Records of Latin America Mission - Collection 236

[Note: What follows is a description of the documents in this collection which are available for use at BGC Archives in Wheaton, Illinois, USA. The actual documents are not, in most cases, available online, only this description of them. Nor are they available for sale or rent.]

Table of Contents

Brief Description of This Collection

Title Page and Restrictions

Historical Background of Latin America Mission

An Essay on the Contents of the Collection (Scope and Content)

Other Information That Might Be Helpful To Anyone Using This Collection

Lists of Microfilm, Oversize Materials, and Photographs in This Collection (Location Records)

Microfilm
Oversize Materials
Photographs

List of the Contents of Boxes of Paper Records in This Collection (Container List)

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Click to go to the home page of Latin America Mission.

Brief Description

Records of the mission, including correspondence, minutes, reports, memos, financial reports, policy statements, planning documents, promotional material, photographs, etc., related to the origins, activity (primarily in Colombia and Costa Rica) and restructuring of the mission. Collection is arranged in these series: Field Executive Bodies, Association of Bible Churches of Costa Rica, Editorial Caribe, Escuadron, Pre-Minamundo and Minamundo, Roblealto, Colegio Monterrey, Evangelical Alliance of Costa Rica, Goodwill Caravans, Clinica Biblica, Seminario Biblico, Colombia, Mexico, Panama, New York, Communications, Public Relations, Evangelism (campaigns and Evangelism-in-Depth), Education, Early Administrative files, Personnel and Field Administration, New Jersey Field Office and Administration, North American Council and Boards, Subject File, R. Kenneth Strachan and Family Papers, and Individual Missionaries records and correspondence. The collection primarily spans 1920-1973. There are restrictions on the use of this collection.

Collection 236 [March 9, 2001]
Latin America Mission; 1921-
Records; 1920-1985 (bulk 1920-1973)
Boxes (74 DC; 27.8 cubic feet), Microfilm, Oversize Material, Photographs

Restrictions

Microfilm may only be used at the Archives and is not available for use by inter-library loan. Microfilm reels 16, 43,44,45,46,47,48 and 49 may not be used by researchers until January 1, 2023 without the written permission of the Latin America Mission president.

Requests for permission should be directed to:

President
Latin America Mission
PO Box 527900
Miami, FL 33152

Forms sent to contact person may be obtained from the Reading Room staff.

Historical Background

Latin America Mission (LAM) was an interdenominational mission agency, engaged in church planting, evangelism, camping, child care, Christian education and theological training (in both formal and off-site programs), literature production, medical care, agricultural and community development, and providing services to other organizations. As of 1986, LAM worked in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, Panama and Peru; however, the majority of its personnel worked in Colombia and Costa Rica.

LAM was founded as the Latin America Evangelization Crusade in Costa Rica in 1921 by Rev. Harry and Susan Beamish Strachan, who had been working as missionaries with Regions Beyond Missionary Society in the Argentinean pampas. Latin America Mission became the official name of the mission in 1938.

The mission expanded its work into Colombia in 1937. Key institutions which emerged in that country included the Association of Evangelical Churches of the Caribbean (the association of LAM churches), the Evangelical Missions Officers Council (EMOC), and CEDEC or Evangelical Confederation of Colombia, which largely replaced EMOC in 1950. EMOC/CEDEC was dedicated to coordinating efforts and minimizing overlap and competition among mission agencies in the Colombia; the group also formed to address in a unified way the persecution of Protestants.

While LAM concentrated its efforts in Costa Rica and Colombia, it established work in other Latin American countries, some brief descriptions of which follow. The autonomous Mision Latinoamericana de Mexico (MILAMEX), was founded in 1970 to carry on and expand the ministries of radio, evangelism, camp and publications in Mexico. Juan Isais was appointed as its first director. "Spearhead" was the project name for a program which began as an idea in 1970 to involve Christian university students from the United States in evangelism in Latin America and expose them to mission opportunities. Launched in 1972, "Spearhead" developed at a time when other mission agencies were also implementing short term mission programs for young people.

Work started in Panama in 1954 with the incorporation of the mission and opening of its bookstore. LAM also operated radio station HOXO jointly with World Radio Missionary Fellowship. In 1958, the "Panama Confab" was held, an informal gathering of LAM leaders to develop an overall picture of ministry in Panama and formulate how LAM could most effectively allocate its resources and cooperate with other agencies and denominations also at work there.

In 1954 LAM began exploring options for ministry among New York City's Hispanic population. Among the activities envisioned were a Spanish Bible Institute, coordination with Hispanic pastors, evangelistic outreach, and building a base for carrying out social ministries as well. The project, led by Juan Isais, started in 1956 with a radio program and correspondence course; a bookstore was opened a year later, and the Bible Institute began operation in 1958.

Administration. The US Home Council, later called the Board of Trustees, was a "self-perpetuating body" made up of selected representatives of the Christian public, and representatives of the executive leadership of the Mission.... The Board of Trustees ordinarily meets monthly to handle legal and business matters of the mission, determine financial policy, receive and delegate contributions, examine and accept missionary candidates and oversee the activities of the Mission." (Principles and Government of the Latin America Mission, 1965 edition, folder 65-1,2) The Board worked in conjunction with the General Director and the Inter-Field Conference. The General Director was the chief executive of the mission and was a member of all official mission bodies. He was responsible for the over-all direction of LAM's work and was appointed by the Board of Trustees.

Authority was delegated by the mission's board of trustees to the field office in Costa Rica. The mission's governing bodies were in order of rank the Home Council, the Director (later replaced by Local Field Councils) and the Inter-Field Council (IFC). The Quorum of the Inter-Field Council (Q-IFC, later called the Inter-Field Council Executive or IFC-X, consisting of those members of the IFC resident in Costa Rica) was charged with taking interim action between IFC meetings.

The US General Council was the organizational body comprised of individuals selected by the mission's Board of Trustees on the basis of commitment to missions and LAM; the Council served as an advisory body to the LAM General Directors on matters of policy and program. The Council was added to the LAM organizational structure in 1963, meeting once a year.

The mission was incorporated in a number of countries beside the United States, including Canada in 1961.

Formal divisions of LAM included: Evangelism, Communications, Literature, and Student Evangelism. The mission was administratively restructured in 1971 with the formation of the Comunidad Latinoamericana de Ministerios Evangelicos (translated Community of Latin American Evangelical Ministries, CLAME). CLAME became the umbrella organization, of which various LAM divisions became autonomous members, along with the US branch of the mission. In addition to decentralizing the mission, the major consequence of this restructuring was the redistribution of authority into predominantly Latin American rather than expatriate missionaries' hands. The United States division of the mission therefore became an equal member along with the other divisions in CLAME. The organization was governed by an annual assembly of its members, an executive committee and a full-time general secretary (three-year terms). CLAME's first general secretary was W. Dayton Roberts, who was followed by Nicaraguan missionary, Rafael Baltodano Z. and Paul E. Pretiz. Horace Fenton, who had been LAM's general director at the time it restructured, continued as the director of LAM-USA until 1977. At that time, developments in CLAME led to further restructuring of LAM-USA, and Clayton L. "Mike" Berg, Jr. became it's president for a three-year term.

CLAME was dissolved in 1986, with each of the member divisions becoming autonomous. LAM-USA continued its own operations as well as seconding staff to other former-CLAME members.

Headquarters. LAM's first headquarters was located San Jose, Costa Rica, and later added a field office in Cartagena, Colombia in 1937. Its United States headquarters was located in New Jersey (Ridgefield and then Bogota), and transferred to Coral Gables, Florida in 1977. In 1987, the mission again moved to Miami. The mission also maintained offices in London and Toronto.

Publications. The mission produced its bi-monthly magazine Latin America Evangelist, beginning in 1921, to report on LAM's work and developments in Latin America.

Public relations. The mission developed a variety of means to develop and maintain interest and support of its work among American evangelicals. Until 1960, the department had operated under the name Stewardship Office; beginning in 1960, that was replaced by the Office of Information and Public Relations. The mission used various means to make itself more widely known, including Latin America Evangelist, films and filmstrips, brochures, books and articles, missions conferences at churches, and an annual conference of its own. It also solicited support from foundations. The division also coordinated dissemination of information within the organization, illustrated by a number of internal publications including LAMECOS (Home Office Monthly Bulletin), The Costa Rica Field Reporter, Entre Nos (Spanish "weekly publication for the family of Latin America Mission"), Lowdown ("From Down In Lower Florida"), Confidential Memo ("To the LAM Family), and Memo From Dit (Fenton). Latin America Reporter was a radio program developed to be aired by evangelical radio stations in order to increase listeners' awareness of Latin America, missionary events (not limited to LAM) there, and of the mission's activity. "Operation Outreach" was a tour of LAM fields (Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Peru and Venezuela) by supporters. LAM conducted the tours in 1962, 1965, 1967 and 1968; a 1970 tour was planned and then canceled. The 50th anniversary tour in 1972 was an extension of this series of tours.

Association memberships. LAM was a member of both Interdenominational Foreign Mission Association (IFMA) and Evangelical Foreign Missions Association (EFMA). LAM withdrew from IFMA in 1978, while continuing its membership in EFMA.

Evangelism. From the mission's inception, evangelism was its primary emphasis. Prior to World War II, Harry Strachan carried out citywide crusades throughout the Spanish-speaking world, which served to strengthen the underdeveloped Protestant church in predominantly Roman Catholic countries. Strachan's son, R. Kenneth, revived these campaigns between 1949 and 1958, climaxed by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association's Caribbean Crusade in 1958.

Under R. Kenneth Strachan's leadership, LAM initiated a program in 1959 which transferred the focus of evangelism from presenting a single professional evangelist to country-wide congregation-based lay evangelism called "Evangelism-in-Depth (E/D)," which continued on a broad scale until 1971. E/D programs operated in fourteen Latin American countries; after 1971 the program continued in Mexico. The program, usually carried out over the course of a year, included organized prayer, training for the lay Christians, preparation of counselors, follow-up of new Christians, widespread publicity, door-to-door visitation, local and regional evangelistic campaigns, regional and national parades, radio and television programs, and widespread tract and Bible distribution. A key feature of the program was its intent to "mobilize the entire evangelical community."

With the development and experience of E/D in Latin America, LAM developed the Office of Worldwide Evangelism-in-Depth (OWED) in 1967 to promote the program's use throughout the world and coordinate projects outside of Latin America. With the formation of the Community of Latin American Evangelical Missions (CLAME) in 1971, LAM's tradition of evangelism was continued by CLAME member, International Institute of In-Depth Evangelization (INDEPTH).

Theological education. LAM expanded its initial focus on evangelism when in 1923 Susan Strachan began training women leaders in her home in a program called the Women's Bible Training School. In 1924, ten Nicaraguan male students joined the student body and the school was renamed the Bible Institute of Costa Rica. In 1941, the school was again renamed the Latin American Biblical Seminary or Seminario Biblico Latinoamericano. (Publications of the Seminary include Vinculos, aimed at the Seminary's alumni; ID, produced by the school's Committee of Missionary Activity; Discipulo, a short-lived seminary publication; and ECOS, a 1- or 2-page newsletter for students consisting largely of announcements.) Beginning in the mid-1970s, following the establishment of CLAME and Seminary's independence, criticism of the school developed because of allegations that it had conceded ground to liberation theology; many conservative churches consequently withdrew their financial support. In 1979 LAM withdrew its public endorsement of the seminary, although it continued to sponsor some of its missionaries on the staff.

