by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) - US Baptist evangelists have reported that nearly 5,000 people responded to a call to follow Jesus Christ during a recent missionary trip they led in Cuba, CBN News reports.
A team of Florida Baptist missionaries joined leaders from the Western Cuba Baptist Convention early last month to lead an 8-day evangelistic tour of Cuba’s Villa Clara and Cienfuegos provinces, CBN News reports. The group recorded 4,820 professions of faith in Christ by the end of the trip.
In a statement to CBN News about the trip, missionary Manuel Barahona, pastor of Westside First Baptist Church in Florida’s Boynton Beach, said: "God is moving among the churches and people in Cuba. This trip in many ways changed my life. The church in Western Cuba is alive and well. All I can say is, 'Praise God.'"
"Our priority while we were there was getting the word of God out and supporting our brothers and sisters. I'm ready to continue to do anything and everything I can to help. I'm in," Barahona said.
Aware of rising Christian persecution from Cuba’s dictatorial regime, Pastor Carlos Alamino, founder and president of Proclaim Cuba, nevertheless told CBN News that Cubans are ready for the Gospel. "Cuba is a mission field," Alamino said. "It is a field where God is working and His sovereignty is above everything. I believe there is a revival in Cuba with the Gospel. The government tolerates house churches and that allows us to grow on a community level," Alamino added.
Ruled by a communist regime that is increasingly hostile to Christians, Cuba ranks 27th on the US Open Doors World Watch List 2023 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.