Cross Cultural Ministries Newsletter May 2016

8/15/2019 Cross Cultural Ministries Newsletter May 2016

1/8

Cross-Cultural MinistriesCross-Cultural MinistriesLatins United

Historical God Moment – In the Evangelical Presbyterian Church! It is great to get back to you since our last newsletter in December. As we projected, 2016 has had a veryprosperous and busy beginning.

On the home front, I have been distributing Bibles and Christian music CDs to various businesses. Amazinglyenough, people have been calling us after receiving the materials I have left. I have been directing them to theSouth Omaha church that I planted in 2009 where Danny Zapata is pastor. Recently Danny and I have been working on our radio ministry and other ministries together, and he is showing much interest in our EPC efforts.I am hoping we can get him involved in the future.

Speaking of radio, God has blessed us with fifty percent of the airtime sponsored! We are still seeking theother fifty percent which is only $250 per month for nine hours of airtime. Tis ministry we have been doing forthe past 11 years and I believe we have gained the respect and trust of our community. I would hate to give thisministry up as it is a great way to minister to thousands of people.

Spring 2016


2/8

EPC CROSS CULURAL MINISRY As we mentioned in our last newsletter, I was re-united with Rev. Danny Ramirez Celis, the V.P. of the NationalPresbyterian Church of Mexico (INP). We were able to get him in contact with our EPC leadership to arrangea visit to Mexico and explore the possibility of a relationship between the two denominations. As I mentioned,I believe we have much to learn from the INP with regard to their style and strategies of evangelism and churchplanting.

Ironically enough, our Stated Clerk, Jeff Jeremiah, had been trying to make contact with the INP at the same tim Tis leads me to believe that the Lord is definitely involved. Please see the following report from Jeff Jeremiahregarding this recent visit:

Visit with NationalPresbyterian Churchof Mexico (INP)Leadership

Summary: As a result of ourmeeting with leadership of theNational Presbyterian Church ofMexico (INP), the 2016 General

Assembly will be asked to enter into afraternal relationship with the INP.

Background: Rev. Dr. MikeMoses (GA Moderator), Rev. Dr.

Jeff Jeremiah (Stated Clerk), Rev. Dr.Gerrit Dawson (Fraternal RelationsCommittee chair), John Bueno and Dr. Bill Hammell were hosted by leadership of the INP uesday-Friday,March 1-4. Tis visit was the culmination of an October 14, 2015 invitation the INP sent to Mike asking that

we visit for the purpose of getting to know each other and exploring the possibility of a partnership, most likelyfocused on church planting.

We visited the INP national office, four churches, one of theirseven seminaries, an educational institute (pre-school through highschool), a hospital as well as with the leadership of each of theseministries. Tis gave us an excellent introduction to the INP. We

were overwhelmed with the warm welcome and generous hospitalityof our hosts and impressed with how easily we connected on a

personal level. INP national leadership: President Amador LopezHernandez, Vice President Danny Ramirez Celis, Secretary Adolfo

Arias Job and reasurer David Monroy Adane.

2


3/8

ogether we concluded we are committed tothe same biblical and Reformed orthodoxyand share the same love and passion for JesusChrist and His Gospel. As we continue topursue “transformation growth,” our EPCteam believes this is a “God moment” for theEPC and INP in church planting. Te INP

is interested in helping us do evangelism andchurch planting in Hispanic communities inthe US. Tey are hopeful that we can assistthem with outreach and church planting innorthern Mexico, where the INP has verylittle presence and where many EPC churchessend short term mission groups. Every INPchurch and session we visited with had planteddaughter churches and plan to do so again inthe future. Perhaps the multiplicative gospelDNA of the INP can be ‘caught’ by the EPC.

Schedule: We agreed that the INP will draft a proposed fraternal agreement that will be sent to ourFraternal Relations Committee (FRC). When the FRC and INP have come to an agreement, the FRCrecommendation will be sent to the COA for our review and endorsement.

2016 General Assembly: at least two members of INP national leadership will attend our GA from uesdaythrough Saturday. Tey will attend a number of GA events, starting with the church planter’s workshop on

uesday afternoon. We hope to host Friday luncheon for those interested in outreach to Hispanic communitiein the US and short term mission work with the INP in Mexico. (NOE: this would be preceded by their visitto Lake Forest-Huntersville, NC on Sunday and Monday.)

