Duane Nisly, an editor at Puplicadora La Merced, a conservative Mennonite publishing house in Costa Rica, tells about the Spanish magazine, Antorcha de la Verdad (Torch of Truth). CAM supporters help fund this work.
- From your perspective, how did God make it possible to begin publishing the Antorcha?
Mission work in Costa Rica began when a group of families moved here in the late-1960s. The idea of producing Spanish Christian reading material was in the heart of several brethren early on. But not until the mid-1980s did the vision come to fruition. A board was formed, and we printed 800 copies of our first publication in the summer of 1987.
Reflecting on the beginnings of this work, the marvelous and intricate ways in which God moved are truly miraculous. God took men with no prior publishing knowledge or experience and began forming them. Others with more experience also helped.
- What was the purpose and objectives established for the Antorcha? From the beginning, the purpose and objectives established were three-fold:
- To strengthen the faith of the young conservative Mennonite churches in Latin America.
- To offer and explain the Gospel based on the Bible as an alternative to the nominal Protestant teachings.
- To be an evangelistic tool. After almost 40 years, this still stands as the underlying premise of publishing the Antorcha.
- Were there any significant changes in the Antorcha work in 2024?
The number of Antorchas printed for Venezuela. How is it possible that almost 1.5 million Antorchas were printed for that difficult country in 2024? This is astonishing and extremely encouraging for us.
- How many copies are being printed?
In 2024, we printed 3,187,726 copies for more than 40 countries. Currently, Costa Rica prints around 200,000 bimonthly Spanish Antorchas, and Paraguay prints around 12,000 bimonthly copies. We also send the files to Peru where they print around 85,000 bimonthly copies and around 200,000 bimonthly copies for Venezuela.
- How is the work fulfilling for you?
When I was asked if I would accept the position of administrator for the publishing house 35 years ago, it was truly a sense of a call from God. I worked for several years as administrator, but in the meantime, I became more involved in editorial work, and this has given me great fulfillment. My passion for publishing Christian material has evolved and grown over the years, and I hope it will never leave me.
To help publish the Antorcha de la Verdad, along with other Christian Family Magazines, please click the button below to give a gift.
