During the 11th General Assembly of the Alianza Evangélica Latina (Latin Evangelical Alliance, AEL) held in Quito, Ecuador from October 14 to 18, the evangelical organization celebrated its 11 years of existence.
Representing 22 nations across the American continent and Spain, the members of AEL issued the 'Declaration of Quito,' which emphasizes the “call to build bonds of unity that encourage cooperation and collaboration among the churches and believers.” The assembly also evaluated the previous years and envisioned future steps regarding fellowship, collaboration, and unity.
AEL claims to represent 247 million evangelicals and over 500,000 churches throughout Ibero-America, considering the evangelical population represented through the alliances or councils of churches in each country.
Pastor Jonathan Proietti, the executive director of the AEL, stated to the Diario Cristiano, Christian Daily International's Spanish edition, “the AEL is maturing in terms of its strategic plan, and has also matured its heart, its active arms, which are the 16 working commissions.”
He noted that “each of these 16 commissions is working, acting, and operating, and a good part of these commissions are represented or formed by the majority of the 22 countries that make up the AEL. So, there is an active presence on the continent and in a good number of Euro-American countries.”
Proietti explained that “the AEL is preparing itself to deepen the influence and actions more intentionally,” especially through the commissions in various areas including religious freedom, humanitarian affairs, cooperative dialogue, governmental relations, AEL women, AEL youth, evangelism, children, communications, and missions, among others.”
Additionally, Proietti mentioned that “another emphasis for the coming years is the challenge of generational transition.” The goal of the AEL is to present a representative voice and identity for Latin evangelical churches. He stated their aim to bring together the diversity of local churches represented by the Alliances and Councils and, after dialogue and finding agreement, to speak as a united voice as AEL.
The assembly commemorated leaders who have served in ministry for extended periods, including Pastors Estuardo López, President of the Ecuadorian Evangelical Fellowship, and Edgar Castaño, former President of CEDECOL Colombia. Furthermore, two new associated entities were welcomed into AEL: the Asociación Evangelística Alberto Mottessi and the Ministerio Hombre de Paz.
The next gathering set to take place in Colombia from September 8 to 12, 2025, and another in Costa Rica from October 12 to 16, 2026.