By 1966 the school had grown to include fifty-nine students representing twenty-three evangelical organizations. The Caribbean Bible Center was developed in Sincelejo, Colombia in 1953, to provide additional theological training for lay people, as well as providing a facility for Christian camping and conferences. The Center was founded as a memorial to Dr. Robert C. McQuilkin, founder of Columbia Bible College, who was consulted during the development of the Center. A Bible education correspondence course was initially based in LAM's Communication Division and transferred to the Center in 1967. An extension education program was also developed by the Center in 1967.

Social concern. LAM from the beginning addressed social needs as part of its ministry. The Clinica Biblica (Bible Hospital) was established in San Jose 1929 and a Costa Rican orphanage, the Hogar Biblico (Bible Home) in 1932 (See the section on Orphanage, Farm and Camp (Hogar Biblico & Roblealto). Clinic Biblica continued under LAM administration until 1968, when operation was transferred to an independent board and staff, Servicios Medicos. Two other ministries developed in Colombia were United Action (1971, a relief-rehabilitation development program for rural communities) and the Association for Christian Care for Colombian Children (1972). LAM cooperated with the Christian Action Committee in Costa Rica, an ecumenical effort in social action. Among the projects of the Committee in which LAM directly participated were the Good Will Caravans and the Bible Home at the Roblealto site. The Good Will Caravans was part of the Evangelical Alliance of Costa Rica's Rural Work Committee (Comite de Obra Rural), designed as a mobile project to bring medical care, education and evangelistic outreach to communities outside government service areas at the invitation of a local church.

Education. LAM's emphasis on education was expressed not only through ministerial training and theological correspondence courses, but also primary and secondary level education. A secondary school for girls was opened in 1948, and for boys in 1955 in Cartagena, Colombia; these were merged in 1970 to form the Colegio Latinoamericano. The environment of persecution of Protestants, particularly in Colombia, contributed to the motivation for the mission to provide a high school education which did not discriminate against the children of evangelicals. Colegio Monterrey in suburban San Jose was founded in 1956 by Costa Rican Christians in cooperation with LAM and also sponsored by the Association of Bible Churches of Costa Rica, the Templo Biblico, and the Association of Parents, Teachers and Friends. Kindergarten and primary programs were opened in 1957, followed by a first year secondary program in 1958. The medium of instruction for the school was Spanish. Albert C. Grimm, a LAM missionary, was its principal from 1959 to 1966, when administration of the school was turned over to national leadership.

The mission established the Training Division in 1958, including under its administration the Seminary and Correspondence Course. The emphasis of the unit was on providing for well trained leadership for the evangelical church in Latin America. In 1965 the Training Division was reformed as the Education Division to provide oversight for all educational work of the mission. The Divisions' directors were Wilton Nelson (1958-1966) and Clayton L. Berg, Jr. (1966- ).

Church planting. The mission planted its first church in 1929. Its church planting work in Costa Rica led to the founding in 1945 of Asociacion de Iglesias Biblicas Costarricences (Association of Costa Rican Bible Churches), which in 1967 consisted of nineteen churches. Those congregations which developed from LAM's work formed the autonomous association. Most ministries of LAM were conducted in partnership of AIEC. An example of this was a short-term training program for local pastors which the Association sponsored.

Youth ministry. LAM's work among young people was carried out among grammar and high school boys in Costa Rica and university students. Escuadron de Servicio Christiano (Costa Rican equivalent of Christian Service Brigade in the U.S., a church-based club program for boys) was established in 1947, followed by Camp Roblealto in 1948. The division, a part of LAM's Youth Department, was made independent under a national council in 1955 and fully nationalized in 1958. Joseph Coughlin, former LAM missionary and founder of Christian Service Brigade, was its first director. By 1963, Jorge Alfaro had assumed leadership of Escuadron. Once autonomous, LAM carried some Escuadron staff on its payroll and the mission named two members to the Escuadron National Council. The mission began a process of evaluation of its relationship to Escuadron in 1963 which continued through 1970.

University outreach. Work among university students, modeled on Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship's ministry in the US, began in the 1940's, with input from Inter-Varsity and later from International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES). Work was initially carried out by the Association of Christian Students (AUC) and the local International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (ACEE). Prior to 1966, ministry among university students was combined with that of teenagers and children in LAM's Youth Department, led by Joseph Coughlin. Coughlin served as the director of the Youth Department until mid-1953, when he was replaced by Lester Burton. In 1966, LAM held several consultations to plan the upgrading of its ministry among university students, calling the program MINAMUNDO, the acronym being derived from Ministerio al Mundo Estudiantil (Ministry to the Student World). MINAMUNDO, like some other student ministries around the world, included work among high school students.

Orphanage, Farm and Camp (Hogar Biblico & Roblealto). Hogar Biblico (LAM's orphanage, translated Bible Home), was opened in 1932 on a 200-acre piece of property purchased in 1930. The mission also started a dairy farm there in 1932, which was intended to both supply milk to the orphanage and nearby clinic, and to defray the facility's operating expenses. The farm later added coffee, sugar cane, and poultry (1964) to its income generating enterprises. Coffee production was discontinued in 1969.

In February 1948, Campamento Roblealto (translated Camp Tall Oak) was opened for a two-week camp in the Costa Rican mountains outside San Jose. Camps were held there for grammar school, high school and university students, as well as occasional English camps for children of missionaries and others. The camp was also the site of Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship's (US) summer Overseas Training Camp (OTC) in 1969 and 1970.

In 1962, a Provisional Board of Directors was established for the orphanage, whose oversight covered the orphanage and farm. In 1966, the administration of the camp was formally brought together with the orphanage and farm under the title "Roblealto." In 1968, administration of the camp was moved from the Roblealto division to that of the Minamundo division. Also in 1968, the Provisional Council was replaced by the a more permanent governing body, the Asociacion Evangelica Pro-Bienestar del Nino (translated the Evangelical Association for the Benefit of Children).

Literature. LAM's literature division, Editorial Caribe, was organized in San Jose in 1949, when the mission took over the Spanish-language publication program and inventory of the American Tract Society. A grant from Moody Press and Moody Literature Mission facilitated this process. The work included publishing Bible study resources in Spanish, Sunday school materials (Luz del Evangelio: Spanish adaptation of the complete Gospel Light Sunday school curriculum begun in 1945) and operating book stores in four countries. The division opened its first bookstore in San Jose in 1949; another was opened in Panama in 1955; a third was opened in the Spanish-speaking area of New York City; and a fourth was opened in 1961 in the Costa Rican port of Limon; a subdivision was also established in Mexico, but rather than incorporating an independent shop, a distribution system through existing bookstores was implemented.

Editorial Caribe was an active member of San Jose-based LEAL (Literatura Evangelica para America Latina, translated Evangelical Literature for Latin America), the cooperative coordinating agency for the production and distribution of Christian literature in Spanish, whose intent was "not to publish books itself, but rather to help member organizations by a thorough program of coordination and planning." LEAL began in early 1945 at a preliminary conference called by Evangelical Literature Overseas in 1955; in 1956, it held a constitutional convention in Placetas, Cuba, to formalize its existence. Reorganization of LEAL was considered at several times, including being merged into Difusiones Inter-Americanas (DIA, translated Inter-American Communications; DIA means day in Spanish; see following section under radio). Discussions about restructuring (including issues of indigenous vs. missionary control and financing) were intensified in the late-1960's and in 1970. In view of financial viability and ongoing usefulness, LEAL was scaled back and its operations were moved to Argentina in 1970.

VERBO (translated "the Word") was a magazine proposed and accepted at LEAL's constitutional convention to be a Spanish evangelical monthly. Initially called VIDA (translated "life"), the title was altered to avoid problems with LIFE Magazine. Headquarters were established in Buenos Aires, with Alec Clifford, Paul Sheetz and Jose Bongarra serving as administrative staff for the magazine. Organizational sponsorship for the magazine did not solidify until 1957, when LAM and Conservative Baptist Foreign Mission Society (CBFMS) assumed co-sponsorship of the magazine. Due to inability to develop popular acceptance and continued fiscal shortages, publication of the magazine was suspended in late-1958. LAM withdrew its sponsorship, while CBFMS took full control of the magazine, moved its headquarters to Mexico City under Vergil Gerber's leadership, where it resumed publication in 1962. At the time preparations were being made to revive VERBO, inquiries were made by Charles Ward of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association about the feasibility of launching a Spanish version of DECISION Magazine; that project was launched and in 1964 but discontinued by the end of the year.

Editorial Caribe moved from San Jose in 1969 to Miami, where it became the Latin America Mission Publications (LAMP). In 1968, Editorial Caribe requested the evaluation services from Christian Service Fellowship. The most critical issue addressed was Editorial Caribe's financial indebtedness for the Luz del Evangelio program. The division's relationship with Gospel Light consequently changed in the late 1960's. Another consequence of the evaluation was the selling of the division's printing shop.

Radio. The Radio-Literature Division was established in 1956, and was then divided into separate divisions in 1958. In 1965 the division was expanded to become the Communications Division, integrating various non-radio communications into one unit. W. Dayton Roberts was the division's first director. Paul Pretiz followed Roberts as the division's director in the mid-1960's. A separate Communications Department was also established on the Colombia field in 1964, integrating film, radio, literature and correspondence functions.

LAM's central and first involvement in radio broadcasting was in establishing station TIFC (El Far del Caribe or "Lighthouse of the Caribbean") in San Jose. In 1945 LAM bought facilities on which to develop the radio station, which it did in 1948. TIFC was the second Christian station to broadcast on radio in Latin America (the first being HCJB in Quito, Ecuador). HOXO, a commercial station which aired some religious programming, was purchased by Christian businessmen in the Canal Zone in 1949. In 1954, LAM jointly assumed responsibility for the operation of station HOXO in Panama with the World Radio Missionary Fellowship (HCJB). In 1963, LAM transferred its sponsorship to World Missionary Fellowship, giving it full responsibility for the station. LAM withdrew its sponsorship because of the realignment of the mission's priorities, and an ongoing lack of personnel and finances. In the mid-1950's (1956?), LAM's radio work was made a full division of the mission, later called the Communications Division. It also assisted in operating stations in Nicaragua (YNOL, 1959, fully supported and operated by national Christians, the first indigenous-operated radio station in Central America, under leadership of David Solt) and El Salvador (YSHQ, 1963, the second indigenous-operated radio station, also under leadership of David Solt), and later added television broadcasting to its use of media for evangelism and teaching. Federico Picardo was the television station's first director and Arturo Cabezas its first manager. LAM explored various opportunities to enter television broadcasting in Latin America, none of these developed into ongoing operations.

LAM also contributed staff and production of radio programs and audio-visual materials for distribution to all Spanish-speaking areas through DIA (Difusiones Inter-Americanas), a cooperative evangelical radio, TV and film service. DIA began in 1951 as the Cadena Cultural Panamericana (Panamerican Christian Network), which formed to expand the efforts of individual stations by sharing radio programs among the members. CCP had a board of directors representing five Christian radio stations. The service they offered was recorded music, talks, sermons, dramas, devotional services, children's programs, Christian news, and scripts. CCP was administered by Clarence Jones (HCJB), Paul Pretiz (HOXO), W. Dayton Roberts (TIFC) and Robert Remington (Presbyterian USA Board of Foreign Missions). LAM was a founding member of CCP. In 1959, 153 representatives of the major Protestant radio and literature ministries in Latin America participated in the Congress on Evangelical Communication in Cali, Colombia. The result of the congress was the formation of DIA. The congress was jointly sponsored by CCP, representing radio and television ministry, and LEAL (Literatura Evangelica para America Latina) representing literature interests. DIA's headquarters, like CCP's, was in San Jose. CCP was not immediately closed down but continued to coordinate some activities among eight missionary radio stations in Latin America before being closed down.

