We’re training Guatemalans for leadership by teaching biblical principles and we’re impacting North American Christians for world missions.
mission
Our Mission
To train Guatemalans for leadership by teaching biblical principles in such a way that they become integrated in their lives and effect spiritual change in their society, and to impact North American Christians for world missions.
That’s our mission statement! How do we live it out?
We train Guatemalans for leadership by:
- building and operating Vida Christian Schools
- supporting the growth and development of the Rio de Vida Churches
- providing access to medical & dental care through the Impact Ministries Clinic
- providing care to orphaned and abandoned children through the Vida Children’s Home
We impact North Americans for world missions by:
- providing quality short-term mission programs
- offering intensive discipleship through the VIDA Discipleship Program
- offering connections into world missions through sponsorship and other giving opportunities
Impact Ministries has been working in Guatemala since the year 2000, and many of our leaders were once Vida students themselves. We provide opportunities for North American Christians to come alongside these Guatemalan leaders through giving, going and praying. It’s exciting to see Christians from throughout North America joining together with our Guatemalan brothers and sisters to present the life-changing message of Jesus Christ.
What We Believe
The Word of God, the Bible, provides the principle foundation for Impact Ministries. The Bible in its entirety as originally given is the only infallible revelation of God.
The following truths are fundamental teachings from the Word of God:
God is one, yet expressed in three persons, the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit
God is the creator of heaven and earth
- He created life and substance by a direct creation act
- He upholds and directs all things according to His will and by His power
God chooses to reveal Himself and His truth to mankind
- He reveals Himself through His written Word, the Bible
- He reveals Himself through Jesus Christ, the Word of God became Flesh
- He has given His Holy Spirit to lead and guide into all truth
Jesus is both truly God and truly man
- He is the Son of God
- He was born of a virgin
Jesus’ death on the cross is the only substitutionary atonement for sin
Jesus physically rose from the grave, breaking the power of sin and death
Jesus will come again
- He will come to receive His church to Himself
- He will come to judge the living and the dead
All men are dead in sin and need to be born again through the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit
Salvation from sin and condemnation is by grace alone. Grace comes by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ
The believer that is saved by grace has become a new creation in Christ. This is a gift of God
A believer is called to be a disciple of Christ
- A believer’s submission to Christ will bring about profound changes and maturity
- The evidence of this is the fruit of the Spirit
A believer is called to servanthood and evangelism
- The Holy Spirit will empower and gift the believer so that he can be a joyful and thankful witness to the saving power of Christ
Who We Are
We are a team of Canadians and Guatemalans working together to grow godly leaders by training Guatemalans for leadership while impacting North Americans for world missions
Where we Work
Impact Ministries works in the highlands of Northern Guatemala.
Guatemala is the northernmost country in Central America (right below Mexico). Its 42,000 square miles are made up of high mountains, volcanoes, jungles, coastal plains and tropical forests.
Impact Ministries is based in the municipality of Tactic (situated 1,465 m above sea level!) and has schools and churches in the departments (provinces) of Alta Verapaz and Baja Verapaz.
Guatemala has a population of over 16 million people, which includes 23 Indigenous people groups that inhabit rural Guatemala. We work predominantly with the Q’eqchí and Poqomchí people in and around Tactic.
In the rural areas around Tactic, a high percentage of adults are illiterate, leaving them disenfranchised and isolated. The people of Tactic are very poor. Men may earn the equivalent of just a few dollars for a heavy day of farm labour, dairy work, or cutting and selling firewood. Families often have many children, but a significant percentage live in a home with only one parent.
Many parents don’t understand the value of education and prefer to put their children to work to help earn money to sustain the family, so many children don’t complete elementary school. Local religions combine Mayan traditions, Roman Catholicism, and witchcraft, resulting in an oppressive religious spirit that keeps people in fear and bondage. Impact Ministries is helping to break the cycle of poverty and illiteracy through education and Christian discipleship, and is focused on bringing help and the hope of Jesus Christ to the Q’eqchí and Poqomchí people groups of Guatemala.
Our History
Founders Les and Rita Peters were given a vision to serve the people of Guatemala over 20 years ago. In the year 2000, they left their home in Kamloops, BC in an old Windstar van loaded with their three youngest children and all of the possessions that would help them begin their ministry in Tactic. They drove through Canada, the United States and Mexico, and arrived in Guatemala to begin the process of learning Spanish and of becoming part of the community.
Impact Ministries began as a small school of seventy-eight students. Today, Impact Ministries has grown to include 10 different school programs with over 1700 students, along with a nutrition program, a medical clinic, an agricultural program, several churches, and a children’s home for orphaned and abandoned children.
We have graduates from our schools who are teachers and principals, children’s home staff, pastors, and leaders in every area of this ministry. These young men and women have grown into godly leaders with a vision for their own people and their own communities! God is filling their hearts with His ideas, His understanding, and His plans to reach out and to grow His kingdom in this part of the world.
Contact Us
Impact Ministries Canada
PO Box 975 Stn Main
Kamloops, BC
V2C 6H1
(250) 434-4350
canada@impactministries.ca
Privacy Policy
We treat your information with care! We keep your personal information private and secure, and use the information you provide to keep you updated on the work of the ministry, provide any services and process any donations. Read our full privacy policy here.
