Relocating to a new city, embracing a different culture and navigating a foreign language can be both exciting and challenging. For many churchgoers from countries like Canada or the US, finding a suitable English-speaking church service and community becomes a crucial part of settling in Panama.
This article aims to assist newcomers to Panama City by providing a comprehensive guide to English-speaking church services in and around the City. We will even tell you what we liked most about each of the church services we have attended. Hopefully, this will make this part of your relocation to Panama just a little easier.
Here is the list of the English-speaking church services included in this article (in case you want to jump around):
- LifeBridge International Church
- Panama International (“PaInt”) Church
- St. Mary’s Parish
- Balboa Union Church
- St. Luke’s Episcopal Church
- The Bible Church Community (“La Comunidad”)
- Crossroads Bible Church
- Gamboa Union Church
- Church of San Jose
- St. Christopher’s Episcopal Parish
Now I’ll give you a more detailed description about our experience when we have visited these English-speaking church services.
LIFEBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL CHURCH
When: Sundays at 9:30am
Where: 2nd Floor of the World Trade Center building in Marbella (Calle 53 East)
Website – Instagram – Facebook
This English-speaking church service took place in an upper-level commercial space rather than in a traditional sanctuary. The atmosphere was young, casual, contemporary and familial. I would describe the music as praise-style, and it was led by a small band made up of 2 guys playing guitars, another on drums and a keyboardist. There were 4 TV screens showing the lyrics that go along with the music. They also had a children’s activity area in the back, and all of the kids seemed right at home.
There were around 60 people in the congregation, and most of the folks seemed to know one another. The service was entirely in English from beginning to end.
You can also stream their service online.
What we loved:
There were several things we really enjoyed about LifeBridge. First, it had the feel of a growing start-up church, which we found pretty cool. In fact, we learned that just a few years ago they were meeting in a movie theater in MultiPlaza mall.
The lead pastor is a very cool guy named Nate, and he made a point of chatting with us for a bit. Actually, several people from the congregation introduced themselves and thanked us for joining them. So it was also just a nice, welcoming vibe among this English-speaking church community.
PANAMA INTERNATIONAL (“PAINT”) CHURCH
When: Sundays at 9:00am and 11:00am
Where: 2nd Floor of Galerías Obarrio (corner of Vía España and Vía Brasil)
Website – Instagram – Facebook
Phone: +507 382-0362
Email: office@paintchurch.com
PaInt (“Panama International”) Church is a self-described “church for all nations” that meets in a contemporary auditorium space above the Arrocha pharmacy on Vía España. We were welcomed by multiple greeters at the entrance and energetic praise music led by singers and guitar players on the stage. The music alternated between English and Spanish, and the lyrics were clearly presented on a big screen at the stage.
This English-speaking church service lasted just short of two hours and was almost entirely in English. But there were headphones available at the entrance to hear the service translated to Spanish, and we saw quite a few people using those devices.
You can see videos of past services online.
What we loved:
The music was really catchy and had a lot of people dancing. Actually, even our 4-year-old was dancing in the aisle throughout the service. We also really liked their approach to translating the service into Spanish with the headphones.
ST. MARY’S PARISH
When: Sundays at 10:45am
Where: Calle Enrique Linares in the Balboa neighborhood of Ancón
Phone: +507 228-0036
Email: sec.pstamariabalboa@gmail.com
This Catholic mass is held in a nice traditional sanctuary in the Balboa area of the old Canal Zone in Ancón. The sanctuary isn´t super ornate like some of the Catholic churches in Casco Viejo, but it definitely is not contemporary either. It is really sort of emblematic of the old Canal Zone. There are wall-mounted fans throughout the sanctuary, but it was also fully air-conditioned.
The congregation was made up of easily 100 people (probably a bit more). There were a number of families with adolescent kids, and some teenagers participated in the liturgical-style service with Scripture readings.
