To help the people of Panamá by walking with them every day, sharing the love, hope, and truth of Jesus Christ.
In 1981, Vida Ministries was born to fulfill this mission of God's eternal love. Today, we live and work in the remote Darién province of Panamá, home to the Choco indians and one of the world’s densest jungles.
When we first arrived in Darién, an elderly Choco man told us his people heard about God and His son who died for them, but they didn’t know who He was. Their language was largely unwritten, access to education seemed impossible, and Bibles were simply unavailable.
From that special day, we committed to be one of the first families to live permanently with the Choco, offering a daily example of how imperfect people can find the forgiveness, meaning and joy of Jesus’ Love through the ups and downs of life. God has moved through Vida to establish seven churches, pioneer Darién's first Christian radio station, and lead villages of all sizes to be transformed by finding Jesus.
We believe the Choco people will experience God’s salvation and blessings with the support of strong local pastors. By living in Darién, we can disciple local pastors every day, teaching them how to tackle and overcome the practical challenges of leading church communities to be beacons of God’s love, hope, and truth.
After more than three faithful decades, Vida is known throughout Darién as a place where pastors of all denominations and people of any community can find caring refuge. The Spanish word “Vida” means life. Our daily prayer is that God uses Vida to pour His salvation and life into the people of Darién.