Te 2016 INP General Assembly will take place July 18-22, 2016 in Chiapas, Mexico. Te EPC will sendtwo or three representatives to this meeting, at which the INP will act on the recommendation to establish afraternal relation with us.

HISORICAL GOD MOMEN Tis is a historical moment for the EPC and Hispanic ministry. As you know, we have been working and tryingto build relationships with the Mexican Presbyterian Church and we had the opportunity to visit with them andthe future looks very promising.

If you have any interest in Hispanic ministry, and I know there are several who are trying to develop aHispanic ministry, this is our moment! I urge you to make contact immediately with the General Assemblyfor information on the meetings and luncheons scheduled for the purpose of discussing Hispanic ministry.You must participate! Please take advantage of the interest our denomination has taken in this ministry! Tedirection and future of this ministry hinges on your interest and participation. Tis is the first time in thehistory of the EPC that cross-cultural or Hispanic ministry has been laid upon the hearts of our leaders. I thinkthat this is the birth or beginning of a very exciting Hispanic ministry throughout our EPC churches.


4/8

4

EPC HISPANIC MINISRY I have remained in close contact with the churches that I have consulted with for Hispanic ministry. My hope ithat we would be able to start up 3 – 4 Hispanic ministries. Tat is Jeff Jeremiah’s desire. Tis would include thefollowing:

1. Second Presbyterian Church – Memphis, ennessee. o our surprise, they have been working withone of the INP pastors for the past year. Tey have Su Casa Family Ministries which is led by Eddie

Foster, Director of Domestic Missions. I will be visiting with him to learn of their successes andchallenges during this endeavor. Tis church is further along in their development of a Hispanicministry than the rest.

2. Saddlerock Church – Wenatchee, Washington. I have been working with them for the past three years. We have placed David Velasquez there as an organizing planting pastor. He is training theHispanic leadership and working with a congregation of approximately 40 Hispanics.

3. Lake Forest – Charlotte, North Carolina. Tey have done groundwork for planting a Hispanicministry for years. Tey have embraced their Hispanic community without reservation and I believeeverything is ready for their planting pastor to come and be part of this great work.

4. Te churches outlined above are in various states of their ministry and they have been working for yeainvesting much time, prayer, and finances. We hope that our Presbytery would be able to catch up sinc

we will be starting from square one. It is my hope that the Great Plains Presbytery is ready to embrathis vision as we would be the first Presbytery to build on this relationship with the INP. I’mpraying that the Lord will prepare one of our churches to be our first Hispanic church plant. Tispotential church plant was approved with great eagerness and anticipation at our last Presbyterymeeting. I believe our Presbytery has set aside some funding for that. Please pray that the Lord woullead us to the right location.

OHER EPCCHURCHES HA OFFER HISPANIC MINISRY

1. Sanger Community Church, Sanger, California: I have also visited with Pastor Paul Bergquam atSanger Community Church in Sanger, California. Tey have been involved with Hispanic ministry

for almost 2 years. Te person they have on staff leading this ministry is Samuel Rodriguez, a youthpastor from Guatemala and he is doing a great job in reaching out to local Hispanics. On Wednesdaynights they have a meeting with David Maravilla who is an ex-gang member and is working with gangin the community. What an amazing ministry!

2. rinity Presbyterian Church, Florence, South Carolina: I have been speaking with Mauro Diaz frothis church in South Carolina, and their Hispanic ministry is doing wonderful. Tey have been doingHispanic ministry for over 10 years. For the past 3 years they have been meeting on Sundays and arecurrently in search of a Hispanic pastor for a congregation of approximately 60.

3. First Presbyterian Church, Aurora, Illinois: Tis church is located in Aurora, IL in the midst of acommunity of 80% Hispanics. I know Pastor Jeff Moore is doing a wonderful job ministering to their

neighbors. I believe they would also be interested in the relationship with the INP. 4. Presbytery of the Pacific: Tis Presbytery has an incredible amount of Hispanics in their midst. Ibelieve the possibilities are endless.


