This merger, which came at the request of Conela President Ricardo Luna, will result in a worldwide organization that represents over half a million churches and millions of individuals, making it the largest Evangelical association in the world.

"Party delegates from 16 Latin nations including Spanish speaking, Portuguese speaking and Spain enthusiastically approved our fusion and merger with NHCLC. It is an affirmation that our identity is now global. We have three continents of the five that will be party of this expression of unity. From this platform we will establish a dialogue with the East-South church which is now the majority church," said Luna.

Through this merger, Conela will bring excellent research capabilities to NHCLC's strong organizational structure. Conela has conducted several studies among Latin Americans, including surveying 7,500 Latino pastors about the priorities they believe are important for the Church. Of the 10 priorities they identified, seven coincided with the NHCLC 7 Directives of Life, Family, Compassionate Evangelism, Stewardship, Justice, Education and Youth.

"Our merger with CONELA is momentous because it expands our network and hence opportunities for all our members," said Carlos Campos, Chair of the Alliance for Hispanic Education. "As the Chair of our Education Directive, I especially look forward to connecting our member churches with educational opportunities for students throughout Latin America."

The new organization will have shared governance and leadership under the NHCLC name. World headquarters will be inSacramento, California.  

"Dr. Phillip Jenkins, Distinguished Professor of History at Baylor University, has forecasted the global south as the zone for the future of Christianity in his book 'The Next Christendom: Global Christianity in the 21st Century,'" said Dr. Albert Reyes, NHCLC Board member and President and CEO of Buckner International. "The merger between the NHCLC and Conela creates a global network of local churches with a common vision, faith, and cultural ethos connecting the global north with the global south for all the interests of the Redeemer's Kingdom."

Conela is currently based in Latin America with associational churches around the world. The organization has regional chapters in several global cities, including in Spain and Brazil, and represents 487,000 churches worldwide. The fundamental vision of Conela since its inception in 1982 has been the evangelistic legacy of the words and life of Jesus Christ.

The NHCLC is the largest Hispanic Christian organization representing millions of Evangelicals and more than 40,118 U.S. Churches. Seeking to reconcile evangelist Billy Graham's message of salvation with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s march of prophetic activism, the NHCLC emphasizes "7 Directives" of Life, Family, Compassionate Evangelism, Stewardship, Justice, Education and Youth. For additional information, visit www.nhclc.org.

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