President of IDEA Ministries
and
Director of the Latin America Socio-Religious Studies Program
(PROLADES)
PERSONAL
Birthdate & Place: July 9, 1939 in Little Rock,
Arkansas, USA
Citizenship: USA
Childhood: Raised in Southern California
(1941-1956)
Military Service: U.S. Air Force (December
1956-October 1960), Honorable Discharge
Marital Status: Married to Linda J. Ives (July 26,
1958)
Children: Richard L. (born 1961 in Lynwood, CA) and
Suzan L. (born 1962 in Chicago, IL)
Current Residence: San Jose, Costa Rica (since 1972)
EDUCATION
Diploma, Compton High School, Compton, California
(1956)
Diploma, Electronics School, Scott Air Force Base,
Belleville, Illinois; Ground-to-Air Communications Specialist & Electronics Technician
(six-month program)
Course Work: University of Wisconsin Extension
Program; 8 credit hours taken during 1957-1960 while serving in the U.S. Air Force.
Diploma, Pre-Aviation/Christian Education Major,
Moody Bible Institute, Chicago, IL (1961-1964)
Course Work: Fullerton Junior College, General
Education requirements, Fullerton, CA; 12 credit hours taken during 1965-1966.
B.A., General Bible Major, BIOLA College (now
BIOLA University), La Mirada, CA (1965-1967)
M.A., School of World Mission, Fuller Theological
Seminary, Pasadena, CA: Missiology Major with concentrations in Latin American
Studies & Cultural Anthropology, 1968-1971
Graduate Studies at the Latin American Biblical
Seminary, San Jose, Costa Rica: Dept. of Christian Ministry, Licentiate program,
1975-1977
Doctoral Studies, School of World Mission, Fuller
Theological Seminary, Pasadena, CA: Missiology Major with concentration in Church
Growth Studies & Church History, resident studies 1980-1981; Doctoral Candidate
1981-1991 (discontinued program in 1991)
CHURCH AFFILIATIONS: 1954 to the present
First Baptist Church, Compton, CA (American Baptist
Churches in the USA)
First Baptist Church, Ferndale, WA (independent)
Galilee Baptist Church, Chicago, IL (Conservative
Baptist Association)
Bethel Baptist Church, Anaheim, CA (North
American Baptist Association)
Sunkist Baptist Church, Anaheim, CA (North
American Baptist Association)
Altadena Baptist Church, Altadena, CA (Baptist
General Conference)
Lake Avenue Congregational Church,
Pasadena, CA (Conservative Congregational Christian Conference, CCCC);
Trinity United Presbyterian Church, Santa
Ana, CA (Presbyterian Church in the USA);
Templo Biblico (Costa Rican Bible Church Association,
AIBC), San Jose, Costa Rica.
Iglesia Biblica Nazaret (Costa Rican Bible
Church Association, AIBC), San Francisco de Dos Rios, Costa Rica.
Primera Iglesia Bautista de Desamparados
(Independent), San Jose, Costa Rica.
Iglesia "El Camino de Emaus"
(Independent) San Jose, Costa Rica.
WORK EXPERIENCE: 1956-1972
1956-1960, Served in the U.S. Air Force as an enlisted
man; received basic training in at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, TX (January
1957); graduated from Electronics School at Scott Air Force Base in Belleville, IL
(February-June 1957); worked as an Electronics Technician (July 1957 to October
1960) in ground-to-air communications systems at Blaine Air Force Station in Blaine, WA,
and at San Clemente Island Air Force Station, San Clemente Island, CA; received Honorable
Discharge as Airman First Class from U.S. Air Force at Oxnard Air Force Base in
October 1960.
1960-1961, Electronics Test Equipment Repairman at
the Autonetics Division of North American Aviation in Downey, CA.
1962-1964, worked as an Electronics Technician during
summers while attending Moody Bible Institute in Chicago; employed by Motorola Military
Electronics and Zenith Television; also worked part-time as a Bindery Clerk at the
Federal Reserve Bank in Chicago (1962-1964).
1964-1965, Director of Christian Education
& Youth at Bethel Baptist Church, Anaheim, CA (North American Baptist
Association)
1966,Director of Christian Education &
Youth at Sunkist Baptist Church, Anaheim, CA (North American Baptist Association)
1967-1968, Electronics Technician at Hughes Ground
Systems in Fullerton, CA.
1969,Associate Pastor at Altadena Baptist
Church, Altadena, CA (Baptist General Conference)
1970, Electronics Technician at Resdel Engineering in
Pasadena & Arcadia, CA.