Scope and Content

[Note: In the Scope & Content description, the notation "folder 2-5" means box 2, folder 5.]

The materials in this collection consist of administrative correspondence, minutes, reports, internal memos, financial reports, policy statements, planning documents, promotional material, "Blue Books" (divisional organizational manuals), a few photographs, etc., all related to the origins, activity (primarily in Colombia and Costa Rica) and administrative restructuring of Latin America Mission. The Archives has both many original documents and a microfilm copy made of them, although there are originals not on the film and many documents on the film which were not sent to the Archives. The records are arranged in the following series:

LAM's operation and ministry were most focused in Costa Rica. The records reflect this in that various series distinguish between institutions operating in Costa Rica, while the records for institutions operating in Colombia were consolidated under the Colombia series. The researcher should be aware that the majority of the documents in the collection document an organization undergoing structural change, and division titles may therefore change. The Historical Background of this guide illuminates some of these changes.

Note on arrangement. The arrangement of the collection has remained in the series order as it was received from the donor; the actual ordering of the series largely remains as it was received, but the archivist made some adjustments. Original file folders were replaced with acid-free folders. Folder titles have also been retained as they were received on the microfilm targets, except that inconsistencies have been made to conform with the predominant labeling by the archivist. Spanish folder headings are retained on the targets; English translations have been used in the Container List. All targets have been retained in their folders. For undetermined reasons, the date ranges on the targets for numerous files do not coincide with their corresponding folder contents; as the discrepancies frequently extend beyond a year or two, possibly files were added to or subtracted from files following their being microfilmed. While the files in each series are arranged alphabetically, exceptions to this do occur; the files have been retained in the order in which they were received in order to coincide with the microfilming order. Duplicates were removed from the collection. Documents were stamped with sequential numbering in preparation for filming; gaps in the numbering also suggest the weeding of the files prior to their transfer to the Archives.

Note on microfilming. Latin America Mission began preservation microfilming of its records in 1982. During that year, LAM sorted and filmed those records which comprise the first accession of this collection (reels 7-26), as well as the records which were filmed and then disposed of or retained by the donor (reels 1-6). Staff continued to sort, arrange and weed out records in 1983 and 1984. During 1984 and 1985, the filming of the second set of materials was carried out, comprising those records sent to the Archives in 1984 (reels 27-42). The third filming of documents occurred in 1986 (reels 43-49). The forty-nine reels of master negative microfilm which resulted from this total project were given to the Archives in December 1990. A positive user copy of the first 28 reels was produced by the Archives in 1991; a positive copy of the remaining reels was produced in December 1992.

Some file folders were annotated with the sorting or culling date, as well as filming date, and the position on a specified reel, i.e. Reel 32:7 meaning the seventh file on Reel 32; in some cases, the actual location of the file on the reel differs from the number assigned during the filming, i.e., file 32:7 is noted on the filmed target as 32:9, suggesting that two files which were in the original order were numbered but not filmed. There is no indication on the film about these missing files. In some cases, the range of filming frames was also noted on the file folder. Notes on file folders indicated that the material in them had been "culled" in 1982 and 1983, suggesting they had been weeded prior to microfilming. Most of the paper documents were stamped with a number prior to filming; the gaps in the sequential numbering suggest that not all documents filmed were transferred to the Archives.

The contents of the records on microfilm replicate the contents of the paper documents, with the following exceptions: 1) Reels 1-6 consist largely of the records of the Field Executive Bodies and the Early Administrative Files series. These records were filmed and then apparently discarded prior to the transfer of paper records to the Archives. 2) The Colegio Monterrey series, Evangelical Alliance of Costa Rica series, and Seminario Biblico series are minimal in the paper records, but significantly more extensive on the microfilm version of the records.

The researcher should also be aware that the filming order does not always follow the order in which the files were received. Supplementary files were filmed together and appear consecutively on the film. However, the files of documents of supplementary records, however, were integrated into the various series and therefore do not correspond with the order of the filming.

The quality of some of the first microfilming was somewhat suspect, or the record was incomplete; therefore some supplementary filming was done in 1985 which appears on reels 39 through 42. Reels 43 through 49 consist of documents (primarily from the other series) identified as confidential. These documents were removed from the other series for separate filming; these confidential documents do not exist in paper form in the collection.

Note about language: The collection contains documents in Spanish. While they do not predominate in the entire collection, there are certain series where the Spanish documents outnumber those in English; a note to this effect is included in the series description when applicable.

I. Field executive bodies (1941-1971; folders 1-1 through 20; reels 1:1 through 4:7, 40:1 through 40:21, 43:1). The records in this series consist primarily of meeting minutes of LAM's executive bodies on the mission field: the Inter-Field Council (IFC); the IFC's executive committee called the Quorum Inter-Field Conference (Q-IFC), whose full title was the Quorum Resident in Costa Rica of the Executive Committee of the Inter-Field Conference of the L.A.M., and was later named the Inter-Field Council Executive (IFC-X), the Colombia and Costa Rican Field Councils, and the Colombian and Costa Rican annual mission meetings. In a hierarchical arrangement, the bodies related to one another as follows:

	IFC
	IFC-X
IFC-Costa Rica		IFC-Colombia
Annual Meeting - Costa Rica		Annual meeting - Colombia

The IFC meetings consisted of reports from field and administrative committees, deliberations and decisions in the areas of administration, finance, communication, personnel, policy manuals, and authorizations of action. Records from field council meetings document the same variety of topics at the country level, therefore including more country-specific information. Records from the country annual meetings also include country-specific information, but also reflect the full membership of the mission in the given country. Recommendations from the country field councils were considered and acted on by the IFC and or IFC-X; likewise, recommendations from the country annual meetings were considered by the country field councils. Therefore, recommendations, proposals, requests for action moved up through the bureaucracy, while decisions, actions, etc., moved down.

The majority of these records exist only on microfilm (See Notes on microfilming). The exposure settings on the microfilm copy are varied, ranging from properly exposed to underexposed (dark).

II. Association of Bible Churches of Costa Rica (AIBC, 1939-1972, bulk 1950-1972; folders 1-21 through 4-7; reels 7:1 through 9:14 40:44 through 40:46, 43:3). This series records the development and activity of the organization founded in 1945 by those congregations which developed from LAM's church planting work in Costa Rica, documenting both the at the overall level and that of individual congregations. Subjects covered include administration, finances, outreach, pastoral assignments, publication of the Association's periodical, Vocero, obstacles to establishing healthy independent churches, Evangelism-in-Depth, building projects, role of the laity, policies, church-mission relationships, and reorganization of the AIBC. Key LAM figures identified in the meetings and correspondence are Mike Berg, Bill Brown, Franklin Cabezas, Horace Fenton, Wilton M. Nelson, Paul Pretiz, and R.K. Strachan. The documents in this series are written predominantly in Spanish. Exceptions are the English minutes from Council meetings in folders 1-23 and 1-24, and most of the contents of folders 4-1,2,3,4,5.

III. Editorial Caribe (1944-1973, bulk 1952-1972; folders 4-8 through 10-6; reels 10:1 through 11:21, 40:47 through 40:55, 43:4). This series thoroughly covers the planning, finances, production and distribution, business, and ministry areas of activity of LAM's literature division. Policy and decision-making is particularly prominent in the Advisory Board's minutes (folder 4-8). Folder 4-11 includes a 1960 version of the division's history. "Blue Books" were divisional organizational manuals; a draft of and discussions about the development of the Editorial Caribe's "blue book" is included in folder 4-11, as are another history of the division and several organizational charts. The ministry and business of the division's bookstores in Costa Rica, Panama, and Spanish-speaking New York, are widely documented. The production of major Bible study tools drew on the resources of Eugene Nida and the American Bible Society (folder 6-6). Other correspondence with Nida is located in folder 7-1. The evaluation process utilized from Christian Service Fellowship is documented through the application and intermediate correspondence in folder 9-1. An actual copy of the evaluation is not available, but a detailed summary of it's findings and recommendations is. Files which record analysis of function and restructuring of the division are folders 9-7 through 9-10. The cooperative efforts of Editorial Caribe with a number of evangelical agencies in publishing Christian literature in Spanish is documented in folders 10-1 through 10-6. The following were either major correspondents or participants in Editorial Caribe planning and activity: Clayton L. Berg, Hal Cocanower, Horace Fenton, W. Dayton Roberts, and R. Kenneth Strachan.

IV. Escuadron (1946-1970; folders 10-7 through 11-4; reels 12:1 through 12:12, 40:56 through 40:58, 43:5). The Escuadron series consists of reports, minutes, correspondence, curriculum, financial records, organizational charts, evaluations, and promotional materials related to LAM's ministry among high school students. Folders 10-7,8 provide a summary of decisions and actions made between 1948 and 1958, along with documentation of the relationship between the mission and Escuadron; discussion of this issue is covered in this and other Escuadron files. There are some documents in Spanish, particularly among items produced for use with the boys or in training leaders, and following the nationalization of the program in 1958. The major correspondents and in Escuadron were Joseph Coughlin, Horace L. Fenton, W. Dayton Roberts, Bob Sabean, R. Kenneth Strachan, and Charles Troutman.

V. Pre-Minamundo & Minamundo (1946-1972, bulk 1962-1970; folders 11-5 through 12-10; reels 12:13 through 12:33, 40:59 through 40:60, 43:6). This series includes correspondence, reports, financial records, organizational charts, documenting LAM planning and philosophy for ministry among university students, chiefly from 1961 to 1971. MINAMUNDO was the title given to ministry among high school and university students. Pre-Minamundo was an internal term developed to identify ministry among students during the 1940's and 50's. While a few documents record activity during the 1940s and 50s, the series is principally focused on the origins and early life of Minamundo in the 1960s. Joe Coughlin's reports are among the pre-Minamundo files, also including information on the Escuadron program. A concentrated summary of the planning phase is available in folder 12-10. Extensive correspondence, both within LAM and between the mission and Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship (IVCF) and Inter-national Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES), document these organizations' efforts at cooperation (folders 11-8,9,10). Because LAM's upgraded program among university students overlapped work carried out by IFES, issues of cooperation, loans of staff and areas of responsibility had to be discussed in order to minimize ambiguity and conflict. These very comprehensive files detail cooperation among evangelical agencies carrying on ministry with students. The restructuring of the mission which occurred in 1971 also had an impact on the mission's work among students as well, documented in Folder 11-11. Folder 12-4 includes correspondence on relationships with these and other organizations, including Campus Crusade for Christ, Youth for Christ, and MEC (Movimiento Estudiantil Cristiano, Latin American version of the Student Volunteer Movement). While the bulk of the material in this series relates to ministry among students in Costa Rica, a geographical contrast is provided by material on work in Colombia (Folder 12-9). Spanish documents are sprinkled throughout the series, but English documents predominate. Folder 11-12 includes a letter from Francis Schaeffer expressing his concern about theological trends in the evangelical community, specifically as expressed in an article by LAM administrator Horace Fenton. LAM correspondents in the series include Lester Burton, Joseph Coughlin, Horace Fenton, Tom Hanks, Leon Headington, David Howard, Juan Isais, Benton J. Melbourne, W. Dayton Roberts, Bob Sabean, R. Kenneth Strachan, and Charles Troutman. Among the IVCF correspondents are C. Stacey Woods, and mission secretaries David Adeney and Eric Fife; IFES correspondents include Woods, Wayne Bragg, and Rene Padilla.