5/8

I have made two trips to Colombia so far this year. I am really pushing toget a patent on my Water reatment Plant and am getting close. During my last trip to Colombia, I was able to get one of my Water reatment Plants into the hands of an engineer that works in the plains ofColombia (NE part of the country), which is a very poor area. He works very closely with government officials and they are taking untreated water intankard trucks to the villages. We are looking at the possibility of treating

the water. We introduced the Water reatment Plant to the government officials, and they could end up buyingfrom us in the future. Please pray for this! Also we have been building a relationship with International Needs.I was referred to them very highly by Pastor Kevin McDonald andthey have taken a great deal of interest in working with me. Tey work mainly in Europe and Africa, but they are beginning to explorethe possibility of working in other countries in Latin America. Teycurrently have an outreach in Colombia. I will be taking a few daysto go to Barranquilla to meet with their CEO, Rody Rodeheaver,to do an evaluation of their ministry. Based on that evaluation, we

will schedule a visit for them to visit the United States sometime inSeptember. Tey have asked me to be their translator and join themon their U.S. tour. I was also able to minister to the locals where myhome is.

Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of thekingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, becausethey were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Ten he said to his disciples, “Te harvest isplentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field(Matthew 9:35-38)

I have been ministering to some of the folks there and back at the beginning of the year we started a movienight once a month. Unfortunately, they will be changing managers and we have had to cancel temporarilyuntil the new manager starts in June. Please pray that we will be allowed to continue as this opens a door to agreat ministry. Let’s not forget that there are 500 families in this park and 50% of them are Hispanic. We arepraying that the new management will allow us to have our Family Festival this year. . Tis trailer park is inclose proximity to my home church, Covenant Presbyterian Church

MAPLEWOOD ESTATES TRAILER PARK (Omaha, Nebraska)


6/8

6

SOUTH SUDAN – “A Call to Serve…”

ry to imagine 22 people ministering to 12,000 people in 8 days. Overwhelming to say the least! But inMarch, 2016, the Healing Kadi Foundation sent a team of 22 people to South Sudan to do just that. Here is abrief synopsis of what transpired during those 10 days and what a typical day looked like: We would get up at 6:00 a.m. and have breakfast and devotionals.

We would then prepare the medicine to take with us. We traveledapproximately 1 – 2 hours to the designated location where we would see 1500 – 2000 patients per day. We not only provided thepatients with medical care, but we also did some consultation whichled us to a better understanding of their needs. After the patientssaw the doctor, they went to the prayer tent where they were prayedover. Imagine praying for 1500 – 2000 people per day! After prayer,they would receive their medication.

Inaddition

to providing medical care, many broken schooldesks were rebuilt. God used one of our teammembers, Jeff Palmquist’s individual gifts andprovided the supplies for him to spend one entireday to rebuild the desks which was an incredibleblessing to the people.

One of my joys on this trip was to see, even up tothe very last day, our team of doctors ministering toeach patient as if it was their first.

But my greatest joy was seeing 682 people come toChrist which were genuine conversions. We gaveout over 1500 Bibles and 10,000 prayer bracelets.


7/8


8/8

Cross-Cultural Ministries Cross-Cultural Ministries

2906 South 165th StreetOmaha, Nebraska 68130

8For more information contact us at: [email protected]

402-350-3815

Te Lord did amazing work!! Back on the home front, my family is doing wonderful. We just got done celebrating my children’s birthdays.In April, my oldest, Danny, became a teenager. He is now 13 and is getting ready for high school in a year. He

is doing great in school and I’m bracing myself for these adolescent years.Sofia and David turned 11 in June, and they are very excited to transition into middle school. I can’t get overhow time flies by. Before I know it they will be graduating from high school!It will be an exciting summer trying to shuffle things around with the kids being out of school and trying tokeep them busy and supervised. Tat is always a challenge.

Speaking of challenges, please pray for us for the following: 1. Family issues, schedules, and family finances. Money is tight and I’m looking to start collecting social

security considering that I’m over 62. Tat will help out a great deal, although I will continue to doministry as I have been. I have been called to…..one where there is no retirement!

2. Pray that the General Assembly relationship with the INP will be solidified and open doors for our

ministry. 3. Pray that I will be able to finalize and patent my Water reatment Plant this summer. It has been areal struggle through the years, but I think we are coming to an end and it looks very promising.

4. Please pray for Latins United Christian Ministries as we seek to spread the Good News of Jesus Christthroughout the world. If you wish to support our ministry, please contact us at [email protected] orcall 402.350.3815. Our mailing address is 2906 S. 165th Ave., Omaha, NE 68130.

Terefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:58)

Cross Cultural Ministries Newsletter May 2016

Documents

Transcript of Cross Cultural Ministries Newsletter May 2016