1971-1972, Associate Minister of Pastoral
Visitation, Lake Avenue Congregational Church, Pasadena, CA (Conservative
Congregational Christian Conference, CCCC)
MISSIONARY EXPERIENCE: 1972-1989
1972-1989, Missionary Affiliate with the Latin
America Mission of Coral Gables, Florida (interdenominational mission agency,
member of IFMA); resided in San Jose, Costa Rica.
1972-1982, served as a staff member of the International
Institute for In-Depth Evangelization (INDEPTH) and worked in the following
positions: Director of In-Depth Publications and Editor of the quarterly bulletin IN-DEPTH
EVANGELISM AROUND THE WORLD (1973-1975); Secretary of Financial
Administration and Publications (1975); Secretary of Public Relations & Financial
Development, and INDEPTH advisor for Nicaragua (1976-1977); Director of PROCADES
(Central America Socio-Religious Studies Program) and INDEPTH advisor for the Republic of
Panama (1978-1980); Director of the Department of Strategy & Research; and Founder and
Coordinator of the Latin America Socio-Religious Studies Program (PROLADES),
1981-1982.
1983-1989: service contract with the Missiological
Institute of the Americas (IMDELA) in San Jose, Costa Rica, as Executive
Director; and with In-Depth Evangelism Associates (IDEA) in Orange, CA,
as President & Chairman of Board of Directors (IDEA Ministries was the support arm of
IMDELA).
1988-1995: Chairman of the Latin American
Church Growth Task Force (LACGTF), a network of researchers/missiologists who
monitored the growth of the Protestant Movement in Latin American/Caribbean and tracked
the development of new religious movements; also served as a Lausanne Research
Associate for Latin America with the Strategy & Research Track, and attended the
II Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization in Manila, Phillipines, in 1988, and
assisted with workshops on Strategy & Research.
WORK EXPERIENCE: 1990 to the present
Executive Director (CEO) of IDEA Ministries
(resigned from the LAM effective December 31, 1989; signed a new service contract with
IDEA Ministries effective January 1, 1990); resides in San Jose, Costa Rica: http://www.ideaministries.com/
Director of the Latin America Socio-Religious
Studies Program (PROLADES) in San Jose, Costa Rica: http://www.prolades.com/
Professor of Missiology & Social Sciences at
IMDELA-School of World Mission in San Jose, Costa Rica; Coordinator of extension
programs in Mexico City and Los Angeles; IMDELA is now part of the Evangelical
University of the Americas (UNELA) in San Jose: http://www.unela.net
Editorial Director of the monthly news journal
MESOAMERICA, published by the Institute for Central American Studies (ICAS) in San
Jose, Costa Rica (1997 to 2007)
Translator (Spanish to English) of book manuscripts
and reports for several international organizations.
Non-formal Education (1974-1989). Taught over 60
seminars and workshops in ten countries of Latin America and among Hispanics in the USA.
Formal Education (1975-2006). Taught more than 80
courses at the university or post-graduate levels for academic credit at the Latin
American Biblical Seminary (3) in San Jose, Costa Rica; Fuller Theological Seminary (2) in
Pasadena, CA; the Internationall Urban Institute-Los Angeles Field Site (1) for Grand
Canyon University, Phoenix, Arizona; the Venezuelan Baptist Seminary (1), Caracas,
Venezuela; the School of World Mission-IMDELA (+25) and the Evangelical University of the
Americas (+50) in San Jose, Costa Rica; and the UNELA Extension Program in Urban Studies
in Quito, Ecuador (1) .
PUBLICATIONS-ARTICLES-SPECIAL PROJECTS
1971, presented two papers at the International
Consultation on In-Depth Evangelism in Alajuela, Costa Rica: "The Religious
Dimension In Hispanic Los Angeles: A Protestant Case Study" and "Church
Growth and Evangelism-in-Depth."
1974, The Religious Dimension in Hispanic
Los Angeles: A Protestant Case Study (Pasadena, CA: Wm. Carey Library)
1975, "A Profile of Evangelical Churches in
Costa Rica," in In-Depth Evangelism Around The World, Vol. 2, No. 4
(January-March 1975).
1975, "Anglo Hispanic Protestant Tensions in
Southern California," in Missiology, An International Review, Vol. III,
No. 3 (July 1975).
1977-1986, produced a series of National
Protestant Church Directories for Costa Rica (1978, 1982, 1986), Nicaragua
(1979), Panama (1979), Guatemala (1980), El Salvador (1981), Honduras (1981, 1985) and
Belize (1981); served as chief technical advisor for these projects.