VI. Roblealto (1949-1972; folders 11-11 through 13-22; reels 12:34 through 13:22, 40:61 through 40:65, 43:8). This series consists of correspondence, reports, promotional material, minutes, organizational charts which document the planning and operation of the mission's camp, orphanage and farm. The series is divided among the camp, orphanage and farm, yet as the history of Roblealto suggests, these are all progressively more interrelated. Only in 1966 were the administration of the camp, orphanage and farm brought together under the heading "Roblealto," but because they were consolidated, they are formed as a series.

Several Spanish terms are used in the documents. As noted in a promotional brochure, "'finca' means 'farm' and may refer to anything from the orphanage alone to our 200 acres of cows, coffee, bananas and children." "Granja" is translated "farm," but appears to refer only to the poultry farm.

Administrative issues covered include personnel, development of property and facilities, relationships with LAM, the Association of Bible Churches of Costa Rica, other evangelical agencies, and funding. The two periods of restructuring (1962-1963 & 1966-1968) are focal points for the records. Folder 13-14 includes documents which make clear the organizational transition in 1966, when the incorporation of the various ministries under the title Roblealto occurred. In addition to operating camps for Latin American young people, Roblealto also provided an occasional English-speaking camp for children of missionaries and others; a report by Wayne Bragg describes these in 1957 (folder 12-16). As an aid to development and fund raising, several memorial projects were established, including one in 1960 in memory of Christian Service Brigade staff worker Les Burton, who died in 1956 (folder 13-8). As with other series, the Roblealto series has Spanish documents interspersed through it. Key correspondents in the series include Dorothy Andrews, Joseph Coughlin, Horace Fenton, David Howard, Donald Longworth, Benton Melbourne, Paul Pretiz, W. Dayton Roberts, Bob Sabean, R. Kenneth Strachan, and Charles Troutman.

VII. Colegio Monterrey (1955-1971; folders 14-1 through 14:5; reels 16:1 through 17:1, 40:82 through 40:85). The series contains correspondence, minutes of board meetings, reports, financial records, statistics, an organizational chart, by-laws, program evaluations, promotional materials, graduation programs and forms, which cover the administration, staffing, students and enrollment, board membership, fiscal operation and facilities development of the high school in Costa Rica. Reviews and newspaper articles criticizing the school are included, along with subsequent response and program changes. Many of the documents in this series are in Spanish. The majority of this series exists only on microfilm; the exposure quality varies within the series. The predominant correspondents include: Clayton L. Berg, Horace L. Fenton, Kenneth G. Hood, Victor Monterroso, Wilton M. Nelson, Paul Pretiz, and W. Dayton Roberts.

VIII. Alianza Evangelica Costarricense (1944-1972; folders 14-6 through 14-9; reels 16:18 through 17:2, 40:86 through 40:88). As with the preceding series, the majority of the Alliance records are only preserved on the microfilm copy of the LAM records. The documents which comprise the series include correspondence, reports, incorporation documents, historical summaries, minutes, statistics, assembly programs, and lists. Among the subjects covered are Alliance activities, planning, cooperation, administration, and the Goodwill Caravans. The materials in the folders 14-6,7 include information on the joint administration of the Alliance, attitudes toward ecumenism (particularly in reference to a World Council of Churches offer to supply materials and funds for Cuban refugees), and cooperation with the Christian Action Committee and the Alliance's Rural Work Committee (assist pastors and congregations increase their effectiveness in an agricultural country). Included in the file are promotional pieces for the Good Will Caravans and the Hogar Biblico (Bible Home), and a history of the Caravans project.

Principal correspondents in the series include Horace Fenton, Paul Pretiz, W. Dayton Roberts, R. Kenneth Strachan, and various Association members. Most documents are in Spanish.

IX. Good Will Caravans (1962-1973; folders 14-10 through 15-4; reels 17:3 through 17:9, 40:89 & 40:90). This series, predominantly in Spanish, includes correspondence, reports, statistical and financial reports, promotional materials, and organizational charts for the mobile medical and education units. Folder 14-14 includes a recommendation report, "Suggestions for a Working Relationship with Missions and Indigenous Churches in Latin America." LAM's cooperation with FARMS Inc. related to agricultural projects, while that with MAP International was of a medical nature. Folder 14-15 includes an extensive report, "Agriculture and Rural Church Work in Costa Rica," prepared by a Fuller Seminary student. Folder 15-1 includes the script for a slide presentation on the caravans. The principle correspondents in the series are Horace Fenton, David Howard, Gareth Miller of FARMS Inc., Paul Pretiz, Grace Roberts, and W. Dayton Roberts.

X. Clinica Biblica (1929-1971; folders 15-5 through 17-6; reels 17:10 through 17:27, 40:91 through 41:4, 43:13)). This series consists of correspondence, memos, reports, minutes, statistics, organizational charts and financial records, documenting the administration, operation, funding and public relations aspects of the hospital, for the most part between the years 1955 and 1968. As in the other series, the Bible Clinic files record the mission's attempts to nationalize the administration and work of the hospital. Folder 15-5 contains several statements of mission rationale for the medical ministry. The focus of the series tends to be toward the period of reevaluation and transition to the hospital's oversight by Servicios Medicos. Folder 16-7 documents a visit by MAP personnel (Medical Assistance Program) in order to evaluate the program and make recommendations. Folders 17-1,2,3,4,5 document this process directly. In addition, an entire file is devoted to the history of the Clinic (See folder 15-10). The series contains some Spanish documents. Principle correspondents are: Marie Cameron (hospital doctor since 1930), Thomas Cherry (LAM Costa Rican Field Administrator), Horace Fenton, David Howard, Benton J. Melbourne, Paul Pretiz, W. Dayton Roberts, Ladison Saylor, and R. Kenneth Strachan.

XI. Seminario Biblico (1927-1972; folders 17-7 through 19-13; reels 27:1 through , 41:54 through 29:42, 41:54 through 42:18, 43:19). The Seminary series is made up of correspondence, minutes, curriculum materials, schedules, accreditation materials, reports, incorporation documents, promotional material, financial records, press releases, the seminary prospectus, publications, lists, etc. The topics covered include the Seminary's history, academic affairs, administration, faculty, students and enrollment, curriculum development, accreditation, association memberships, planning, cooperation with other institutions, activities, its correspondence course, board membership, fiscal operation and facilities development of the school. One third of the series is available in a hard copy; the other two-thirds are available only on microfilm. Several items of interest: the series includes correspondence with Ralph Winter about the Training Union of Greater Colombia (TUG, folder 17-13). Folder 17-16 includes the paper, "The Relationship of Correspondence Courses to Evangelism-in-Depth." The Harry Strachan Lectures featured guest speakers at the Seminary. Correspondence and arrangements with those participating as lecturers included John Mackay (and accompanying questions about his theological liberalism), Eugene Nida, Vernon Grounds and Jose Miguez-Bonino (reel 29:8 and folder 19-6).

Records included only on microfilm greatly expand the documentation of the Seminary's operation and activity, covering academic affairs, administration, its correspondence course and other programs, promotion, publications, student affairs and faculty.

The major correspondents in the series are Clayton Berg, Plutarco Bonilla, Horace L. Fenton, Richard Foulkes, David Howard, Ruben Lores, Wilton Nelson, W. Dayton Roberts, and Charles Troutman.

XII. Colombia (1932-1972; folders 19-14 through 25-6; reels 18:1 through 19:21, 41:5 through 41:10, 43:14). Unlike the previous series which distinguish between various aspects of ministry in Costa Rica, the Colombia series brings together the records documenting the various ministries in the country. The series contains correspondence, reports, memos, financial reports, church membership and financial statistics, all documenting the work of LAM and its affiliated congregations in the country, principally between 1949 and 1972. The files record administration of the mission's work, evangelistic outreach, finances, relationships with national Christians and their integration into the mission, personnel matters, etc. The files offer a thorough view of mission internal communication and decision-making related to the demanding work of establishing thriving congregations with committed trained leadership. Folders 19-14,15 and 20-1,2,3 cover the complete range of mission business in the country, including the host of routine details and documentation on personnel issues, local churches, country-wide trends, finances, and the administrative restructuring occurring during the last half of the 1960's. The breadth of the series enables the researcher to view some of these issues from a variety of perspectives and levels.

The minutes of the Association of Evangelical Churches of the Caribbean (folders 20-4 through 8) are almost exclusively in Spanish. The folders of AIEC correspondence and reports (21-1,2), largely in English and covering the same time period, shed some light on the workings and decisions of this body. An occasional letter from David Howard and later Dick Boss to a senior mission administrator can be found, containing a report of issues addressed by the Association; these become somewhat more frequent during the 1960's. The issues discussed in these files relate to conditions and problems in local congregations, personnel problems, association leadership, the Evangelism-in-Depth program, church property, and the licensing of lay ministers. Folder 21-1 includes a 10/31/60 letter from David Howard on appropriate attitudes toward converted men who have relationships with more than one woman, particularly with regard to church leadership and participating in the sacraments. Several subjects are addressed in concentrated doses, such as Pentecostalism (or the charismatic movement) and the relationship between the mission and the national church. In 1963 and 1964, and again in October 1967, incidents of Pentecostal manifestations were occurring in congregations. Discussion of the situation, which involved mission leadership and supporters, is documented in folders 19-15 and 20-6,7. As these manifestations were occurring within the context of local congregations, folder 21-3 provides additional background. Folder 23-2 further documents the mission's consideration of this matter. The subject of church/mission relations was being widely discussed in 1962 and 1963 (folders 19-15 and 20-6.

The operation of the Evangelical Missions Officers Council (EMOC), and the somewhat broader Evangelical Confederation of Colombia established in 1950 are documented in folders 22-1,2,3,4. These bodies were dedicated to coordinating efforts and minimizing overlap and competition among mission agencies in the country; the group also formed to address in a unified way the persecution of Protestants. Clyde Taylor, General Director of the National Association of Evangelicals (U.S.) and Executive Secretary of the Evangelical Foreign Missions Association (EFMA) is among the correspondents whose writing is in these files. In the late 1960's, the issue addressed in the file (folder 22-4) is the influence of the communists in Colombia. The files touch on a variety of matters from mission agency perspective at a country-wide level, including education, politics, and services. Among the items in this group of files is a statement of the recommendations of EMOC's Comity Committee with a variety of clauses agreed upon by the members. Also included is a record of discussion about LAM's membership in EMOC and CEDEC, focusing on issues of ecumenism and separatism, since CEDEC's membership included a suspect mainline denomination. The status of Protestants in the predominantly Roman Catholic country was an issue of growing concern. Included in folder 22-1 are the Spanish text and English translation of "The Concordat," an agreement between a Colombian president and Pope Leo XIII in 1887, which was ratified by a Colombian legislative body in 1888, establishing Roman Catholicism as the national religion of the country. The files also include numerous bulletins prepared by CEDEC on persecution in Colombia. The 1953 "Convention of Missions," an agreement between Colombia's president and Pope Pius XII, further strengthened Catholic dominance in the country; an additional twist in the situation involves US support of the Colombian school system through aid funding. There is limited reference throughout the series to the persecution Protestants were facing in the country; the most consolidated documentation of this can be found in folder 24-9. With the conclusion of widespread persecution in the early 1960's, other issues received CEDEC attention, including the United Biblical Seminary of Colombia in Medellin. An subject of discussion in 1967 was the participation of CEDEC members in the Evangelism-in-Depth program. Folder 22-4 contains a 1968 "Census of Protestant Church Members in Colombia." The files are primarily in English, although the minutes from meetings are entirely in Spanish.

