As the Church of Jesus Christ, we affirm that God is not indifferent to oppression, corruption, or the systematic abuse of power. Scripture teaches that all authority exists under the lordship of God, and that no government, no matter how long it remains in power, is exempt from giving an account before Him.
In recent days, information and events related to Venezuela’s political leadership have circulated, awakening hope, confusion, and also legitimate questions. As a church, we are not guided by rumors or emotional impulses. We are guided by truth, justice, and moral responsibility.
We acknowledge the profound suffering of the Venezuelan people after years of impoverishment, forced exile, political persecution, and institutional collapse. That suffering does not need exaggeration or manipulation to be real. It has been lived, documented, and mourned by millions.
There is a reality that speaks louder than any media propaganda: more than eight million Venezuelans have been displaced and now live as migrants. This number is not an ideological argument; it is a human fact. If everything were well, why would eight million people choose to leave their country, separate from their families, and abandon the land that gave them birth? No one flees stability, prosperity, or hope. People migrate when life becomes unsustainable.
We affirm that justice is not revenge, and that the desire for accountability is not born from hatred but from love for truth and for victims. The Bible does not oppose love and justice. In Christ, they embrace. Where there is no truth, love becomes sentimentality. Where there is no justice, peace is an illusion.
We pray that any process currently unfolding will be guided by truth, by legitimate mechanisms of justice, and by a clear distinction between verified information and interested propaganda. We reject both the lies of authoritarian power and the emotional manipulation that seeks to capitalize on human suffering.
Our hope does not rest in political figures, arrests, regime collapses, or narratives of human victory. Our hope rests in the God who raises up and brings down kingdoms, who judges with righteousness, and who does not forget the oppressed.
We call the church to pray for Venezuela with sobriety, to pastorally accompany those who carry deep wounds, and to remain firm in a faith that is not dragged by headlines but anchored in the truth of Christ.
We continue to believe that light overcomes darkness, not through propaganda, but through truth.
We continue to believe that justice will come, not through chaos, but through accountability.
We continue to believe that God is not finished with Venezuela.
Jesus Christ remains the Lord of history.
Comments
Thank you for a very well communicated statement.
May we all humbly & fervently seek God, praying for His wisdom & discernment to guide leaders and decision makers involved in this desperate situation.
May we all pray that our hope and trust will be anchored in & focused on "the God who raises up and brings down kingdoms, who judges with righteousness, and who does not forget the oppressed."
Thank you, Faye. Amen. May our prayers shape our hearts to trust God’s sovereign rule, seek His wisdom with humility, and remain faithful to truth and justice as we bear witness to Christ in a broken world. This understanding serves all involved, regardless of political position.
Thanks for this, Christian. I hear your pastoral heart coming through.
Thank you, Eric. I appreciate your words. My prayer is that pastoral faithfulness remains rooted in truth, humility, and trust in God’s sovereign work, even in complex and painful moments.
I am very disappointed in the weakeness, vagueness and lukewarmness of this statement. All of the other ecclesiastical statements on the invasion and capture of Maduro have carefully but clearly stated that the use of violence to remove a nation's leader is contrary to the Gospel of the Prince of Peace. Nor does it even mention the president's name, but merely events. I realize a large part of the CRC is populated by strong supporters of the US government. Would it not be fitting at least to mention the prohibition of violence to invade a sovereign nation with whom the US is not officially at war is contrary to the Gospel/Good News of Jesus? That letter did not proclaim the Good News, but steered carefully away from anything near prophetic words. I have never been in favour of the Chavez/Maduro regime and know from close Venezuelan friends with whom we worked from 1984-86 who also opposed Maduro both in and outside Venezuela, but ALL are shocked by and fearful of the violence and disrespect of sovereignty that the US has shown and the administration that continues to threat expanding to Cuba and Greenland and has invaded Grenada and Panama, supported the military coups in Chile and Guatemala, supported Trujillo in the Dominican Republic and Somoza in Nicaragua for decades. What if Canada falls in the gunsights of this amoral administration? This letter will support the once-dying but now resurrected Monroe Doctrine and continue to change the moderate order that has kept the world more or less law abiding since the end of WW2. Please do not consider the political affiliations and thoughtless support of a government that day by day becomes more violent and predictably unpredictable. Proclaim the Gospel.
Jim, I share some of your concerns with how the present US government is dealing with the Venezuela situation. But I don't believe that you should be disappointed with Pastor Christian's post. I don't think he was endorsing the US position. He was asking for many prayers from our churches and his last statements were the key to any real change in that nation, and that is the TRUTH that God can provide through the gospel! May the King of kings return quickly to bring shalom to his creation!