1979, "!Crecen las Iglesias Evangelicas en
Centro America!" in Ministerios en Comunidad (San Jose, Costa Rica: CLAME,
October 1979).
1980, "Discovering the Facts, Planning New
Strategies," in the Latin American Evangelist , September-October, 1980
(Miami, FL: Latin America Mission).
1981, World Christianity: Central America
and the Caribbean (a series of Status of Christianity Country Profiles),
edited by Clifton L. Holland (MARC-World Vision)
1982,"A History of the Protestant
Movement in Central America," unpublished Doctor of Missiology Dissertation
(Fuller Theological Seminary, School of World Mission)
1982, "Oh, God, Please Let Us Do It Again!"
in the Latin American Evangelist , September- October, 1982 (Miami,
FL: Latin America Mission).
1983,"Hacia una Historia del Movimiento
Protestante en America Central," unpublished ms. based on doctoral
dissertation.
1986, general editor of A Directory of
Hispanic Protestant Churches in Southern California (AHET-ILAS-IDEA).
1986-1995, produced an Urban Church Growth
Studies series on the Mexico City Metro Area (MCMA, 5 volumes) as a joint
venture between PROLADES and VELA; served as chief technical advisor for the project;
created the National Evangelical Center for Research and Information (CENII, 1994),
located at the VELA offices in Colonia Lindavista in Mexico City; designed and supervised
the creation of a computer database of 1,200 Evangelical churches in MCMA; designed and
supervised the creation of a computer database of more than 10,000 Evangelical churches at
the national level (this database continues to grow as more information is added by VELA).
1989,"Los Pueblos Menos Evangelizados en
America Central," a working document produced by PROLADES for students of IMDELA.
1989, a contributor to the Diccionario
de Historia de la Iglesia, Wilton M. Nelson, general editor (Miami,
FL: Editorial Caribe, 1989).
1990,"Toward a Classification System of
the Protestant Movement in Latin America and the Caribbean" (IDEA/ PROLADES:
English and Spanish editions; updated 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003,
2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008).
1990,"A Study of Unreached People Groups in
Mexico," a working document produced for the U.S. Center for World Mission in
Pasadena, CA.
1991-1992, served as Executive Director of the
Steering Committee for an Urban Conference in Los Angeles: "Celebrate
Christ's Presence in the City of the Angels!" (held in April 1992 at
Emmanuel Presbyterian Church)
1992,"A Study of Unreached People Groups in
the Greater Los Angeles Metro Area," a working document for the U.S. Center for
World Mission in Pasadena, CA. (updated in 1993).
1992-1993, Director of the Resource Center
for Urban Ministry for the Greater Los Angeles Metro Area (GLAMA), located on the
campus of the William Carey International University, Pasadena, CA; sponsored by IDEA
Ministries.
1993, produced the ICDS User's Manual
(366 pages) for IDEA Church Directory Software (Orange, CA: IDEA
Ministries); producer of IDEA Church Directory Software (ICDS) with
technical assistance from Alan Young & Associates.
1993, wrote "Una Historia de los
Primeros 120 Anos de la Iglesia Evangelica Hispana del Sur de California," chapter
1 of Hacia Una Historia de la Iglesia Evangelica Hispana de California del Sur
(Montebello, CA: AHET, 1993); member of AHET's History Committee and producer of the book.
1993, general editor of A Directory of
Hispanic Protestant Churches in Southern California (IDEA Ministries);
created a computer database of 1,500 Hispanic Protestant churches in Southern California
for the Hispanic Association for Theological Education (AHET).
1993-1996, Director of the IDEA-GLAMA
Resource Center for Urban Ministry, Orange, CA
1993-1996, Producer/Compiler of A
Resource Directory on Ethnic and Religious Diversity in GLAMA: Regions I-VII
(7 volumes, one for each region) and Los Angeles County (two volumes)
(Orange, CA: IDEA); created a computer database of 12,500 religious groups for the Los
Angeles 5-County Region; classified these religious groups based on Dr. J. Gordon Melton's
Encyclopedia of American Religions; created a series of over 100
computer-generated color maps using AtlasGIS for the GLAMA database project;
installed the IDEA Church Directory Software (ICDS), the GLAMA Database of
Religious Groups, and the AtlasGIS mapping programs on the computers of about
30 organizations in the Los Angeles area as part of the IDEA-GLAMA Research Network (see
http://www.ideaministries.com/ for further
information).