Relationships with other missions working in the country is covered in folder 23-10, including those with non-evangelical or ecumenical groups, Southern Baptists, Mission Aviation Fellowship, Presbyterian Church USA and several other interdenominational agencies. Folder 23-14 contains a 1967 edition of "History of the Latin America Mission in Colombia, 1937-1967." A similar report, "A History of Primary Schools in Colombia, 1937-1967," in folder 25-3 documents the emergence of LAM's provision of Christian education for children.

Key correspondents in the Colombia series include: Marian Chapman, Horace L. Fenton, Ernie Fowler, Pedro Gutierrez, David Howard, William Lester, Robert Reed, W. Dayton Roberts, Helen E. Shute, R. Kenneth Strachan, Pearl M. Thompson, and Charles Troutman.

XIII. Mexico (1962-1973; folders 25-7 through 25-10; reels 13:23 through 13:25, 40:66). This brief series (correspondence, minutes, reports, financial reports) documents the origins and early development of LAM's ministry in Mexico. Juan Isais, Dave Howard, R. Kenneth Strachan, Charles Troutman, Horace Fenton, W. Dayton Roberts, and Harry D. Burke ("Spearhead" director) were the primary correspondents in this series. There are an approximately equal number of English and Spanish documents in the files.

XIV. Panama (1952-1971; folders 25-11 through 26-4; reels 13:26 through 13:32, 40:67). As in the Mexico series, the documents (correspondence, minutes, reports, financial reports) in this series record the incorporation of LAM's work in Panama (both in the forms of its bookstore and radio station HOXO), and development of the ministry there. The series includes on letter from Clarence Jones, co-founder of World Radio Missionary Fellowship and radio station HCJB (folder 25-11) and discussion of legal issues. Folder 25-13 records the findings of the 1958 meeting, and consolidates information on mission activity in the country carried out by various Christian agencies and denominations; attention was given to the history of mission work on the isthmus, existing LAM work at the bookstore, radio station and among West Indians, and recommendations for further development of the work there. Folder 26-4 should not be overlooked because of its title "Miscellaneous". Included in it are documents on partnership vs. "latinization" models of integrating indigenous leadership into LAM's ministry, lessons the mission could learn from the relationship between Panama and the United States, and the legal status of expatriates in the country. As with other series, Spanish documents are included here as well, although they do not predominate. Key correspondents in the series are: Bob Beukema, Fred Denton, Horace Fenton, John A. Mawhinney, Paul Pretiz, W. Dayton Roberts, R. Kenneth Strachan.

XV. New York City (1954-1968; folders 26-5 through 26-10; reels 13:33 through 13:37, 40:68). This series (correspondence, minutes, reports, financial reports) documents the beginning and growth of ministry among Hispanic Americans, including reports on meetings with Hispanic pastors and status reports on the various components of the project. The series predominantly covers the time period up to 1960. Spanish documents are included in this series. The key correspondents are: Horace Fenton, Leon Headington, Juan Isais, John A. Mawhinney, W. Dayton Roberts, and R. Kenneth Strachan.

XVI. Communications (1945-1972; folders 26-11 through 32-6; reels 14-1 through 15:27, 40:69 through 40:81, 43:9 through 43:12). The Communications Division series consists of correspondence, reports, memos, organizational charts, statistics, financial records, press releases, meeting minutes and promotional material, documenting LAM's planning and activity in the operation of radio stations TIFC, HOXO, YNOL and YSHQ, radio broadcasting cooperation as part of CCP and DIA, involvement in television outreach, cooperation in literature production through LEAL, and magazine publishing in VERBO. An historical summary of the division as of 1966 is available in folder 26-13. Each of the sub-series contains some documents in Spanish. The following individuals were key participants in discussion documented in most or all of the sub-series: Horace Fenton, Paul Pretiz, W. Dayton Roberts, and R. Kenneth Strachan.

General. An initial general sub-series contains materials which broadly document the Division's activity. The expansion of radio ministry into various countries between 1955 and 1969 is recorded in folders 26-15 through 23. A number of special projects coordinated by the Division requiring cooperation with other organizations and/or fund raising are documented in folders 26-27 through 32. Particularly noteworthy is the Division "Blue Book" or organizational manual, which includes goals, policies and an historical summary (folder 26-13). Also of particular interest is material in folder 26-28, documenting the planning and implementation with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association of the short-lived Hour of Decision radio program in Spanish, including correspondence with Cliff Barrows; some additional internal evaluation is also located in folder 32-6, written several years after the program was discontinued. Correspondence about availability of an inter-field communication system was carried on with Jim Vaus, an ex-convict who was later converted during Billy Graham's 1949 Los Angeles Crusade (folder 26-24). A single folder (27-2) documents consideration of and opportunities to enter TV broadcasting by the mission. Key correspondents in this sub-series in addition to those noted above include: Bill Herzog, David Solt, and William Wortman.

TIFC. Materials in this sub-series document the planning and operation of LAM's Costa Rican radio station, including discussion of programming, technical matters, listener response, promotion, personnel, relationships with other organizations, expansion into television broadcasting, and funding. For historical perspective, folder 27-4 includes a mid-1960's historical overview of the entire division, while folder 28-3 includes a short history on the station. Notables: folder 27-4 contains a 1962 report on the potential for commercial operation of radio station TIFC; folder 27-7 includes the division "blue book;" folder 27-13 contains an analytical report by International Christian Broadcasters in 1966 on the market in which TIFC was broadcasting, TIFC's effectiveness within that market, and recommendations for implementation. Some documents in the TIFC sub-series are in Spanish. Key figures in the operation of TIFC reflected in the records are Franklin Cabezas, Federico Picardo, and David Solt.

HOXO. Like the TIFC sub-series, the HOXO sub-series documents the planning and operation of the radio station in Panama, with additional emphasis on the joint sponsorship of the station which emerged between LAM and World Radio Missionary Fellowship in 1954, and LAM's transfer of responsibility entirely to WRMF in 1963. Reflecting the rise of anti-American sentiment during the early 1960's, the status of missionaries in the country is also treated. A copy of a creative project on the history of HOXO, located in folder 28-8, draws together a great deal of information on the origins, development and key participants in the station's operation, during and beyond the period of LAM's sponsorship of the station. The sub-series contains some documents in Spanish. The key participants reflected in the sub-series are: Bob Beukema, William Bibee, Fred Denton, Howard Erickson, Bill Herzog, and Clarence Jones.

YNOL. While this sub-series is less substantive than the two previous ones, it nonetheless records the origins and operation of the radio station in Nicaragua. Documentation of the planning phase with its feasibility studies and reports predominates. There are Spanish documents in the sub-series. In addition to the key correspondents for the entire series, David Solt was a key participant in YNOL operations.

YSHQ. This sub-series is also brief, beginning and focusing on the record of the station's history during the planning stage, but including some information on the radio station's early operation in El Salvador.

DIA. This sub-series includes documentation on Difusiones Inter-Americanas (translated Inter-American Communications) and its predecessor, Cadena Cultural Panamericana (CCP, translated Panamerican Christian Network). The files generally address the administration of CCP/DIA, LAM's membership in it and organizational support of and contribution to it. Among the materials in folder 29-5 are notes from the conference at which CCP was organized and its initial "code of regulations" and a report, "The Challenge of Gospel Broadcasting in Latin America," prepared for the Congress at which DIA emerged. "Facts About DIA" is a helpful booklet in folder 30-2, containing a statement of faith, staff, membership, services, and constitution. Folder 29-13 contains correspondence from Donald Grey Barnhouse. The 1959 Congress is documented, along with two subsequent meetings in Huampani, Peru (1962 and 1967); these files document both planning and Congress proceedings and decisions. The key participants in CCP and DIA as reflected in the records were Clarence Jones, Robert Remington, Robert Savage, and Hugh Worsfold.

LEAL. This sub-series records the emergence of Literatura Evangelica para America Latina (translated Evangelical Literature for Latin America), its administration and LAM's participation in its operation. Discussion of LEAL's health and value of continuation appear throughout the sub-series, particularly in folder 30-11. The LEAL sub-series includes records from the 1955 conference called by Evangelical Literature Overseas at which the LEAL-concept was born, and the constitutional convention a year later at which LEAL was formally organized. The key participants as reflected in the LEAL sub-series were Vergil Gerber (LEAL executive secretary) and James Johnson (Evangelical Literature Overseas).

VERBO. This sub-series documents the origin, short life and suspended publication of the magazine during which time LAM was a co-sponsor with Conservative Baptist Foreign Mission Society. There is interesting interchange on cooperation with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Firstly, consideration was given to featuring Billy Graham in VERBO at the time of his Caribbean Crusade in 1958 (See folder 32-4). Consultation with LAM on the feasibility of launching a Spanish version of DECISION magazine is documented in folder 32-6, as well as developing a distribution network for the publication; an internal memo exploring alternatives targeted for a general non-Christian audience is included in folder 31-13. Key correspondents include Jose Bongarra, Alec Clifford, Vergil Gerber, Rufus Jones (CBFMS), Paul Sheetz, and Kenneth Taylor.

XVII. Public Relations (1946-1972; folders 32-7 through 43-9; reels 20:1 through 23:27, 41:11 through 41:22, 43:15). This series consists of correspondence, memos, reports, financial records, annual reports, stationary, news releases, brochures and other promotional materials, newsletters, prayer letters, scripts, advertisements, related to LAM's efforts at the mission-wide level to develop and maintain support for its work among American evangelicals. Documented in the series are the philosophical discussions of what methods the mission wanted to use and how it wanted to be perceived, the role of deputation in presenting the mission to the evangelical public, and the actual planning and production of various means to accomplish its public relations goals. The groups identified to be targets of these projects include prayer and financial supporters, the general evangelical public and press, and potential missionary candidates. The series provides a record of criticism the mission received (folder 43-6), often related to issues of theological conservatism or liberalism.

Folder 32-7 includes annual programs for public relations, detailing proposed publications and projects. In addition to information distributed through its own publications, LAM also coordinated information on its activities in other publications (see folder 32-8). Folder 34-4 contains a copy of "You and Your Deputation Work," from 1952. LAM's philosophy and practice of using audio-visual media is documented in the files on films, filmstrips, etc. (folders 34-8 through 35-13. The production of films required LAM to work with other evangelical agencies, including the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association's World Wide Pictures on Caribbean Crusade, and Westminster Films on Unfinished Business and Colombia Conflict. In some cases, scripts and viewer survey results are included for the corresponding film. Folder 36-4 includes an evaluation of LAM's donors and fundraising methodology. Folder 37-4 brings together promotional pieces which also outline LAM history. 39-3 includes a detailed summary outlining the history of Latin America Evangelist. Folder 39-13 consists of books created to involve children in understanding LAM's missionary work, incorporating stories, cartoons and questions. The principal correspondents in this series are: Horace Fenton, David Howard, John Kenyon, Mary Anne Klein, Jane Pain, Paul Pretiz, W. Dayton Roberts, and R. Kenneth Strachan.

XVIII. Evangelism (1944-1972). The breadth of this series provides the opportunity to observe LAM's evangelistic efforts over twenty-five years. The series contains several general background files (folders 43-10 through 43-18, and 55-5 through 57-5) which span the duration of entire evangelistic effort of the mission, as well as files documenting outreach in particular countries, giving the researcher both broad and narrow views of LAM efforts. LAM's thorough planning in preparing for campaigns and Evangelism-in-Depth programs throughout the region is well recorded, including planning proposals, statements of philosophy, materials used, reports on meetings, and plans for follow-up. The series is divided into two sub-series: Pre-Evangelism-in-Depth Campaigns and Evangelism-in-Depth. The series includes many documents in Spanish, a much higher proportion of which will be found in the Evangelism-in-Depth sub-series.