This English-speaking church service is pretty traditional, and the music is rooted in hymns. The church has traditional church pews, each fully equipped with an English hard-cover Hymnal and a soft-cover book of hymns in Spanish. The music throughout the service was played on an acoustic guitar, which was really beautiful.
The mass lasted around 1.5 hours, which included communion. The entire service was in English.
What we loved:
The sermon was really on point. We attended this church the weekend when the protests against the mine came to a head, and the priest gave a nice sermon that he tied into what is happening in the country.
Also, the acoustic guitar music gave the traditional hymns a really nice, sort of dreamy sound. So we really enjoyed the music at Saint Mary’s.
BALBOA UNION CHURCH
When: Sundays at 10:30am
Where: Calle Enrique Linares in the Balboa neighborhood of Ancón
Website (appears to be down at the moment) – Instagram – Facebook
Phone: +507 6458-4909
Email: info@balboaunionchurch.org
As they say on their Instagram, Balboa Union Church is “a Union Church, Unity in essentials, Liberty in Non-essentials, and Charity in all things”. This protestant church is located right next to Saint Mary’s in the Balboa neighborhood of Ancón.
I would call this a dual-language service, meaning most of the liturgical-style service is recited in English and in Spanish. For example, they would alternate between languages in the hymns (e.g. verse 1 and 3 in English, verse 2 and 4 in Spanish). Most of the liturgical-style service was recited by two people (one in each languages). And the pastor delivered the sermon in English, but repeatedly paused to repeat each section in Spanish.
The hymns were traditional. We sang “Holy, Holy, Holy” and “Amazing Grace”. The music is played on the piano, and there is no rock band leading the service.
The sanctuary is old and beautiful with very high ceilings and rows of windows along the side that were kept open during the service. I counted approx. 300 seats, but there wer only around 15 people in the congregation on that particular day. There is no A/C, but there were rows of fans to cool the air in the sanctuary. Putting A/C in there would probably not be practical as it would be expensive to cool such a large space. And honestly, it would take something away from the experience.
We were told that they mostly use the large sanctuary for communion services, but we will confirm when we attend again (which we will).
What we loved:
We felt a deep appreciation for this church for a couple of reasons:
First, my husband really enjoys the traditional service as it reminds him of the Methodist church he attended growing up. It was sort of nostalgic for him.
Second, we liked how they included the children in the service, which included a short children’s time, when a few of the kids from the congregation went to the front of the sanctuary for a quick interaction and prayer.
They invited our oldest son, Jack, to participate in the service an acolyte. We got a real charge out of that. Also, at one point during the service our boys got bored and started to wander around the sanctuary. I was trying to round them up, afraid that they would cause a distraction. But the Bishom smiled and asked us to please just let them be… and assured us they weren’t bothering anyone. He and the rest of the congregation really put our family at ease.
Finally, from the looks of it this church appears to have a really interesting history. And we think it has a ton of potential as well. If you are relocating to Panama City and looking for a church where you can get involved and be a part of its growth, then you should check out Balboa Union Church’s English-speaking church services on Sunday mornings.
ST. LUKE’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH
When: Sundays at 10:00am (according to the website, but service began closer to 10:30am)
Where: 333 Gorgas Road, Ancón
Website – Instagram – Facebook
Phone: +507 309-8660 / +507 309-8661 / +507 6703 – 4906
Email: info@stlukepanama.org / admin@stlukepanama.org
This traditional Episcopalian service takes place in the beautiful Cathedral of Saint Luke (Catedral San Lucas) in what feels like a hidden little spot at the foot of Cerro Ancón. The sanctuary sits in the shade of the gorgeous old trees that surround it. And the big doors around the parameter of the sanctuary were open for the service, perfectly framing the lush greenery outside. Ceiling fans kept the sanctuary at a very comfortable temperature throughout the service.
We were greeted by an almost lively piano music when we came in, which set a nostalgic tone while sitting in this historic sanctuary. But the music changed to an organ when the service started. We were handed a hymnal and a bulletin to guide us through the liturgical-style service.