1993-1994, produced A National Directory
of Hispanic Protestant Churches and Ministries in the USA (Pasadena, CA:
IDEA-PROLADES-HABBM); created a computer database of 6,500 Hispanic Protestant churches in
the USA for HABBM (Hispanic Association for Bilingual-Bicultural Ministries; served as a
founding member of the Board of Directors of HABBM with headquarters at Templo Calvario
(pastor Danny de Leon) in Santa Ana, CA.
1994-1995, produced a series of PNRF (Permanent
National Research Function) working documents for PNRF projects in the Dominican
Republic, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and Colombia.
1995, "Religion in Central America, Part I," in
MESOAMERICA, Vol. 14, No. 2 (February).
1995 to December 2007, Editorial Director of the
monthly news journal MESOAMERICA, published by the Institute for
Central American Studies (ICAS) in San Jose, Costa Rica:mesoamer@racsa.co.cr and http://www.mesoamericaonline.net/
1996, "Religion in Central America, Part II,"
in MESOAMERICA, Vol. 15, No. 2 (February).
1996 to present, began the creation of a computer
database of all known religious groups in Latin America and the Caribbean, which is now
known as RITA: Religion-In-The-Americas: see http://www.prolades.com
1997, compiled A Resource Directory on
Spiritual Mapping for GLAMA (about 1,000 pages) for the California Prayer
Evangelism Network (CPEN).
1997 to present, translator (Spanish to English) of a
series of publications for the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) (for
example: Doing Business With Healthcare Cooperatives in the Americas,
ICA, 1997, 124 pages) in San Jose, Costa Rica, International Health Programs (IHP) in
Santa Cruz, California; the Global Water Partnership (GWP), and other
organizations.
1998, produced a series of eight research
reports on the Protestant Movement in Costa Rica (average of 15 pages each) for
the independent Center for Socio-Religious Research (CISRE) and the Evangelical
Alliance of Costa Rica (EACR).
1999, compiled a research report on the
Province of Cartago (90 pages) for CISRE and EACR.
1999, served as technical advisor for an update of
the Mexico City Directory of Protestant Churches, produced by
VELA Ministries in Mexico City.
2000, creator and developer of a computer database on
all religious groups known to exist in 50 countries of Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain
and Portugal (Religion In The Americas Database, or RITA): http://www.prolades.com/
2001, founding president of the Administrative
Council of the Institute for Socio-Religious Research (IDES), affiliated with the
Evangelical University of the Americas (UNELA) in San Jose, Costa Rica (IDES replaced
CISRE): http://www.unela.net/.
2001-2002, a regional editor and
contributor (14 articles) to Religions of the World: A Comprehensive
Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices, 4 volumes, Drs. J. Gordon Melton and
Martin Baumann, general editors (Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-Clio, 2002).
2002-2003, a contributor (seven articles) to the Wordmark
Encyclopedia of Religious Practices to be published by the Gale Group of Detroit,
Michigan, in 2004.
2003, produced a Manual of Policies, Standards and
Proceedures for the Evaluation of Christian Schools in Latin America (70 pages in
Spanish) in partnership with Worldwide Christian Schools of Grand Rapids, MI.
2005 to present: continual updating and
editing of articles and databases for RITA-PROLADES websites.
2007 to date: began the process of updating
and adding computer graphics to the English and Spanish editions of A History of
the Protestant Movement in Central America, 1750-1980; also, began to do research
and writing for A History of the Pentecostal Movement in Central America,
1900-2008, and "A History of the Charismatic Movement in Costa Rica"
(2008-2009).
2008: began the process of organizing
and developing a series of seminars and workshops on The Historiography of the
Protestant Movement in Central America in colaboration with the Latin American
Regional Office of World Vision International; a series of seminars-workshops will be held
in each country of Central America during 2010-2012 for the purpose of training and
encouraging key church leaders to write their own denominational histories in each country
and publish them on the Internet, as well as colaborating in the production of a general
history of the Evangelical Church in each country of Central America with emphasis on the
period 1980-2010.
2008-2009, a regional editor and
contributor (35 articles) to the second edition of Religions of the
World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices, 6
volumes, Drs. J. Gordon Melton and Martin Baumann, general editors (Santa Barbara,
CA: ABC-Clio, to be published in August 2010).
2009-2010, author of
"Religion in Latin America and the Caribbbean" (tentative title),
currently in production (3 volumes, an estimated 700 pages; 500 are now completed).
2010, chief researcher,
compiler, editor and producer of "An On-Line Handbook of Hispanic Protestant
Denominations, Institutions and Ministries in the USA," currently in
production; see the following website for details: http://www.HispanicChurchesUSA.net
RESEARCH ACTIVITIES:
Conducted on-site church and mission-related research
projects in the following regions and countries between 1968-1998:
NORTH AMERICA: Hispanics in the USA (Los Angeles,
Southern California, Chicago and Miami) and Mexico (Mexico City and Baja California).
