An international Christian women congress at the IMS under the motto “Arise, shine” (Isaiah 60:1) was held from April 14 to April 20, 2025, with the participation of over 700 women from 20 countries in Quinchía, a town and municipality in the Department of Risaralda, Colombia, approximately 110 km away from the country’s capital Pereira, Sister Manuela Di Franca, coworker of the Education Department at the IMS, confirmed in a reportage published in the third issue of the German Christian magazine “Der Sabbatwaechter” this year. Pastor Adalicio Fontes, Leader of the Family Department at the General Conference of the IMS, Pastor Wesley Gomez, Spanish Field President at the IMS, and Sister Margie Seely, Leader of the Education Department at the General Conference of the IMS, took part as speakers in the congress.
The INSETES missionary school was the venue of the event and the Christian congress included, beside Christian prayer and singing activities, also lectures and workshops about a series of subjects, such as the identity of the woman from the Christian point of view, her role in the family and in the Christian church, as well the problem with the domestic and sexual abuse, as well as the healing of psychic traumas.
Quinchía, also known as Villa de los Cerros (Village of the Hills), which had a population of population of 27,890 in 2023, was officialized on November 29, 1888, while on April 24, 1912, the town was declared a municipality.
Written by Margarit Zhekov
Part of the sisters in the faith who participated in the Christian women congress; a photo by “Der Sabbatwaechter”.
