A CHRONOLOGY OF PROTESTANT BEGINNINGS:
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

by Drs. Daryl L. Platt and Clifton L. Holland

(last revised on June 6, 2003)

Historical Overview of the Dominican Republic:

Became First Spanish Colony:                                                                                             1493

French occupy western part (known today as Haiti) of Island of Hispanola:                               1659

All of Hispanola under Haitian Rule:                                                             1802-1809, 1822-1844

Re-establishment of Spanish Rule on eastern part of Hispanola:                                              1861

Independence from Spain:                                                                                                    1865

Religious Freedom Established:                                                                                           1865

U.S. military occupation:                                                                                             1916-1924

 

Number of North American agencies in 1989:                                                                            57

Number of North American agencies in 1996:                                                                            44        

Indicates European society*

Significant Protestant Beginnings or Events:

     1594       -    Roman Catholic Archbishop alarmed at Protestant impact (see note #3).

     1601       -    300 Protestant Bibles burned publicly by Roman Catholic authorities (see note #4).

     1824       -    6,000 Afro-American (freed slaves) immigrants from America arrived at the invitation of President Jean Pierre Boyer; among them were many Protestants, including two ordained ministers of the African Methodist Episcopal Church; the first Protestant services were celebrated in Puerto Principe and Samaná.

     1824       -    African Methodist Episcopal Church (English work among Afro-American immigrants)

     1834       -    *British Methodists begin English work among Afro-American immigrants

     1834       -    English-speaking Baptists from the Turk Islands in Puerto Plata.

     1834       -    *Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society:  John Tindall in Puerto Plata.

     1873       -    *Moravian Church among West Indian immigrant workers (1907)

     1889       -    Independent missionary Samuel E. Mills (began Spanish work in Monte Cristi and Santiago)

     1896       -    Protestant Episcopal Church Foreign Board (English work)

     1907       -    Seventh-day Adventist General Conference

     1907       -    Free Methodist Church (incorporated the work of Samuel E. Mills in Monte Cristi and Santiago)

     1916       -    Pentecostal evangelists from Puerto Rico begin work in San Pedro de Macorís (Salomón Feliciano, affiliated with the Assemblies of God); later the church founded there became part of the Dominical Evangelical Church (1920s).

     1919       -    Alliance for Christian Service in Santo Domingo (see Note #5 below)

     1920       -    Plymouth Brethren Assemblies (known as “Templos Bíblicos” or Gospel Halls)

     1920       -    Dominican Evangelical Church (united with Wesleyan Methodists in 1932 and with the Moravian Church in 1960) organized by the Alliance for Christian service in Santo Domingo; it became an independent body in 1955.

     1930       -    Assemblies of God, Inc. (begun by national missionaries from Puerto Rico; now related to the Assemblies of God in the USA)

     1933       -    Church of God of Prophecy

     1934       -    Christian Assembly (a national Pentecostal body from Puerto Rico)

     1939       -    World Team (formerly, West Indies Mission; began in Cuba in 1935)

     1940       -    Church of God World Missions (Cleveland, TN)

     1943       -    Child Evangelism Fellowship

     1943       -    UFM International (Christian Bible Churches)

     1945       -    The Missionary Church, World Partners

     1946       -    Evangelical Mennonite Church

     1947       -    Arc of Salvation Church

     1950       -    Church of the Apostolic Faith

     1950       -    Baptist Mid-Missions

     1951       -    Defenders of the Faith (a national Pentecostal body from Puerto Rico)

     1962       -    Southern Baptist Home Mission Board (now International Mission Board)

     1962       -    Heifer Project International

     1962       -    International Child Care

     1965       -    United Pentecostal Church International

     1968       -    Bethany Fellowship Missions

     1969       -    Baptist International Missions

     1969       -    Christian & Missionary Alliance

     1972       -    Church of the Nazarene

     1980       -    American Baptist Churches, USA

     1981       -    Christian Reformed Church of North America (work with Haitian immigrants)

     1981       -    Mission to the Americas

     1982       -    Harvest

     1985       -    Floresta USA, Inc.

     1986       -    World Servants

     1987       -    International Children’s Care

     1987       -    Habitat for Humanity International

     1987       -    South American Missionary Society (SAMS)

     1987       -    World Indigenous Missions

     1988       -    Medical Ambassadors International

     1988       -    Mission Impossible

     1989       -    Kids Alive International

     1989       -    Young Life

     1991       -    United Church Board of World Missions

     1991       -    The Luke Society

     1993       -    Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod

     1994       -    STEM Ministries

     1996       -    Bible Baptist Fellowship International

     1996       -    Mission Possible Canada

 

Date of Origin Unknown:

 

                        Christian Aid Mission

                        Christian Church and Churches of Christ

                        Conservative Baptist Home Mission Society

                        Dominican Baptist Convention

                        Haitian Baptist Convention

                        Church of Christ Mi-el (Misión Elim) from Guatemala

                        Pentecostal Church of God

                        Presbyterian Church, USA

                        Youth With A Mission (YWAM)

 

NOTES:

(1)       Dates listed indicate the earliest recorded ministry or in case of discrepancies, the date most frequently indicated.

 

(2)       North American Agencies include U.S. and Canadian.

 

(3)       In 1594 The Archbishop of Santo Domingo reported to the Spanish King that Protestant influence and Spanish Bibles had eliminated the differences between Protestants and Catholics on the North Coast (Bosch 1971:53).

 

(4)       The Bibles with Lutheran notes were collected from homes and burned in the public plaza by the Archbishop (Gonzales Roca, 1969).

 

(5)       The Alliance for Christian Service (or Board of Christian Work) was a joint ministry of the Presbyterian, Methodist and United Brethren Churches.

SOURCES:

(1)  Daryl L. Platt, "Who Represents the Evangelical Churches in Latin America? A Study of the Evangelical Fellowship Organizations." Pasadena, CA: an unpublished Doctor of Missiology Dissertation, School of World Mission, Fuller Theological Seminary, June 1991. Used by permission of the author.

(2)  Daryl L. Platt, Nueva Esperanza para Santo Domingo (Publicaciones CETEC, 1981)

(3)  PROLADES (Latin American Socio-religious Studies Program), international headquarters in San José, Costa Rica: www.prolades.com, prolades@racsa.co.cr

            (4)  Dayton Roberts and John Siewert, editors:  Mission Handbook of U.S. and Canadian Christian Ministries Overseas (MARC 1989).

            (5)  John A. Siewert and Edna G. Valdez, editors: Mission Handbook of U.S. and Canadian Christian Ministries Overseas (MARC 1997).

(6)     Jean-Jacques Bauswein and Lukas Vischer, The Reformed Family Worldwide (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1999).

(7)     Justo L. González, The Development of Christianity in the Latin Caribbean (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1969).