Project Overview:
If you’ve ever come this way, you know what an enchanting country Costa Rica is. Relatively safe and accessible, friendly to Americans, blessed with a diversity of plant and animal life; it is an eco-tourist’s dream. Within just a few miles, you can experience a tropical jungle, a cool cloud forest, or a windswept ocean vista. There are active volcanoes to climb and some of the best surfing anywhere. Sound like Eden? Well, there are two sides to this country, and for some, life is not so sublime.

There’s another side to Costa Rica that can be found in the slums in San Jose or the remote villages of the river basins. Outcast Nicaraguan refugees scrape out a life on the fringes of society. Indigenous groups lack even basic education and health care. Families have abandoned self-sufficient farming lifestyles for opportunity in the cities, hoping to participate in the flood of tourist driven prosperity. Crime in the urban centers has escalated dangerously. The population is nominally Catholic, but in many people’s lives, the neon god reigns supreme. It’s a time of change, the erosion of a gentle old culture and the emergence of a not-always-so-nice new one. For those elevated by foreign investment, traditional mores and lifestyles are giving way to the modern, consumer oriented world. For those left behind, the new realities offer few redeeming comforts.

In the midst of this, the church in Costa Rica is reaching out to bring hope and balance to the lives of its people. From the optimism of church planting pastors in Liberia to the evangelical coffee growers of Santa Maria de Dota ministering to the migrants who pick their coffee, the church is on the move. We hope you’ll be inspired to join us working in these venues. You’ll gain a perspective that no adventure tour or four-star resort could ever provide. And you may just lose your heart to this beautiful country and its people

Ministry Description:
Opportunities may include door-to-door evangelism, prayer walks, children's ministry, sports outreach, feeding programs, light construction and participating in church services.