History

The Iglesia Luterana Agustina de Guatemala (Augustinian Lutheran Church of Guatemala) was founded in 1991 by Padre Horacio Castillo and his family. The members come from the margins of the Guatemalan society, people of few resources and are predominantly indigenous.

Guatemala suffered through a 36 year internal war. This war ended in 1996 with the signing of the peace accords. Padre Horacio Castillo helped write and later was among those who signed the peace accords.

The first churches of the ILAG were formed in Guatemala City among the internally displaced, those who fled into the City during the war, who were (and still are) living in the ravines of the City.  The ILAG also operates two elementary schools which serve children and families in these marginalized areas of the City.

As refuges began to return from Mexico, they contacted Padre Horacio as they had known him from his visits to some of the camps.  Through these contacts the ILAG grew in the rural areas of the country among the resettled refuges.

The ILAG continues to grow each year by a few mission sites and churches as communities hear that the ILAG walks with people delivering the gospel freely to all people and visits the communities regularly.

The philosophy of the ILAG is to provide pastoral accompaniment and holistic development.  The center of the ILAG is Christ and from this center we seek to provide for all aspects of the life of our members and their communities - the spiritual, physical, emotional and material.

For a timeline of the history of Guatemala, click here.

 ILAG Congregations

The church has about 3,000 members in nearly 20 congregations spread throughout Guatemala.  ILAG also operates two elementary schools in Guatemala City. 

Projects

 Our projects are outlined in 3 PDF documents.  These are presented as PDF documents so you can easily print them to share with others.

For Leadership Development projects click here.

For Educational projects click here.

For Holistic projects click here.

Newsletters:

For Summer 2009, click here

 

Pastoral Team
 
Padre Horacio Castillo A., President of the ILAG
Padre Horacio Castillo Echeverria, Vice President of the ILAG
Karen de Gil, Executive Secretary                              
Beatriz Castillo, Education and Health                         
Esther Echeverria de Castillo, Women’s Ministry Pastor and Director of Education Program
Amanda Olson de Castillo, Missionary and Pastor