Pre-Evangelism-in-Depth Campaigns (1944-1958; folders 43-10 through 44-31; reels 24:1 through24:29, 41:23 through 41:40, 43:16). This sub-series consists of correspondence, reports, minutes, financial records, public relations materials related to the mission's evangelistic program from the late 1940's through 1958, at which time individual campaigns with a professional evangelist were discontinued and the Evangelism-in-Depth program (E/D) was begun.

During the pre-E/D campaign phase of LAM's history, professional evangelists were enlisted, including opera performer Anton Marco (see particularly folder 43-13). Communication with other individuals who participated (E.S. Alphonse, Rogelio Archilla, Alfredo Colom, Israel Garcia, Mariano Gonzalez, Eliseo Hernandez, Ernesto Leon, Jose Morales, Roberto Navarro, J. Edwin Orr, Ben Saint, and Phil Saint) is documented in folder 43-16. Use of these and other individuals is documented in specific countries throughout the Campaigns sub-series. Examples of tracts can be found in folder 43-14. Each of the country files includes correspondence and reports on individual meetings. folder 44-5 contains correspondence from Abe Van Der Puy and Clarence Jones.

The culmination of the campaign phase was Billy Graham's early-1958 tour of the Caribbean and Central America, during which Graham held meetings in Costa Rica, Mexico, Guatemala, Panama, Venezuela, Trinidad, Barbados, Jamaica and Puerto Rico. The record of the campaign (folders 44-29,30,31) extends back to the early planning phase, which began in mid-1952. BGEA correspondents include Jerry Beavan and Joe Blinco, with letters written to Billy Graham and Grady Wilson.

Principal correspondents in the sub-series include: Iner Basinger, Horace Fenton, Jonas Gonzalez, Juan Isais, Ruben Lores, W. Dayton Roberts, R. Kenneth Strachan, William L. Thompson (Campaign Division Director). David Howard coordinated Billy Graham's crusade in Mexico. Correspondence with other LAM staff in each of the countries is also included. Correspondence with representatives of other missions active in South and Central America is also included in the files for campaigns for particular countries.

B. Evangelism-in-Depth (E/D, 1948-1972; folders 44-32 through 57-16; reels 24:30 through 26:19, 30:1 through 32:27, 37:3,9 through 37:14, 39:12 through 39:15,22, 43:30). This sub-series, like the campaign sub-series, includes records at both the entire program and country-by-country levels.

Country level. The files at the country level may include correspondence, financial records, committee minutes, press releases, publicity materials, press coverage, follow-up evaluation, copies of the official national Spanish language newspaper, in most cases called En Marcha (in Ecuador, it was called Impacto), and in several cases, an English-language report to American supporters called Postmarked Colombia or Postmarked Peru. Most of the files include material prior to and following the formal program implementation, with the predominance of documentation during the period of the program. Copies of training manuals can be found in folder 51-3 (Bolivia), 52-12 (Ecuador), 53-2 (Guatemala), and 53-9 (Mexico).

Thinking. The general files document the transition, at both practical and theoretical levels, from the campaign to the E\D phase, covering the program, planning, philosophy, structure, materials, and international development. R. Kenneth Strachan's memo, "Implementing the Concept of Evangelism in Depth," is included in folder 55-5, along with responses received from senior LAM administrators. These files document an initial fertile period of reflection and planning, followed by implementation and refinement of the idea as LAM leaders surveyed opportunities in the region. E\D was an innovative program, and the series reflects the analysis and strategy and evaluation characteristic of such a period. One by-product of this was the publication of books. Folder 46-7 relates to the publication of four books on evangelism by LAM staff: Evangelism-in-Depth by various authors, Revolution in Evangelism by W. Dayton Roberts, The Other Revolution by Juan M. Isais, and The Inescapable Calling by R. Kenneth Strachan. Folder 49-2 gathers together various writings, particularly on topics relevant to E/D, such as "E/D in Relation to Theological Training," "E/D as a Theological Revolution," "Mobilization of Believers and Churches for Evangelism," "Theological Foundations of E/D," "Revolution and Evangelization in the Latin American Context," "From E/D to In-Depth Evangelism," "What Does it Mean to Evangelize Today?" and "In-Depth Evangelism: Method or Strategy?"

Evaluation. The debate referred to in folder 47-4 refers to the discussion carried on between a proposed published description of E\D by Strachan, and a response by Rev. Victor E. Hayward, providing a World Council of Churches view of evangelism with greater emphasis on the "ethical and social implications of the Gospel." The file includes a copy of Strachan's article, Hayward's response, and the correspondence related to International Review of Missions' attempts to publish the two pieces simultaneously. Also included is internal discussion of the publishing possibilities and the issues addressed in the debate. A copy of Strachan's reply to Hayward is also included. The process is well documented from a variety of angles.

A project solicited by LAM was an evaluation of E\D by author and missiologist, George Peters. The file includes pre-evaluation reports and correspondence, and Peters' report delivered at the 1968 IFMA-EFMA Winona Lake meeting, a post-evaluation internal analysis of Peters' report, correspondence with Peters on his findings, a record of the process of Peters' work of publishing his work in book form, and responses to the book. The file provides insight into not only the E\D program, but external and internal evaluations and feelings about it and relationships in evangelical mission/missiological circles. Also included is a copy of a paper on New Life for All, an indigenous Nigerian evangelistic movement.

The collection helpfully provides an outside look at E/D as well as that from within LAM. An example of this is a thesis written on E/D, titled A Description and Evaluation of the Evangelism in Depth Program of the Latin American Mission (folder 57-1).

Training and implementation. Building support for and participation in E\D was a major component of the program. Folders 46-1 and 2 document the program developed to involve congregations in E\D and the impact of the program on congregations. The process of training pastors and lay leaders in the principles of E/D and helping them plan implementation in their countries and congregations is documented in folder 49-7 and 8, which contain a record of specific training and planning programs held in Costa Rica. Records for two workshops held in 1963 and 1966 provide some measure of comparison of workshops over time. Along with discussion among mission administrators about goals and implementation of the project, the LAM records also include the materials actually used in training pastors and their congregations to become practicing evangelists. These include the flip charts in English and Spanish for visualizing the instruction, along with an instruction workbook on the use of the flip chart.

Promotion. Folder 46-6 describes the development of a promotional book built around illustrations and brief narrative description of the program. The book itself is filed separately and described more fully in the Photograph Location Record of this guide. Included in the events described in folder 47-1 (almost entirely in Spanish) is a visit by Donald McGavran to a seminary in Mexico planned by Juan Isais, and discussion of the timing of the E\D program in Mexico, where Isais was based and served as LAM representative. One of the tools used in the program, both for training and promotion, was audio-visual production, such as filmstrips; scripts for these are available in folders 45-14 and 15.

Details of administration. Folder 47-7 offers an interesting glimpse into the identity and ownership of a program and its name. Because the E\D program had grown and "Evangelism-in-Depth" was a catchy phrase which was subsequently adopted by other groups for programs unrelated to LAM's E\D, the mission registered the name with the US Patent Office in 1966. The file documents both the registration process and communication between LAM and parties using the E\D name. A related interesting item is a 1961 memo from Horace Fenton to W. Dayton Roberts suggesting abbreviating "Evangelism-in-Depth" from "E-in-D" to "E/D", the abbreviation which became standard. (folder 49-4).

Cooperation. The growth of the program was built on cooperation, and that interaction with numerous other evangelical and non-evangelical agencies is documented in folders 47-8 and 9. While some of the correspondence per organization is limited to one or two pieces, the range covers forty different institutions.

Folders 47-10 to 14 record the work of the committee established to coordinate evangelistic programs on a national scale in Latin American countries, Comite Latinoamericana al Servicio de la Evangelizacion (CLASE). Ruben Lores of LAM was CLASE's Secretary/Treasurer. Evangelical Foreign Missions Association (EFMA) was one of the meeting's sponsors, and correspondence in the CLASE files includes that with EFMA Executive Secretary, Clyde Taylor, and Assistant Executive Secretary, Wade Coggins.

OWED. With the development and experience with E/D in Latin America and subsequent interest throughout the world, LAM established the Office of Worldwide Evangelism in Depth (OWED). Folders 49-9 through 51-1 document the origins of the office, preliminary goals and organization, administrative and financial relationship to LAM, financial difficulties, and its operation. A 1967 theological consultation (folder 49-12) on evangelism included presentations on topics related to evangelism, such as conversion, the church, and cooperation vs. separation. This set of files contains a considerable record of the process of implementing of E/D in Africa, Europe, Asia, North America, Latin America, and Oceania, and with the emergence of OWED, how the efforts throughout the world were coordinated through the office. In the United States, E/D projects were established in Eastern Kentucky (referred to as the Appalachian region, includes On the March), Eastern Pennsylvania, New England, and DuPage County, Illinois. The files related to these programs also record the intersection with and contribution of OWED to these.

Other information on worldwide promotion and application is available in the international travel of Ruben Lores and Horace Fenton (folders 45-9,10 and 11). Folder 48-3 contains reports on trips to oversee E\D projects in both South America (Chile, Brazil, Paraguay), Asia, Africa, North America, and various papers exploring the philosophical aspects of E\D, including its relationship to the church growth movement. A number of these papers were prepared by Orlando Costas. Folders 48-1 and 2 contain similar material, although they are mostly in Spanish.

A final portion of the evangelism series covers meetings, consultations and congresses with relevance for E\D and OWED (folders 57-6 through 57-16). Among these are the 1968 Asian-South Pacific Congress on Evangelism, Consultation of Evangelistic Strategy (COES), a series of meetings between 1968 and 1972, a Wheaton College Graduate School course in 1969, the 1969 Consultation on Saturation Evangelism in Montreaux, Switzerland, the 1969 U.S. Congress on Evangelism, the CLADE I and II meetings in 1969 and 1970, and an assortment of other meetings in which LAM had representation, including several Youth for Christ congresses, EFMA/IFMA joint conferences, the 1968 West African Congress on Evangelism, the 1969 Congo Congress on Evangelism, the 1970 Elburn Congress on Latin America sponsored by ECLA (the Evangelical Committee on Latin America, jointly established by EFMA and IFMA), and the 9th Urbana Missionary Convention in 1970.

Key correspondents in the series include: W. Dayton Roberts, Horace Fenton, David Howard, Charles Troutman, Ruben Lores, Scott Nyborg, and Charles Koch.

XIX. Education (1960-1971; folders 58-1 through 58:9; reels 29:43, 42:19 through 42:27). This slim series brings together materials on the Training and Education divisions of LAM, the Education Division having developed from the Training Division, and including under its administration the Seminario Biblico, lay training, and other educational ministries of LAM. A more detailed record of these operations are available under their own series elsewhere in the collection. Correspondence, memos, blue books, statements of goals and philosophy, and reports comprise the series, which documents the transition from one to the other division during the restructuring period of LAM. A 10/12/71 memo (folder 58-8) documents the dissolution of the Education Department (as distinguished from the Education Division) in Colombia due to diminished work with primary schools and increasing independence by the Colegio Monterrey. Key correspondents in the series are Clayton L. Berg, David Howard, Wilton Nelson, and W. Dayton Roberts.

