No prayer items for Metropolitan Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico added to the system in the last 90 days.
Urban Centers Profile: Ciudad Juarez (pronounced SEE-oo-dahd HWAH-rez, City of Juarez), Chihuahua, Mexico, is situated along the 2,000-mile United States-Mexico border, just across the border from its sister city, El Paso, Texas. These two cities make up the largest international metroplex in the world. Juarez alone is estimated to have a population between 1.2 to 3 million. Approximately 240,000 work in the 350 “maquiladoras” (factories) in the city. In 1965, Juarez became the first city with “maquiladoras” and continues to be the city with the largest number and is growing in numbers and influence. Seven-year-old government statistics indicate that 8 percent of the population is evangelical. “Evangelical” often means “non-Catholic” and may not be accurate since Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses and other groups may be included. Immigrants from Mexico have flooded the city in recent years, coming primarily from the states of Chihuahua, Durango, Coahuila and Veracruz, looking for jobs in the “maquiladoras.” The government is assisting with the construction of tens of thousands of small houses in the desert surrounding the city. The greatest areas of growth are on the southeastern side of the city. Families face a multitude of problems, including unemployment, alcohol and drug use, living together, unwed mothers, physical abuse, abandoned women, etc. One hundred years of Baptist ministry in the city has produced 43 Baptist churches. In the last several years, Baptist leaders have become convinced of the need for new strategies leading to more rapid church planting. Cell churches and house churches are being opened in the new housing areas.
