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"The churches that are in marginalized areas believe that there is another group of churches in other zones that are elite churches," said Canales, who pastors at Iglesia Evangelica Cuadrangular (Foursquare Evangelical Church) in Tegucigalpa. "But really, it is because Hondurans have damaged self-esteem. They value you for what you have, and not for what you are in God's eyes. They don't value you as a person as much as where you live."

Most evangelical pastors agree that the church's eternal mission should not be affected by political crises.

"I particularly am of the point of view that we cannot pollute our missions as a church by temporary societal causes," said Peñalba. "We have to learn to live in the new reality being salt and light."

Belzasar Nuñez, a pastor from the Holiness Evangelical Church, says the Honduran church needs to play the part of the Old Testament prophet.

"This has all taken place because we have corrupted justice," Nuñez wrote. "We have become immune to the pain of others, and we continue thinking that everything is fine because in this 'democracy,' everyone has the same opportunities. This is the message that Amos, Isaiah and Joel would proclaim in the present uncertainty in Honduras: 'The fasting you have chosen: Is it not better to break the chains of injustice and loosen the straps of the yoke? Were you not told to share bread with the hungry?'"

While most organizations lament the losses incurred as a result of the mission trip cancellations, other Honduran evangelicals hope that the temporary hiatus will allow North American and Honduran churches to reflect on how they can make such mission trips more than just blankets and block-laying.

Carlos Hernandez, president of the Asociacion para una Sociedad mas Justa (Association for a More Just Society) in Tegucigalpa, says much of the Honduran evangelical church is the product of North American missionaries who arrived in droves during the last century.

According to the 2008 International Religious Freedom Report by the U.S. State Department, these missionaries brought remarkable changes to Honduran society, which is now 36 percent evangelical. In addition to messages of salvation, North American missionaries brought orphanages, rural medical clinics, and Christian schools.

These contributions should be valued, says Hernandez, but they are not enough because existing mission partnerships "cure the headache, but not what causes the headache."

Short-term mission groups often provide services that the government should provide: education, healthcare, and water systems. This has largely been the strategy of Honduran churches such as Canales' Foursquare church, which preaches and distributes food in poor neighborhoods—a "holistic ministry" that offers bread for both the spirit and the soul.

According to Hernandez, such ministry is not holistic enough. He and other evangelical leaders say that what the Honduran church needs is companionship and prayer while it tends to the wounds left behind by the country's political divisions, which have bled over into the church.

"We see very few resources to promote justice and human rights," said Hernandez. "I believe we need societal cooperation in which we respect each other, where we walk together in a society where we think about the poorest, where we think about the future and the system in general. Not just in latrines and medical attention. Something broader."

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Christianity Today also posted to the Liveblog about the political unrest in Honduras. Previous articles related to Honduras include:

Study Questions Whether Short-Term Missions Make a Difference | Missionaries don't keep giving after they return; hosts prefer money to guests, Calvin sociologist finds. (June 20, 2005)

How to Rebuild a Country | Chet Thomas says it happens one village at a time. (February 1, 2003)

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July (Web-only) 2009, Vol. 53