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Although increasing numbers of tourists are visiting Cuba, it’s difficult to get an accurate picture of the island nation’s church today, in part because many Americans fear and distrust the country and long-time leader Fidel Castro.

Many exiles claim that Cuba’s churches are heavily oppressed, though they acknowledge that following Pope John Paul II’s visit in 1998, Castro has relaxed restrictions and opposition.

Other Christians who work in the country or visit frequently paint a mixed picture of a growing church, but one that must watch its back to ensure that it doesn’t run afoul of government policies.

House churches flourish Recently, Denton Lotz, general secretary of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA), reported that Baptist Christians in Cuba have increased from 80,000 in 1995 to more than 200,000.

In a BWA press release, Lotz said that more than 2,500 Baptist house churches have been started in the past eight years. Because the Cuban government has few restrictions on house churches, Lotz suggested it “has unwittingly been an instrument in allowing Christians in Cuba to practice one of the most successful church-planting methods in the world.”

Kevin Abegg, a missionary with Latin America Mission, works with ECHO-Cuba, a coalition of ministries providing humanitarian aid. He agrees that the government has helped to evangelize the island. “Churches have more freedom now as opposed to eight to ten years ago,” he said. “Over the past decade the government has placed restrictions on meetings within the church, yet has allowed many weekly meetings in individual homes.”

Growth isn’t limited to Baptist churches. Former World Relief Miami Director Tom Willey, who was raised in Cuba while his parents served as Free Methodist missionaries there, reported that “all of the ‘lively’ churches, whether charismatic or not, have been growing steadily, as have the Roman Catholics, the [Santería groups] and the cults such as Jehovah’s Witness.”

Willey says that the more liberal churches are not growing, although those traditional denominations that have become charismatic, such as the Methodists, are expanding. “There is a spiritual hunger in Cuba, and people are seeking,” he said.

While numerical growth may not be as explosive as in other Latin American countries such as Colombia or Argentina, spiritual depth has been a hallmark of the church.

“For many decades, the churches were limited as to the number of Bibles they were able to acquire,” Abegg said. “Commentaries were extremely rare, so pastors, teachers and students relied on Scripture alone. One thing that has blessed me most about the church in Cuba is their depth of understanding into the Word of God.”

Communist cultural challenges While rejoicing in new believers, long-time workers and observers of Cuban churches are quick to point out obstacles and difficulties the church faces.

The Cuban worldview is one such difficulty, according to Christian workers. “Communist culture—legalistic, totalitarian, secretive, deceptive and materialistic—has deeply penetrated the church,” said “Bob,” a long-term missionary who grew up in Cuba and travels there frequently. Bob asked that his identity be protected because of his extensive work in Cuba.

While ordinary Cubans cannot leave the country, dozens of pastors travel to the US and buy goods here, Bob says. “These favors are granted to the denomination by the government in order to maintain control,” he said.

“Cars are not available to the ordinary citizen in Cuba,” Bob said. “Yet, many pastors have them.” These perks are further incentives for church leaders to cooperate with the government.

“Most church leaders seem to run the church and its affairs much like Castro runs the government,” he said. “Then there is the price leaders of these movements must pay to be allowed to function. Almost all of them I know are somehow compromised. They have to make secret concessions to the government to be allowed to function.

“Every church is infiltrated with spies, so fear is a factor all Christians live with,” Bob said. “Communism uses the informant system to control the population. This is also prevalent in the church.

“I have tried over and over again to have small sharing groups in Cuba. The Cubans will not share their personal lives with one another for fear that an informant be in their midst.”

Charging that “the government has torn the family to threads,” Barbara Yandell, who has worked with Cuban pastors through the Christian Reformed Church, said that the church faces huge obstacles. “Leaders and discipleship training must correct these problems,” she said.

Yandell says that the church needs male leadership; however, the government dictates where young people can study and what their occupation will be.

Limited evangelism Christian workers say that evangelism is allowed within the churches, but not in open-air rallies, on the street, via radio or other public means.

Abegg says that some foreign evangelists have preached openly on the streets, but have often been deported for such activities. “It’s the churches they visit or minister to which then deal with the legal repercussions. Thus, due to ignorance or pride, teams can do harm rather than bless the very churches they hope to help,” he said.

“Evangelism is generally limited to personal, one-on-one evangelism. Pastors can evangelize from the pulpit as long as they stick to Scripture and spiritual themes.” Even that restriction is a blessing, Abegg says. Because laws prohibit pastors from preaching on social and political issues, “that helps in maintaining the purity of the preached gospel as opposed to diverging into other themes that can water down the message,” he said.

Restricted social ministries The Cuban government has allowed Christian groups to be involved in confined social ministries. ECHO-Cuba is providing powdered milk to 4,000 malnourished children in eastern Cuba, Abegg said. “One of the benefits is teaching the churches how to do social ministries outside of government channels,” he said.

Willey says that a Christian medical association has been formed by Christian doctors who distribute medicine through the churches.

Yet, others say they have run into restrictions. “I was bringing the AA program for alcoholics because this is a huge problem in Cuba,” Bob said. “The government shut it down.

“The government believes that the social aspects of life are its providence and no one else’s. So the church keeps to spiritual issues alone,” he said. “If it were to move into something as significant as helping the poor, rehabilitating alcoholics or working with prostitutes, then it would be interfering with the ‘revolution.’”

Kenneth D. MacHarg is a missionary journalist for the Latin America Mission.