XX. Early Administrative Files (1920-1951; folders 58:12 through 59:3; reels 5:1 through 6:32, 40:23 through 40:43). This series consists of administrative records which were filed separately by LAM, donor, documenting earlier history of the administrative areas covered by the following administration series. Among the records are correspondence, lists, promotional materials, brochures, prayer letters, publications, memos, reports, constitutions and by-laws, and reports, etc. As is the case with several other series which are predominantly recorded only on microfilm, about two-thirds of this series is only available on microfilm. The topics covered include personnel issues, public relations, finances, relationships, programs in Costa Rica (seminary, Bible Home, clinic, radio station TICF, youth department, etc.), Colombia, and Panama.

Folder 58-16 includes a copy of the periodical Latin America Evangelization Campaign. Folder 59-2 included the program from the 1936 Primer Congreso Evangelico and the 1948 Congreso Evangelico del Caribe. An interesting set of letters is contained in folder 59-3 in which a supporting church questions the mission about the suspected theological liberalism of a LAM missionary.

Among the microfilm files are lists of missionaries and a notebook (folder "Personnel: Missionaries & national workers; 1924-1948," reel 6:1) arranged alphabetically listing station assignments, field absences, furloughs, vacations, illnesses and deaths. The LAEC/LAM public relations files (folder "Publicity materials; 1920-1948," reel 5:7) include prayer letters of Harry and Susan Strachan among others. A table arranged by missionary records information on supporters, receipts, salary and shortages (folder "Finances: Missionary support, student & orphan support; 1946-1948," reel 5:16). The launches referred to in several folder titles were a part of a river ministry project (Folder "Launches...," reel 6:14,15,16). The Youth Department section of the series refers only to Camp Roblealto (folder "Costa Rica: Ministries - Youth Department; 1948," reel 6:28). The "Historical Sidelights" file contains a 1955 version of LAM's history, written by W. Dayton Roberts (reel 6:30). Correspondence recording LAM's interaction with other agencies includes communication with Central American Mission, Christian Airmen's Missionary Fellowship (later Missionary Aviation Fellowship) and with C. Stacey Woods on behalf of Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship (folder "Inter-Mission relationships: Correspondence; 1931-1948," reel 6:32).

The primary correspondents in the series are R. Kenneth Strachan, William L. Thompson, Susan Strachan, Horace Fenton, and W. Dayton Roberts.

XXI. Personnel & Field Administration (1932-1972; folders 59-4 through 66-14; reels 33:1 through 35:42, 39:16 through 39:20, 43:23 through 43:27). This series consists of correspondence, reports, memos, etc. documenting the administration of the mission as a whole, primarily from the United States office when based in New Jersey, and of the Costa Rica office in San Juan. The series includes several sub-series: Candidates, Field, Annual Meetings, New Missionaries, Personnel, Finances, Affiliations and Relationships. A parallel series for both the New Jersey office and field office follows, addressing policy-level considerations, as contrasted with the operational ones of the present series.

Candidates. The candidates sub-series documents the processing of applications to join the mission and the mission's search for prospective workers. Among the subjects covered are specific personnel needs, individual applications, candidate screening and consideration of psychological aspects, orientation, and candidate procedure and philosophy in general.

Field. This sub-series documents the operation, maintenance and development of LAM's ministry, principally from its San Juan office. The files also document the function of the Field Committee within the broader LAM context. Among the committees documented in folder 60-5 are: Spiritual Life Committee, Committee on Housekeeping Budget, Committee on Hospitality, Planning and Review Committee, Policy Committee, Action Committee, LAM Communications Committee and Comisiones Para La Consulta. Folder 60-1 includes a 1963 organizational chart detailing the distribution of responsibilities in Costa Rica.

New missionaries. The New Missionary sub-series (folders 61-3 through 16) documents the program of educating and preparing newly appointed missionaries for life within the mission and at their respective assignments. Included among the files are duplicated information provided to new missionaries and outlines from orientation sessions. The information on the orientation sessions provides a extended view of how the mission prepared its new workers for their missionary service, from the perspectives of language, culture, etc., and how the program changed to provide more thorough training.

Personnel. This sub-series documents a variety of personnel concerns, primarily through correspondence and memos of policy, addressing issues including benefits, insurance, tax and social security, pastoral and psychological care, retirement and resignation, care and education of the children of missionaries, and similar related issues. Folder 62-25 contains a 1952 vintage booklet outlining expectations and responsibilities for missionaries doing deputation during their furloughs. Folder 62-1 contains various lists of LAM's members and their children. Several files (folders 63-3,4,5) address a concern to more thoroughly involve missionaries and support staff in evangelism; running parallel to this is a concern to be sensitive to the authority of the national church.

A number of files include information which address different aspects of relationships in the mission setting: between the mission and national church, missionaries and nationals, etc. Folder 61-14 documents the mission's attitude toward the Costa Rican church and its leadership, illustrating what it hopes to be their working relationship. Information on relationships with nationals in general is addressed in folder 62-6. Folders 62-17,18 document the Partnership Project, which addressed the issue of incorporating Latin Americans into the mission staff. The Partnership Project was developed in Costa Rica to Latinize the special ministries related to publishing, education, etc., with a long term goal of securing national financial support for these programs and the national church. Objections were raised based on the need to avoid mission support of national leadership and the national church. The file includes a 1960 evaluation of the program and a 1969 statement by Charles Troutman on the philosophy and practice of the idea.

Folder 63-14 details the development of plans for response by missionaries to various types of situations in Costa Rica, ranging from natural disaster to war. Folders 63-18,19,20,21 relate primarily to buildings, land and equipment owned by the mission. Although these are routine files, documents from the late-1960's and early '70's deal with the disposition of those things owned by the mission in view of the restructuring of the mission into CLAME.

Finances. This sub-series documents the financial aspects of the operation of the mission, ranging from policy statements (folder 64-9) to practical matters, particularly in relation to avoiding soliciting of funds, fiscal reports, handling of gifts and donations.

Affiliations. The Affiliations sub-series documents LAM's membership in several mission-related associations, primarily the Evangelical Foreign Missions Association (EFMA) and the Interdenominational Foreign Mission Association (IFMA). The process of growing cooperation between these two associations is also documented.

Relationships. This sub-series contains documentation on the activities of other organizations. Because these represent evangelical, fundamentalist or ecumenical perspectives, they offer diverse positions on the value of cooperation in a mission environment. The files also record interaction LAM had with other agencies, particularly those more ecumenically-minded organizations. The interdenominational agencies referred to in folders 66-6,7,8,9,10 are principally those operating in the Central and South American sphere. Among them are: Bible societies, Bolivian Indian Mission, Central American Mission, Christian Literature Crusade, Evangelical Union of South America, Institute of Church Growth, Inter-American Missionary Society, International Christian Leadership, Medical Assistance Programs (MAP), Missionary Aviation Fellowship (MAF), Missions Advanced Research and Communication Center (MARC), Navigators, New Tribes Mission, Overseas Missionary Fellowship, Pocket Testament League, Scripture Union, Sudan Interior Mission, United World Mission, West Indies Mission, World Vision, and Youth for Christ. This discussion is often related to the sharing of ideas, requests for advice based on experience, and efforts toward cooperation and collaboration. Among the denominational groups are Brethren, Episcopalians, Baptists, Methodists, and Presbyterians. Included among the local ministries is the Costa Rica-based Spanish Language Institute. Mention is made of relations with other agencies elsewhere in this guide, including Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, Evangelical Foreign Missions Association and Interdenominational Foreign Mission Association, Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship and International Fellowship of Evangelical Students, and World Radio Missionary Fellowship.

Principal correspondents in this series include: David Howard, Mary Anne Klein (Candidate Secretary), Horace L. Fenton, R. Kenneth Strachan, W. Dayton Roberts, Charles Troutman, and Paul Pretiz.

XXII. New Jersey Office and Field Administration (1921-1973; folders 66-15 through 70-8; reels 37:15 through 38:21, 39:23 through 39:28, 43:31 through 44:3). This series continues the documentation of the administration of the mission, addressed to policy-level considerations, planning and decision-making, as opposed to the operational ones of the previous series. Correspondence, reports, memos, agendas, manuals, legal documents, etc. make up the series. Areas covered include philosophy of ministry, doctrine, regulations, legal matters, organizational structure and restructuring, and the Inter-Field Council and Inter-Field Council Executive.

Folders 66-15 and 67-1,2 contain various editions of what amounts to a statement of philosophy and practice, outlining objectives, activities, doctrine, administration and organizational hierarchy, personnel, and finances; some correspondence related to revisions of the statement is included. Parallels of the previous two policy statements can be found in folder 67-10; in addition to the consolidation of these, the file includes the division blue books, which were organizational manuals developed for each division. Missionary handbooks for both the Colombia and Costa Rica fields can be found in folder 67-9. The legal documents contained in folder 67-11,12,13,14,15,16 include those prepared at the time of Harold Strachan's death and document the transfer of authority and the subsequent reorganization of the mission. Extensive record of the discussion on the restructuring of the mission is documented in folders 68-1,2,3, beginning at the time of Strachan's death in 1945 through 1970. Folder 68-4 depicts in visual form the process of transition the mission was undergoing between 1958 and 1970.

Folders 68-5 through 12 consist of communication among LAM administrators and staff. The subjects of the correspondence run from routine office and financial matters to policy related issues. Generally, the correspondence tends to become progressively more substantive. Included among the correspondents are Mrs. Harry Strachan (mission co-founder and co-director), Clarence E. Mason (mission president), William Thompson (Home Director), Mabel Gamewell (mission headquarters secretary), Margaret Neely (Costa Rica headquarters staff), R. Kenneth Strachan (appointed director with his mother following the death of Harry Strachan in 1945, later general director), Christine L. Thor (based in Costa Rica, possibly C.R. headquarters staff), Betty Helgesen (American Home Office worker), Helen Shute (furloughing missionary reallocated to American Home Office for secretarial duties pending appointment of Gamewell's successor), Edna Lionberger (temporary replacement pending appointment of Gamewell's successor), Pearl (Mrs. William) Thompson (apparently the permanent replacement for Gamewell as secretary), W. Dayton Roberts, Horace L. Fenton (Costa Rica field director), Jacob Stam (board member and formerly mission president), Charles Troutman, David Howard, Kenneth Hood (Home Director).

The Lay Missionary Fellowship files (69-12,13) record the thinking among LAM executives about encouraging lay witness by Christian professionals in Latin America, which later became commonly known as "tent makers". The "proposed projects" of folder 69-14 were various programs which were developed to some stage but discarded, including those in education, publishing, outreach to Chinese, relief and community development, and Bible distribution.

The restructuring of LAM which occurred in 1971 was part of ongoing exploration by the mission as to how to effectively spread the Gospel in Latin America while also working within the context of the Latin American evangelical church. The Restructuring sub-series (folders 69-15,16 and 70-1 through 8) records various aspects of LAM's reconfiguration into CLAME (Community of Latin American Ministries for Evangelism) in 1971. These files extensively document both the theoretical discussion of issues and the practical details of making the transition at the time of the reorganization.

XXIII. North American Councils & Boards (1933-1972; folders 70-9 through 73-16; reels 36:1 through 37:8, 43:28 & 29). This series consists of correspondence, minutes, financial and annual reports, internal memos, and incorporation documents for the United States and Canadian bodies of the mission. While the majority of collection documents the work of the mission from its headquarters and in Costa Rica and Colombia, this series focuses on the mission's administration in the United States and Canada and contribution to mission planning and decision-making.

