The Iglesia Nacional Evangélica Menonita Guatemalteca (INEMGUA), Kekchi
Mennonite Church consists of around 140 churches divided into six regions,
spread throughout Alta Verapaz and extending into the Petén in northern
Guatemala.
Church offices are located in San Pedro Carchá, Alta Verapaz. Services in almost all the churches are conducted primarily in the Kekchi language, one of the main Mayan languages of Guatemala.
The Kekchi Mennonite Church has a holistic understanding of the gospel which involves all of life, the spiritual as well as the material. Concerns for health, educational, agricultural and spiritual development are part of the makeup of the church.
The church has an active women’s organization with regional and church-wide leaders. Mennonite Mission Network became involved with the INEMGUA in response to the request from church leadership for a female mission worker to walk alongside the Kekchi women as they develop and expand their ministry.
INEMGUA has its roots in mission work from Franklin Mennonite Conference in Pennsylvania, along with Eastern Mennonite Missions. They began relating with the Kekchi people in Alta Verapaz, Guatemala in 1968. The first baptisms took place in 1972. By 1980 the Kekchi Mennonite Church was organized.
