Costa Rica
Date Entered: 1999
Major Ministries: Church planting
Country Profile
Population: 4,468,000
Costa Rica is a small country located in Central America. It has a tropical climate with two distinct seasons: The dry season which lasts from December to April, and the rainy season which lasts from May to November.
Costa Rica means “the rich coast” and was so named by Christopher Columbus because he was impressed by all the gold decorations worn by the indigenous population. However, the diseases brought by European settlers all but wiped out the island’s orginal inhabitants so that the biggest cultural influence today is Spanish.
Spain colonized the island in the late 1500’s but did very little development until the introduction of coffee plantations in the early 1800’s. Coffee brought wealth and a class structure, and led to the country’s independence in 1821. The end of the 19th century was marked by Costa Rica’s first democratic elections.
While Spanish is the official language, the Caribbean Blacks speak Creole, and Indian dialects are spoken in isolated areas of the country.
Although more than 90% of the country claims to be Catholic, church attendance tends to be limited to significant life events such as christenings, weddings, and funerals. There is a small Jewish community in the capital city of San Jose where a few mainline Protestant groups are also active.
An experienced ABWE missionary couple relocated from South America to Costa Rica in order to assist new missionaries bound for other Spanish-speaking countries as they go through language study. The couple is starting a church planting work in San Jose, and will be joined by other missionaries in this effort.