"So let's send our sons and daughters to the border with shovels and picks and not guns!" With words like these (not an exact quote), Mission to the World (MTW) evangelist Jimmy Lyons poured out his heart to the 14th General Aseembly of the Presbyterian Church of America (PCA). He had visited the border between the United States and Mexico, and was deeply touched by the overwhelming poverty and misery that he saw. Spurred on by the burden the Holy Spirit had laid on his heart, he urged the PCA into action.
In the three summers leading up to 1990, what was then SIMA (Servants in Missions Abroad) sent over 600 people from seventy churches to build houses, churches, and clinics, and to evangelize. MTW missionary in Mexico, Dick Dye, helped coordinate these efforts. Many worked with Rev. Isaias Uc, who had been in McAllen, TX, since 1986. As labors bore fruit and interest mounted among PCA churches, Mission to the World and Mission to North America (MNA) quickly recognized that a full-time coordinator for the border ministry was needed. In September, 1990, Rev. Moisés Zapata, a civil engineer and pastor from Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico, and a graduate of Reformed Theological Seminary, Jackson, MS, arrived in El Paso, TX, to become the first coordinator of Border Evangelism and Mercy Ministries (BEAMM).
Moisés quickly set to work developing initial ideas for the ministry. He was soon joined by Dan Young, and together with Darlene Walters and Dave Robertson of MTW/Impact, and Peter Clark and Kevin McKemie of World Relief, formulated the initial purpose, vision, and strategy of BEAMM:
On the basis of our conviction that man is made in God's image, and that Jesus Christ has died to redeem sinners, the border ministry of the PCA should reach out in church planting on both sides of the border and in works of mercy in response to needs expressed by local communities. Strategy for accomplishing this vision would be to place full-time workers in key areas, and continue sending teams of youth and adults to the border.
Continuing with the heart of this strategy, Moisés led the drive to establish a working agreement between MTW and the National Presbyterian Church of Mexico (NPCM). This historic document was signed in Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico, in November, 1993, by Rev. John Kyle of MTW and Rev. Ramiro Laureano, President of the General Assembly of the NPCM.
In succeeding years, short-term teams played a vital role in the development of the BEAMM ministry in Ciudad Juárez. Renovation work was done at a church along with construction at two local schools. In addition, outreach events, such as Vacation Bible Schools in public parks, proclaimed the Gospel to over 600 children and their parents in just a three-year period! God's Spirit brought many of these to a saving relationship with Jesus Christ, and three churches, Gracia y Paz, Tierra Prometida, and Vida Nueva were born.
As these works matured, the BEAMM team continued to grow, adding key leaders like Josué Mayo, Gary Nantt, David White, and Aaron Zapata. In 2000, the San Pablo Seminary was begun in Juárez to formally train future leaders of the developing border church.
By God's grace, over these past twenty years over 600 people have come to Christ through the ministry of BEAMM. May He continue to use the BEAMM team to reach millions of lost people who live on the border with TRUE HOPE that is the Gospel!
Please note that this page is a work in progress. We plan to add pictures, articles, and descriptions to tell the story of BEAMM throughout these past twenty years. Come back often to check out our progress!