Pastor Hilder’s Prison Ministry in Venezuela
Pastor Hilder’s prison ministry is changing lives, and the Kingdom is growing in Venezuela.
Hilder knows what it means to have nothing. His mother abandoned him when he was 7, and by the time he was 9, he was living on the streets, where he learned to handle guns, use drugs and become a hit man. As a young man, he joined a criminal organization in Venezuela and was imprisoned for murder in 2003.
In prison, he heard about Jesus for the first time. A pastor who visited inmates and organized evangelistic campaigns introduced him to a God who forgave sins and offered salvation.
“I wanted to know this God, but I was afraid,” Hilder says. “I thought that if I accepted Christ, it would be a death sentence.” In prison, he belonged to a gang and knew that sharing his new faith and renouncing his old life would make him a target for retaliation.
“They could [have killed] me for this,” he says.
But God began to work in Hilder’s life. The preacher’s visits and teachings about a forgiving God captured his heart, and in 2004, Hilder accepted Jesus and left the gang.
“Hearing about God through the preacher gave me a different perspective,” he remembers. “It showed me how good God is and that He has a plan for me. God worked a miracle because they didn’t hurt me when I left the gang.”
A ministry to people like Hilder
Though not in the top 50 of Open Doors’ 2025 World Watch List, Venezuela remains a difficult place for some Christians to follow and live for Christ. Hilder’s experience in Venezuela speaks to the country’s ongoing issues with criminal groups who target believers who stand in their way. And Venezuela’s government opposes any group who speaks out against their human rights records—including followers of Jesus.
It’s in this environment that Hilder came to know Christ. After his release from prison in 2006, Hilder met his wife, got married, and started a ministry. Now, the couple visits prisoners and shares Jesus with them.
“Life in prison is not easy,” Hilder explains. “The lack of access to basic services like water and food, extreme violence, and control by criminal organizations weaken the spirits of all inmates. But knowing God gives you hope, which is what motivated me to start this ministry.”
Hilder became the prison chaplain and began bringing food to the inmates, as well as providing training in biblical studies and human rights.
To finance his ministry, Hilder started a chicken-raising project. Through this process, he connected with Open Doors and attended an entrepreneurship workshop in 2021, where he received guidance on how to improve the productivity of his project.
“They taught me how to organize my land and plant different vegetables, which are now part of the food baskets we give to prisoners,” Hilder says. “Through this project, I have been able to help not only them, but also my village.”
"The lack of access to basic services like water and food, extreme violence, and control by criminal organizations weaken the spirits of all inmates. But knowing God gives you hope, which is what motivated me to start this ministry".
Finding hope in a difficult place
Currently, Hilder and his wife lead three churches and conduct missions in a Wayuu indigenous community in their village. “We have a bilingual school where we teach the children in Spanish and Wayuu, and we also give them some of this food,” he adds.
His initiative has become a model for other projects supported by Open Doors in the country. He was invited to share his story with new entrepreneurs in 2022 and 2023. Through your gifts and prayers, since 2021, Open Doors has supported more than 70 economic enterprises developed by the persecuted church.
“Due to persecution and the social context, pastors have been forced to assume additional roles, such as providing resources to those in need and even mediating in legal and humanitarian situations,” explains Ramiro*, a member of the Open Doors team in Venezuela. ”They do this while facing financial constraints, scarcity of resources and reduced international aid to their communities. For this reason, entrepreneurship has become a common alternative for many pastors in the country who have adopted a bivocational ministry.”
Ramiro continues: “There are two main sources of persecution in the country: the dictatorial paranoia of an oppressive government that seeks to silence opposition, and the organized crime groups that see the teachings of the Bible as a threat to their criminal activities. Both forces seek to hinder the evangelistic work of the church and create obstacles to its ministries through fear and intimidation.”
In Hilder’s case, the persecution continues. The pastor says he was watched for several weeks in 2023 while he was distributing food to prisoners by someone allegedly connected to the government. Surveillance is part of the tactics used by persecutors to instill fear in the Christian community.
According to Open Doors’ research, the church in Venezuela has reported 143 cases of persecution in the last four years. The consequences include the closure, damage or loss of churches; threats or assassinations of pastors and church leaders; and psychological and emotional damage.
“Many pastors tell us that they feel tired and discouraged in their ministry because of these pressures and the current situation in the country, which is driving many people, including church leaders and members, to emigrate,” Ramiro says. “Pastors are left alone, which makes them even more vulnerable.”
Pray
In the midst of these challenges, Hilder continues to serve God through his ministry, thanks to your support. As he works to bring the Kingdom to the “least of these,” Hilder asks us to pray for:
- Pastors and church leaders in Venezuela, that they will not be discouraged in their ministry.
- Wisdom and insight for church leaders … that they will continue to develop strategies to care for their members amid persecution.
- Strength for Christians who are manipulated by a government that exploits the lack of basic goods and services needed.
