German-speaking Mennonites migrated to Uruguay from Danzing and West Prussia in the 1940s and formed the Konferenz der Mennonitengemeinden. Their presence was a factor in the sending of mission workers from both predecessor agencies, Commission on Overseas Mission and Mennonite Board of Missions. From 1954 to 1974, a regional seminary operated in Uruguay; mission workers also worked with the formation of Spanish-speaking churches. The Konferenz includes the German-speaking congregations in Uruguay that originated from Danzing and West Prussia. There are three Germanic Mennonite settlements that are primarily agricultural, and an increasing number of members live in the city of Montevideo.
In 1972, the Spanish churches organized into a conference known as Convención de las Iglesias Menonitas en Uruguay, which includes 12 congregations.
Mennonite Mission Network supports the Centro de Estudios organized by the Convención to develop church leaders and strengthen the churches’ Anabaptist identity. The Centro de Estudios offers an agile program that seeks to take courses to the congregations, or clusters of congregations, so that it is practical for students to study in the evenings without traveling long distances. Classes taught in 2014 included Discernment of biblical truths, Sowing faith in God, Church planting, Shalom: divine project, Introduction to the reading of the Gospels and Interpreting miracles in the Gospel of Mark. In 2015, visiting professor Palmer Becker helped start the new year with courses on“What is an Anabaptist Christian?”