There were around 35 people in the congregation that day, but the sanctuary has the capacity for many more. I think nearly all 35 of them welcomed us during the brief greeting period at the start of the service. The sermon at this English-speaking church service was captivating, and various members of the congregations participated in the service with different readings. Everyone there was super nice. They seemed genuinely happy to be there and happy to see new faces.
What we loved:
Apart from the aesthetics of the property, which are astounding, I have a couple things to say about this English-speaking church service.
First, we accidentally entered through the wrong door, so we interrupted a small group bible study meeting happening outside of the sanctuary before the service began. It was cool to get to see the members of the church engaging on this level.
Also, our two boys really misbehaved on this particular Sunday morning. Nevertheless, everyone was extremely nice and gracious. One lady even brought us a couple of children’s pamphlets with crayons, which was super thoughtful and kind. They showed us that they wanted us to feel welcomed, and they succeeded. This is another church we would like to visit again.
THE BIBLE CHURCH COMMUNITY (“LA COMUNIDAD”)
When: Sundays at 11:00am
Where: Plaza El Cohete (Multimax in Tumba Muerto). Door to the right of Tribunal Electoral
Website – Instagram – Facebook
Phone: +507 6151-6316
Email: info@lacomunidadbc.com
This is a pretty contemporary service in the area of the city called Tumba Muerto. The service takes place in an upstairs area of the same commercial center where MultiMax is located.
When we attended, the service consisted mainly of praise music lead by a 7-person band complete with 2 guitars, 2 different drummers, a keyboardist and 2 singers. There were around 70 people in the congregation that day. And there was also a small team of audio-visual folks controlling the sound system and capturing the whole thing to broadcast to viewers at home.
The service is led by a husband-wife team, and it seems that he is from the US. The service was bilingual in the sense that part of the service was in English. The pastor led the sermon in English while his wife stood next to him translating the message sentence by sentence. And several of the songs included individual verses sung in English. However, most of the service was in Spanish, and it was difficult to tell if this was a primarily English-speaking church congregation.
You can check out a recording of the previous week’s service on La Comunidad’s website in the section called “Last Sermon”.
What we loved:
About one hour into the service, they invited the children to go to a separate area for a program directed more toward them. This was particularly well organized, and both of our kids (ages 2 and 4) seemed to enjoy it.
CROSSROADS BIBLE CHURCH
When: Sundays at 11:15am
Where: Omar Torrijos Herrera Ave and Rufina Alfaro St, across the street from Magoos Restaurant
Website – Instagram – Facebook
Phone: +507 317-9480
Email: contactus@cbcpanama.org
This is an independent, non-denominational church that meets on the road out toward Ciudad de Saber. This English-speaking church service takes place in a pretty large space – large enough that I couldn’t tell you how many people were there. But easily several hundred people.
The sanctuary is pretty modern, but it does feel like a sanctuary rather than an auditorium. There was even a small stained glass window up behind where the pastor stood during the sermon. The people were all pretty casually dressed, and there were lots of families.
I would describe the service as sort of a blend of traditional and contemporary. For example, the team leading the music was made up of 3 singers, 3 guys on guitars, someone on keyboards and another on drums. And the music itself was a mixture of praise songs and hymns.
With so many people, we weren’t sure whether we would be able to find a seat. But we were directed to a spot right up near the front. We casually chatted with a man named Steve who was sitting next to us, and then during the service he stood up and began delivering the sermon. We had no idea that he was the pastor!
What we loved:
We liked several things about this English-speaking church service:
When we arrived, there were lots of cars looking for parking outside of the church. However, we drove right up to a few prime parking spaces near the door that were marked as reserved for visitors. And everyone seemed to respect this without anyone enforcing the rule, and we were able to pull right into a spot. How refreshing!
