evangelical witness.
Since 1970, ABWE missionaries have been faithfully sharing the gospel in this spiritually dark context. Their ministry model centers around planting churches in local communities, focusing on the greater Madrid metropolitan area. Partnership with national pastors has proven to be crucial for effective church planting, not only to ensure the longevity of a ministry but to connect with Spaniards who often need to witness firsthand how a Spanish identity and evangelical faith can be compatible.
Part of the ABWE team focuses on establishing a gospel presence in Spanish towns, where citizens are less likely to ever encounter a true evangelical believer. According to research firm Decision, 92 percent of Spanish towns—representing more than 10 million people—have no evangelical church.
National pastor Federico (“Fede”) Álvarez and his wife, Lucía Halouzkova, aspire to plant churches throughout the province of Guadalajara. Only a handful of churches currently exist in the entire province, most of which are located in the capital city.
As a young man, Fede surrendered his career to the Lord and committed to serving wherever the Lord led. After meeting his wife, Lucía, in seminary, they sensed the Lord’s direction to bring the gospel to Spanish towns and partnered with ABWE missionaries to plant a church in Cabanillas del Campo.
“I was well-acquainted with a life without God, and a life with God, and so I always knew that I would work in the church to evangelize,” Lucía shared. “I wanted to evangelize in towns because almost nobody in towns knows the gospel.”
As their work in Spain expands, ABWE missionaries and national partners need help to increase their capacity to shine the light of the gospel in their communities. Opportunities abound for serving in local church plants or for partnering with them to meet vital needs for church facilities large enough to accommodate their growing congregations.
With expanded capacity, each church will continue to illuminate the hope of the gospel. Missionary Caleb Hague requests prayer to this end: “We pray that God would bring reformation to the hearts of Spaniards, that our churches would be lights of revival to spread across Spain and Europe.”
Partner With ABWE Ministries in Spain
Alcalá de Henares Church Plant
Located in the heart of a city with a population of 200,000—only one percent of whom testify of a saving knowledge of Christ—Alcalá de Henares Evangelical Baptist Church shines as a light in its urban community.
Soon after its founding in 2003 by ABWE missionaries Rich and Cindy Brown, Rich began praying for God to send a godly Spanish leader to work alongside him in the church. God answered his prayer through a young student at the seminary in Madrid at which he taught, and in 2013, Miguel Ángel Pozo and his wife, Rebeca, began working with Rich and Cindy. The church installed Miguel Ángel as pastor in November 2020, and under his leadership, the congregation has grown tremendously. In addition to Sunday services, they lead a marriage seminar and Bible courses within the church to equip church members to serve their Lord.
The church is now thriving to the point that they’ve outgrown their current facilities. They are raising funds to relocate to a larger building to increase their capacity and witness as a congregation.
Cabanillas del Campo Church Plant
The Cabanillas del Campo church plant, located in the greater Madrid metropolitan area, exists as the only evangelical congregation in its town.
The church began when national pastor Federico (“Fede”) Álvarez, burdened for Spanish towns without any gospel testimony, accepted an invitation to partner with then-ABWE missionary Ken Muckle to start a church, assisted by an established church in Madrid. When Ken retired, Chris and Rosalie Duryee moved to Cabanillas to minister in the spiritually dark community alongside Fede and his wife, Lucía.
Their small but growing congregation offers Sunday services, along with weekly Bible studies and programs for children and youth in the community.
Currently meeting in a former yoga studio, the congregation has surpassed the tiny space available. The mother church in Madrid has purchased a portion of another building for the church, but the Cabanillas congregation must raise funds to renovate and equip the property to make it usable.
Torre Fuerte Church Plant
Torre Fuerte (Strong Tower) is the newest ABWE church plant in Spain, established in 2013 in the town of Torres de la Alameda.
Recognizing that the town had no gospel witness of any kind—nor did several towns in the surrounding region—ABWE missionary Roy Jones partnered with David Pozo and two other Spanish families to form a small congregation. Gradually, people from the town began attending, and attendance swelled to around 40. When COVID restrictions limited attendance in 2020, the church leadership began not only streaming church services but also organizing online children’s and youth events for the community—and when restrictions lifted, many families who had joined online began attending in person.
The growing church is looking to renovate a larger space to increase its capacity for ministry.