Thank you, Marion, for that careful and generous reading. You are right. The intention was never to endorse political positions, but to call the church to prayer, to the truth of the Gospel, and to a hope that does not rest in human power, but in the King of kings, whose justice and shalom we long to see fully revealed.
Thank you, Jim, for your post. I feel for your Venezuelan friends who are fearful because of the actions of the US government, just as I am personally aware of immigrant individuals - including Christian brothers and sisters - who are suffering and living in fear as a direct result of US immigration policies and actions.
It is so good, and important, for all of us to hear your reminder of a third way, that it is possible to oppose regimes like that of Chavez/Maduro and oppose the Trump administration’s interventionist actions in Venezuela (and elsewhere). Your comments highlight this third way, the way of the Prince of Peace, the Gospel.
At the same time, I would not say that Christian’s letter is not Gospel. I think it is also important for all of us to be reminded that contexts, writing styles, and audiences differ. I have experienced that in some settings, undocumented immigrants ask that we privileged North Americans speak broadly, not specifically, out of concern for their safety.
I sometimes wish - in regard to political and social issues - that I were more proactive and clear and prophetic in proclaiming the Gospel. At times I and others like me may come across to others as inadequate, vague and perhaps even as lukewarm. Yet I’m also confident that I and many others like me - each of us in our contexts and with our styles - are nonetheless faithfully proclaiming the Gospel and standing up for the God’s kingdom of righteousness and peace. Let’s support one another as we do so.
Thank you, Mike, for that thoughtful and gracious response. I appreciate the way you hold together concern for the vulnerable, faithfulness to the Gospel of peace, and respect for differing contexts and callings. I agree that the church bears witness to Christ in diverse ways, and we need one another as we seek to proclaim God’s kingdom of righteousness and peace with both courage and humility.
James, thank you for engaging so directly. I hear your concern, and I want to be clear that this statement was not intended to justify violence, endorse any administration, or avoid the Gospel. Its purpose was pastoral: to name suffering truthfully, call for accountability, and anchor our hope in God’s sovereignty rather than in political power. I would invite the same exercise I mentioned elsewhere: take this statement and apply it to any government on earth, including the United States. If it still holds, then it is true. Truth is not partisan, and neither is the Gospel. Christ is the Prince of Peace and also the Truth who exposes injustice wherever it is found. My conviction is that proclaiming the Gospel requires both moral clarity and pastoral restraint, so that our witness remains faithful to Christ rather than captive to any ideology.
I did not know that the letter was written by a Venezuelan pastor. It seemed like an official statement from CRC leadership instead of a private submission. I am sorry for offending Pastor Christian and I apologize to him; he is properly pained by his native land's convulsions. I still hope that the CRC can say something that acknowledges the illegality of the US attack to capture Maduro. Blessings to all as we await the return of the Prince of Peace.
James, thank you for expressing your concerns! For future note, all "official" CRC content is labelled as such and is posted from an official CRC account (typically this is the CRC Communications, Thrive, or Synod account). This post was written and posted by Christian and is labelled with his authorship. Here on the Network, we welcome a wide variety of content that engages with question of our shared faith and ministry, even if it doesn't precisely align with "official" CRC position statements.
Thank you, Sarah, for the clarification and for stewarding this space with such clarity and generosity. I appreciate the commitment to fostering thoughtful engagement and faithful dialogue within our shared life and ministry.
Thank you, James, for your gracious clarification and apology. I receive it in that same spirit. These are painful matters, and I appreciate your desire for the church to continue discerning how to speak faithfully in complex moments. May we all remain anchored in Christ, the Prince of Peace, as we seek truth, justice, and humility together.
Thank you for commenting on this issue. I appreciate your apology for Pastor Christian. That doesn't take away the legitimacy of your comments. The original post is vague and inoffensive, and increases the longing for a more forceful clarifying statement from the leadership of our church. I hope that I am not being offensive when I call to mind the work of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the confessing church, calling us all to reaffirm the lordship of Christ that transcends our immediate agendas and political loyalties.
Tom, I’m not entirely sure whether to take that as a compliment or a concern 😀, but I do know this: it opens the compass toward deeper and more necessary conversations. And for that, I’m grateful. Any faithful reaffirmation of Christ’s lordship should always move us beyond our immediate agendas and invite us into greater discernment together.
Christian, thank you for your heart and your words. This is a wise and thoughtful statement. Indeed, "God is not finished with Venezuela" and "Jesus Christ remains the Lord of history." Amen! Christian love and appreciation for you, brother!
Let's Discuss
We love your comments! Thank you for helping us uphold the Community Guidelines to make this an encouraging and respectful community for everyone.