What is the state of Christianity among the Huaorani people today? In January of 1956, several American missionaries (Jim Elliot and Nate Saint being the best known) attempted to reach a remote tribe in Ecuador in an endeavor that has become known as Operation Auca.  The people group, called Huaorani, Waodani, or (pejoratively) Auca, were known for being extremely violent, and when the missionaries met several of them on the beach, the missionaries were killed.

Their deaths sparked significant interest in missions, and also ultimately led to many Huaorani people being converted through the efforts of Elisabeth Elliot (Jim's wife) and Rachel Saint (Nate's sister), among others.

Now, 60 years later, what is the state of Christianity among the Huaorani?  What percentage of the people call themselves Christians?  Is there a generational gap?  Are there among them any established and/or growing churches, particularly with indigenous leadership?
I contacted I-TEC, Steve Saint's missionary organization, about this question. Steve's son Jaime sent this reply by email:


  The Waodani people today are around 20% Christ followers. We don't have any information on how that breaks down on age, though most of the older generation (over 50 years old) are Christ followers. Their churches are very different from ours in many ways. While most of their communities have some Christ followers (the church), they typically do not have organized times of worship. When they have a "service," there may be 10-20 "preachers," depending on who wants to talk. At the same time, they talk about following God's trail on a daily basis.


He also pointed me to the Joshua Project's page on the Huaoroni, which says that 40% are Christians and 0.3% are evangelicals. I asked Saint about the difference between his numbers and those of the Joshua Project, and he replied:


  Not sure why the discrepancy. I travel down to the jungles several times a year and have been going for more than 25 years. The Waodani themselves do not count anyone as a Christ follower unless they have have trusted Christ as Savior, been baptized, and the fruit of their lives shows that they are following Christ.