The US General Council sub-series (folders 70-9 through 14) includes lists of those individuals who served as members, a record of the deliberations on developing the Council, and communication with members on issues vital to their duties. Among the documents in the Board of Trustees sub-series (folders 71-2 through 72-3) are those which record the work of several of the Board's special committees (finance, the return of furloughed missionaries, and retirement; each of which had a financial component) and correspondence with Board members, including Horace Fenton, Philip Gammon, David Howard, Philip Howard, Ruben Lores, Clarence Mason, Robert C. McQuilkin, James Reapsome, Jacob Stam, William L. Thompson and others. The Canadian sub-series includes incorporation records, correspondence, minutes and reports, recording the deliberations and activity of Canadians. Although LAM's fund-raising, public relations and candidate work in Canada preceded its incorporation in 1961, the majority of records document the work of the Canadian corporation or the Council's work during the transitional period from a divisional council to an autonomous corporation.

XXIV. Subject File (1927-1982; folders 73-17 through 74-18; reels 38:22 through 39:11,30, 44:4 & 5). This series appears to have been developed as a reference file, gathering together material on key issues affecting the work of the mission. These included the charismatic movement, ecumenism, church-state relations, cooperation, organizational mergers, missionary casualties, racism on the mission field, relations with Roman Catholics and other evangelical agencies, and histories of the mission. Also in this series are manuscripts of two papers (folder 74-18), one by R. Kenneth Strachan ("New Emphasis in Missions: What adjustment must the fundamentalist missionary movement make to adapt to the new world situation?", 1954) and Charles Troutman (Evangelicals and the Middle Classes in Latin America, 1970).

The series also includes the record on reel 44:5 of a small-scale history project carried out in 1980. Various people, largely LAM retirees or former staff were asked to respond to a series of open-ended questions about the mission, colleagues, and their personal role. The following were those who responded:

Archilla, Rogelio
Church, Alice
Comstock, James
Cotto-Thorner, Dorothy
Coughlin, Joseph
Cruz, Rodolfo
Gutierrez, Pedro
Hood, Ken & Elizabeth
Houser, B. & G.
Howard, David
Jephson, Kathryn
Jorgenson, Jenny
Linquist, Mary
Longworth, Nancy
Marcy, Sidney & Charlotte
McQuilkin, Aimee
Neely, Margarete
Nelson, W.
Piersma, Norman & Donna
Pretiz, Paul
Reed, Bob & Frances
Schulert, Pat
Siegfried, June
Smith, Beryl
Spence, Bob
Thompson, William & Pearl
Thor, Christine
Van de Kappelle, June & Bertha
Wiebe, Paula
Young, Charles & Edith

XXV. R. Kenneth Strachan and Family Papers (1949-1975; reels 45:1 through 46:8). The papers in this series include those of R. Kenneth Strachan, his wife Elizabeth, and their children. R. Kenneth Strachan's correspondence includes routine administrative communication, reviews of potential candidates and their applications to join the mission, interaction on events on the field, evangelism campaigns during the 1950's and the Evangelism-in-Depth program, and the planning for restructuring of the mission during the 1960's. Strachan's illness with Hodgkin's disease and subsequent death is recorded in his papers, as well as in the funeral notices and letters of condolence to either his family or the mission. Also included are notebooks of sermon outlines, sermon texts, and articles, largely on mission-related themes.

Elizabeth Strachan's papers are largely her correspondence with the US headquarters, much of it with Mary Anne Klein, but also include arrangements for her continued work with the mission following her husband's death. The childrens' papers consist of communication to and from mission executives, either of a personal nature or related to their education with which the mission was assisting. The file for Harry Strachan includes reference to his grad thesis on the mission titled Patterns.

XXVI. Individual Missionaries No Longer with LAM: Records & correspondence (1929-1985; folders 58-10,11; reels 40:22, 47:1 through 49:10). The records comprising this series are for former LAM staff who were no longer affiliated with the mission at the time the records were transferred to the Archives, either due to resignation, retirement or death. The types of records found in the files may include pre-application and application forms, biographical essays, prayer cards and letters, administrative correspondence with headquarters, contracts with CLAME, inter-office inter-office correspondence, letters of resignation and notices of death. The Container List of this guide identifies those individuals for whom a file was created. The series is divided into two similar parts: the first consists of paper copies (folders 58-10 and 11); the second exists exclusively on the microfilm. With the exception of one person, there are no individuals for whom there are files in both sub-series.

Folders 58-10,11 are basically personnel files, containing correspondence with individual missionaries to and from the mission, a full list of which appears in the Container List of this guide. Much of the correspondence is with either William L. or Pearl L. Thompson, but also includes that from R. Kenneth Strachan, Horace Fenton and Jacob Stam. The nature of the correspondence is largely routine but ranges from expressions of interest in joining the mission, letters of recommendation written by those used as references by an applicant, letters of acceptance by the mission, travel and passport arrangements, policy violations, personnel problems, letters to a home church informing it of the reason for a candidates dismissal or rejection, an announcement of death, transfer of funds, arrangements while on deputation, offers of work, and letters of resignation. The series also includes a record of summer, short-term and temporary workers. Among these files are documents which record the internal communication and planning for and development of LAM's short-term program around 1960, a questionnaire from then-grad student Greg Livingstone completed by Mary Anne Klein about LAM's short-term program, evaluations and reports, blank and completed application forms, reactions from full-time missionaries about the program, guidelines for short-term workers, and lists of those who participated in the program. Also in the file are lists of former LAM volunteers, former LAMers on loan, and former full-time or part time employees.

XXVII. Confidential Files. The confidential documents microfilmed on reels 43 through 49 do not themselves make up a series, but were instead removed by LAM from other series in this collection for purposes of microfilming and confidentiality. These files have therefore been integrated into their respective series and identified with an "R" as a restricted file. This description is to identify the general nature of the those documents, many of which appear to be those that would be routinely marked "confidential" in order to temporarily limit their circulation. However, interspersed with these are documents describing specific personnel problems, ranging from interpersonal to financial to work-related in nature. These include correspondence with individuals and detailed consideration of the individuals, organizations, and dynamics of the situation. Since the nature of these documents is similar to that of personnel files, they are closed to researcher use for a considerable period of time.

The materials in this collection were received by the Billy Graham Center from Latin America Mission in October 1982, April 1987, and December 1990.

Accession #: 82-142, 87-36, 90-125
April 30, 1993
Paul A. Ericksen
C. Easley

LAM DIRECTORS

CLAME GENERAL SECRETARIES

Roberts, W. Dayton (1st CLAME General Secretary)
Rafael Baltodano (Nicaraguan missionary, 2nd CLAME General Secretary)
Paul E. Pretiz (3rd CLAME General Secretary)

COMMON ACRONYMS IN THE COLLECTION

Latin America Mission used various acronyms for its various constituent bodies, activities, or bodies with which it closely worked. A few of the more frequently used are:

Selected other acronymns which appear in the collection are:

LOCATION RECORD
Accession #: 90-125
Type of material: Microfilm
The following items are located in the Archives Fragile Storage.

Reel 1 - International Field Council (IFC), Quorum Resident in Costa Rica of the Executive Committee of the IFC (Q-IFC), Columbia Field Council (CFC), Costa Rican Field Council (CRFC), Annual Mission Meetings (in Colombia and Costa Rica); 1945-1953. 16mm. There are no corresponding hard copies of these documents in the collection.

Reel 2 - IFC, Q-IFC, CFC, CRFC, Annual Mission Meetings; 1956-1958. IFC; 1959-1963. 16mm. There are no corresponding hard copies of these documents in the collection.

Reel 3 - Inter-Field Council Executive (IFC-X), CFC, CRFC, Annual Mission Meetings; 1959-1963. General Director, IFC-X; 1964-1971. 16mm. There are no corresponding hard copies of these documents in the collection.

Reel 4 - IFC, CFC, CRFC, Annual Mission Meetings; 1964-1971. There are no corresponding hard copies of these documents in the collection.

Reel 5 - Personnel records & correspondence, Candidate and missionary matters, Publicity, Projects discontinued, Financial records, Constitution and by-laws; 1921-1948. 16mm, filming quality poor. There are no corresponding hard copies of these documents in the collection.

Reel 6 - Colombia, Costa Rica, Evangelical congresses, Inter-Mission relationships; 1921-1948. 16mm, filming quality poor. There are no corresponding hard copies of these documents in the collection.

Reel 7 - Association of Bible Churches of Costa Rica. 16mm. Corresponding paper records of these are filed in boxes 1 and 2.

Reel 8 - Association of Bible Churches of Costa Rica. 16mm. Corresponding paper records of these are filed in boxes 2 and 3.

Reel 9 - Association of Bible Churches of Costa Rica. 16mm. Corresponding paper records of these are filed in boxes 3 and 4.

Reel 10 - Editorial Caribe. 16mm. Corresponding paper records of these are filed in boxes 4 through 7.

Reel 11 - Editorial Caribe. 16mm. Corresponding paper records of these are filed in boxes 7 through 10.

Reel 12 - Escuadron (boxes 10 & 11), Pre-Minamundo and Minamundo (boxes 11 & 12), Roblealto (box 12). 16mm. Corresponding paper records of these are filed in boxes noted above.

Reel 13 - Roblealto (boxes 12 & 13) , Mexico (box 25), Panama (boxes 25 & 26), New York (box 26). 16mm. Corresponding paper records of these are filed in the boxes noted above.

Reel 14 - Communications. 16mm. Corresponding paper records of these are filed in boxes 26 through 29.

Reel 15 - Communications. 16mm. Corresponding paper records of these are filed in boxes 30 through 32.

Reel 16 - Restricted. Colegio Monterrey, Evangelical Alliance of Costa Rica. 16mm. There are no corresponding hard copies of these documents in the collection.

Reel 17 - Colegio Monterrey: supplementary documents, Evangelical Alliance of Costa Rica: supplementary documents, Goodwill Caravans, Clinica Biblica. 16mm. There are no corresponding hard copies of these documents in the collection.

Reel 18 - Colombia. 16mm. Corresponding paper records of these are filed in boxes 19 through 22.

Reel 19 - Colombia. 16mm. Corresponding paper records of these are filed in boxes 22 through 25.

Reel 20 - Public Relations. 16mm. Corresponding paper records of these are filed in boxes 32 through 35.

Reel 21 - Public Relations. 16mm. Corresponding paper records of these are filed in boxes 35 through 37.

Reel 22 - Public Relations. 16mm. Corresponding paper records of these are filed in boxes 37 through 41.

Reel 23 - Public Relations. 16mm. Corresponding paper records of these are filed in boxes 41 through 43.

Reel 24 - Evangelism: Pre-Evangelism-in-Depth Campaigns (boxes 43 & 44), Evangelism-in-Depth (box 51). 16mm. Corresponding paper records of these are filed in the boxes noted above.

Reel 25 - Evangelism: Evangelism-in-Depth. 16mm. Corresponding paper records of these are filed in boxes 51 through 53.

Reel 26 - Evangelism: Evangelism-in-Depth. 16mm. Corresponding paper records of these are filed in boxes 53 through 55, 57.

Reel 27 - Seminario Biblico. 16mm. There are no corresponding hard copies of these documents in the collection.

Reel 28 - Seminario Biblico. 16mm. There are no corresponding hard copies of these documents in the collection.

Reel 29 - Seminario Biblico, Education Division. 16mm. There are no corresponding hard copies of these documents in the collection.

Reel 30 - Evangelism: Evangelism-in-Depth. 16mm. Corresponding paper records of these are filed in boxes 44 through 46, 56.

Reel 31 - Evangelism: Evangelism-in-Depth. 16mm. Corresponding paper records of these are filed in boxes 47 through 49.

Reel 32 - Evangelism: Evangelism-in-Depth. 16mm. Corresponding paper records of these are filed in boxes 49 through 51, 57.

Reel 33 - Pe