CENTRAL AMERICA: Costa
Rica, Panama, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and Belize.
CARIBBEAN:
Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Haiti and Puerto Rico.
SOUTH
AMERICA: Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru and Argentina.
OTHER COUNTRIES: Great Britain, The Netherlands and the Philippines
Since 1998 research activities have been
concentrated on the study of all known religious groups in 50 countries of the Americas
for the RITA Database Project:http://www.prolades.com/
Most of the research has been conducted via the Internet and e-mail, as well as during
occasional travels to other countries (Mexico in 1999, Nicaragua in 2000 and 2003, and
Ecuador and Colombia in 2001). However, additional fieldwork also has been done in
Costa Rica.
COSTA RICA, 2000-2001: supervised the
fieldwork of two researchers who interviewed leaders of all Protestant denominations (232
church associations) as part of an update on the National Study of Protestant
Church Growth in Costa Rica; designed and supervised the creation of a computer
database of 2,700 Protestant congregations at the national level; created a series of
computer-generated color maps for the national study; produced a CD with the results
of the national study, including databases (denominational headquarters,
the geographical distribution of churches throughout the country, service agencies,
etc.), reports, maps, tables and other graphics (May-December 2001). See documents
in Spanish at: http://www.prolades.com/costarica/!primero.htm
COSTA RICA, 2001-2003: supervised the
fieldwork of 12 researchers (students in the schools of Sociology, Anthropology,
Psychology and Communications of the University of Costa Rica), who interviewed leaders of
37 religious groups (both Christian and non-Christian groups) during 2001-2003, as part of
A Study ofNew Religious Movements (NRMs)in Costa Rica, sponsored by
PROLADES; the researchers produced a series of 35 Profiles of NRMs in Spanish, which were
edited and placed on the PROLADES Internet website at: http://www.prolades.com/profiles/perfiles2.htm
MEMBERSHIPS & HONORS
Member of the General Council of the International
Institute of In-Depth Evangelization(IINDEF) in San Jose, Costa
Rica; former staff member of IINDEF from 1972-1983.
Member of the Association of Professors of Mission,
APM (founding member); and a member of the Evangelical Missiological
Society, EMS.
Research Associate for Latin America with the
Lausanne Committee for World Evangelism (1980-1995)
Member of AHET (Hispanic Association for Theological
Education), Montebello, CA (1985-1997); also served as a member of AHET's History
Committee (1990-1997).
Member of the Board of Directors of HABBM (Hispanic
Association for Bilingual-Bicultural Ministries), Santa Ana, CA (1985-1992)
Member of the Academy for the Study of the Hispanic
Church in America (APHILA), active in 1993-1994.
Member of the Association of Hispanic Theological
Educators (AETH), 1993-1995 (APHILA and AETH have now merged into one
organization).
Member of the National Hispanic Ministerial
Association (AMEN) in the USA (1994-1997).
Former board member of the Center for
Socio-Religious Research (CISRE) in San Jose, Costa Rica; affiliated with the
Evangelical Alliance of Costa Rica, 1997-2001; current board member of the Institute
of Socio-Religious Studies (IDES) that replaced CISRE in 2001, affiliated with the
Evangelical University of the Americas (UNELA).
Member of the Board of Directors of the Evangelical
University of the Americas (UNELA), 1998 to 2006; served as President or
Vice-President of the Board of Directors between 2000-2006; retired from teaching at UNELA
and from all board responsibilities in May 2006.
Received an Honorary Doctorate in the Science of
Religion (November 30, 2001) from UNELA in recognition of nearly
30 years of ministry in Costa Rica as a missionary and co-founder of IMDELA, as well as
for assisting in the development of UNELA.
Member of the Society for the Scientific Study of
Religion (SSSR) in 2005-2006; attended the Annual Meeting in
Rochester, NY, in November of 2005.
Member of the International Editorial Board
(includes 20 international scholars), beginning in 2008, for the second edition ofABC-Clio'sReligions of
the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices, 6
volumes(ABC-Clio, a major publisher of
reference books, is located in Santa Barbara, California); Dr. J. Gordon Melton of the
Institute for the Study of American Religion (ISAR) is the General Editor; scheduled for
publication in August 2010.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Clifton L. Holland
Apartado 1524-2050, San Pedro, Costa Rica
Telephones: (506) 2283-8300; Fax (506) 2234-7682