We also really enjoyed the music, which dominated the first 30 min or so of the service. At one point, they announced that “Today we’re gonna praise the Lord with some reggae”. They proceeded to lead the congregation in a reggae version of Lord I Lift Your Name on High. That was pretty cool!
We also sang How Great Thou Art, which touched my husband as this was his grandpa’s favorite hymn.
Crossroads has a very nice nursery area for children, which our kids both enjoyed.
And finally, when the service ended, we just went right across the street to have lunch at Magoo’s Fish Tacos restaurant. What a great Sunday!
GAMBOA UNION CHURCH
When: Sundays at 10:00am (according to the website, but service began closer to 10:30am)
Where: Omar Torrijos Herrera Ave, before the police station entering the town of Gamboa
Website – Instagram – Facebook
Phone: +507 314-9458
Email: bill@gamboaunion.com
Thankfully, the service started a bit later than indicated on the website, because we miscalculated the time it would take us to drive out to Gamboa. And we really enjoyed this English-speaking church service, so we wouldn’t have wanted to miss any of it.
The sanctuary is small, quant and full of light. In a way, it even reminded us of a little country church we have enjoyed attended in the US. There were approx. 45 ppl in the congregation, which included a mix of foreigners and locals. We ran into one Zonian that we have known for a long time.
The atmosphere is relaxed, friendly and familiar. Most of the folks were dressed comfortably in short sleeves, a few in t-shirts, sand everal ladies in sun dresses. At least one man was wearing flip flops.
The Pastor is English-speaking, but there was a man standing next to him translating everything he said into Spanish in real time. I don´t always love this setup as I sometimes find it to be a little cumbersome and distracting. But I have to say it seemed to work pretty well here. The two men had a great rapport, and both looked to be having a nice time. In fact, the entire congregation was having a good time (our family included).
This service is led by Reverend Bill Willbur. And according to the website, you can get a feel for his interpretation by tuning in to his daily 30-min Radio Program, “Panama Today”, which is broadcasted Mon-Fri at 6:00 am and 8:30 pm on Estereo Vida 104.9 FM (and also as a podcast on Spotify).
What we loved:
We attended a service in early December, so the service included a lot of Christmas music led by a small band. I believe that particular band is not there every Sunday, but the music in the service we attended was particularly beautiful and moving.
We also liked that this was a small church. This church feels like a close-knit community with a sincere and welcoming leadership and congregation. We enjoyed getting to be a part of it on the Sunday we visited, and we will surely be back.
CHURCH OF SAN JOSE
When: Sundays at 9:30am (but I understand that it is subject to priest availability)
Where: Ave A and 8th St, in Casco Viejo
Phone: +507 228-8943
The beautiful Capilla San José is a small historic church right in the heart of Panama’s historic district. It is a popular tourist stop, known for its impressively ornate gold leaf altar.
Our family lived in Casco Viejo for nearly 8 years. But we never realized that San Jose has an English-speaking church service. In fact, I only learned of it just as I was about to publish this article. Therefore, this is the only English service on this list that our family has not attended.
However, I really wanted to get this article out there before Christmas. We will definitely attend one of their English-speaking masses after New Years.
St. Christopher’s Episcopal Parish
When: Sundays at 7:30am
Where: Calle 10, Parque Lefevre
Phone: +507 224-1014 / +507 224-2240 / +507 6334-3224
I learned about this servce from someone on Facebook who read the article. We haven’t visited yet, but we will be sure to check out this English-speaking church service after New Years!
Bottom Line?
Finding a suitable church community in a new country is a unique challenge when relocating to Panama. But fortunately, Panama City offers diverse English-speaking church services that cater to different preferences and priorities. I really hope that this article will be a helpful starting point in finding a church where you and your family can connect, worship and feel at home.
Did I miss something important or got a detail wrong in this article? It wouldn’t be the first time! Anyway, I appreciate any constructive feedback. Please write to me at info@theindependentlawyer.com.
And be sure to visit my website for legal services in Panama.
