Ministry Updates, Missionary Life
From Sent to Sender: Missionary Work in Latin America
April 24, 2026
by Claire Ulrich
Sue and Craig’s goal was to do more than just plant a church in Peru. They desired to pour into people, to impact others for the Kingdom in a way that could reach outside of the four walls of a church building. Here, they tell the story of decades of missionary work in Latin America!
“We came to Arequipa and there wasn’t a church. When we left, there was. That’s the story.”
This is the way that Craig and Sue sum up the story of their first few decades of missionary work in Latin America. They arrived in Peru from the United States in the mid 1990s with their small children and served for several years in Lima before moving to Arequipa to plant a church there.
But their goal was never to just plant a church and then stay there forever. They desired to pour into people, to impact others for the Kingdom in a way that could reach outside of the four walls of a church building.
I may have been the leader, but it was not mine. It was God’s.
When they arrived in Arequipa to start the church, it was them and several other missionaries. Craig was the senior pastor, but his end goal was to put the church in the hands of local leaders. He comments, “Even in the church planting years, you know what? I may have been the leader, but it was not mine. It was God’s.”
After several decades, the church had grown and expanded. Craig and Sue realized that leadership no longer needed to be in the hands of the missionaries, so Craig stepped down as senior pastor. He knew that the church needed to be under Peruvian leadership.
Craig and Sue decided to reevaluate. They knew that the Lord was still calling them to missions, but the church in Arequipa was thriving and didn’t need them anymore. The church was even planting two more churches! So they spent a few years back in the United States before moving to Colombia to pursue a new ministry opportunity.
After decades spent on missionary work in Latin America, they could see the potential for Latin Americans to be sent as missionaries, to not focus on just their own communities, but to follow the Lord’s calling outside of their own borders. And Sue and Craig want to be a part of that movement.
Craig observes, “Latin America is finding its voice in global missions.” He continues, “TEAM’s mission statement of engaging the local church, making disciples, establishing churches, and sending disciples to make disciples is right on point with what’s happening in Latin America right now.”
Their goal is to walk alongside Latin Americans as they train up missionaries to be sent to the nations to share the Good News of Jesus. Craig shares, “One of the reasons we’re in Colombia is to raise awareness of missions within this denomination and others…. We’d love for them to send.”
One example of this is found in the church that they planted in Peru. Sue shares a story of a young woman who grew up in the church and is now pursuing missions. She says, “One person who is in the pipeline is a young woman who is actually from the church that we planted in Peru. We’ve known her since she was four years old. I taught her preschool Sunday school and Craig taught her baptism class.”
Sue continues, “To have somebody who grew up in a church planted by TEAM become a colleague with TEAM… there’s a story there.” She concludes, “It’s exciting to see how God’s working and bringing the disciples who make disciples and how God has brought her up through all kinds of stuff and given her a passion for the Muslim world.”
We did what was in our hands to do and the rest is up to God.
This is just one example of how the Lord is at work in the hearts of Latin Americans. Not only are they leading the churches originally founded by missionaries decades ago, but they are also leaning into the vision of going out to the nations as well. Craig comments, “We’d love to see the Latin American church have an impact in missions through TEAM.”
It has been over three decades since Craig and Sue first arrived in Latin America to plant a church. Their journey has taken them from being sent as missionaries to plant a church to sending missionaries from that same church. The couple sums up their story like this: “We did what was in our hands to do and the rest is up to God. It’s not for us…”.
What if your next community isn’t just across town—but across the world? Build real relationships, share hope, and experience life in Latin America. The gospel is moving, and your story could make an eternal difference in the story God is putting together. See opportunities for missionary work in Latin America (and other locations) now.
Subscribe to our email list to receive more global missions stories and resources and follow us on:
