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Ciudad
Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico |
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The City of
Juárez owes its origins to travelers. Some were looking
for wealth, others for souls to save. A few just wanted
a change of scenery or a new and different locality
in which to put down roots. For whatever reasons people
came, the history of Juárez is filled with colorful
events and unforgettable heroes.
read
more here |
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BEAMM
Projects in Ciudad Juárez |
Iglesia
Promesa de Vida: A fusion of two bodies into one |
Dedication Service - October 1, 2006 |
Pastor Juan Antonio and Brenda García
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Session of Promesa de Vida
June 17, 2007 |
Sunday School:
10:30 - 11:30 am
Worship:
11:45 am - 1:15 pm |
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Vida Nueva
In 1993, Josue and Martha Mayo
came to Ciudad Juarez and began planting the Vida Nueva
(New Life) church. In 2000, they handed over the supervision
of the Vida Nueva church to Wilbert
Frias. The congregation meets in the "periferia
de Juárez", and before the merger with Tierra Prometida,
had around forty members with around sixty attending
the weekly meetings. Also there are three Elder candidates
and three Deacon candidates ready to be ordained. The
congregation was able to obtain its own meeting place
in 2002 and with the help of short-term teams is in
the process of expanding this facility to provide more
meeting space. In February, 2006, Wilbert Frias was
asked to help the San Pablo Seminary by becoming a full-time
teacher and administrative assistant. Miguel
Angel Gonzalez, a long-time member of Vida Nueva
and a 2004 graduate of San Pablo, agreed to fill the
void left by Wilbert's departure. In October, 2006,
Miguel was officially licensed by the Chihuahua Presbytery
of the National Presbyterian Church of Mexico.
Tierra Prometida
The Tierra Prometida Church began in 1997 with four
women who were having a Bible Study in the garage of
a family's home. Some of these women came as the
result of the Vacation Bible Schools that were held
at the neighborhood park. (Every summer they have a
VBS at the park which is attended by 150 – 200 children).
In the beginning they had problems finding a good place
to gather, but when a place was finally found, fifteen
families started this mission. Before the merger with
Vida Nueva, the church had about twenty-five members
and averaged about forty in weekly attendence. The congregation
had four ordained elders, but no deacons. Within this
group are fifteen young people. They have ladies', youth,
and women's ministries, as well as sewing workshops.
Juan Antonio García
was a long-time member of Tierra Prometida and just
graduated from the San Pablo Seminary in November, 2005.
In October, 2006, Juan Antonio was officially licensed
by the Chihuahua Presbytery of the National Presbyterian
Church of Mexico.
A New Congregation is Formed
At a joint congregational meeting on September
10, 2006, the two congregations almost unanimously approved
the fusion of the two into the new congregation named
Promesa de Vida. On October 1, 2006, the new congregation
dedicated its new sanctuary on the former Vida Nueva
property.
The Church is Particularized
On June 17, 2007, The Promesa de Vida
Church was formally particularized by the Chihuahua
Presbytery of the National Presbyterian Church of Mexico.
This was a momentous occasion, since this is the first
church that BEAMM had started to be particularized!
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| Iglesia Gracia
y Paz |
Pastor Obed and Brenda Uc |
Entering New Remodeled Building - Palm Sunday, 2006 |
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Sunday School:
10:00—11:20 am
Worship:
11:30 am—1:00 pm |
Gracia y Paz Sanctuary |
Begun in 1997, the over 40-member congregation of
Gracia y Paz church has been a “nomad”
group, holding services in homes, other church buildings,
and even a fiesta house.
In September, 2004, Obed Uc was approved by the Session
of the church to begin the process of becoming the
church’s pastor. He was officially installed
as the pastor of Gracia y Paz on December 4, 2005.
In January, 2006, the congregation moved into a new
facility which they have leased for three years. During
March, 2006, three BEAMM work teams assisted the congregation
in renovating this facility. Once the first two parts
of the BEAMM Juárez Community Center are constructed,
Gracia y Paz will move to that facility, hopefully
by the end of 2008.
The church’s mission is to reach
people of the middle and upper-middle classes in Juarez
with the Gospel of Jesus Christ
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| Misión
Frontera de Gracia |
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Church Planters Samuel and Zeny Lopez |
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Worship:
11:00 am—12:30 pm
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Even though Gracia y Paz still is not an organized
church, they are already active in planting a mission
church in the Calzada del Rio area of Ciudad Juárez
called Frontera de Gracia, “Border of Grace.”
Samuel and Zeneida Lopez have been working in this
area for the past four years. They have contacted
a number of families with whom they are building friendships
and seeking to share the Gospel. On January 9, 2005,
the mission held its first official worship service
in Samuel and Zeny’s home where twenty-five
people attended. They are now meeting each Sunday
from 11:00 am to 12:30 pm.
In connection with this work, Zeny has been teaching
music classes at a neighborhood elementary school
called Frontera Nueva (New Frontier) since April,
2005. Through these classes, relationships are being
built among the Frontera de Gracia Mission and the
families of the community. These relationships have
yielded many open doors and opportunities for presenting
the Gospel.
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San
Pablo Seminary |
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Regional training centers are vital in preparing
leaders for an expanding church network, especially
if the training can be scheduled so that students
are not separated from their environment nor from
their local church. The San Pablo Seminary - Juárez
Campus is just such a training center. Begun in August
2000, the seminary is an extension of the San Pablo
Seminary in Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico.
The seminary is directed by an Executive Council made
up of local pastors and BEAMM team members. BEAMM’s
Aaron Zapata is the Sub-Director of the Seminary.
The School of Theology started with five students,
and now has sixteen students. Classes are held Monday,
Wednesday, and Friday evenings. As one visiting teacher
noted, “It is fantastic how motivated these
students are to come to study after a heavy day at
their jobs. I feel very grateful to be part of this
effort.” The School of Theology has a unique
curriculum. Students begin with Evangelism and Christian
Education, to filter out those not truly committed
and to move the students into outreach. Then they
move into Old Testament, interpretation and preaching
studies, followed by New Testament. Later the students
take up Biblical and Systematic Theology, and finish
with Pastoral Theology. The idea is to have “experts”
as a resource to the Presbytery who are able to evangelize
and preach as well as to express their theology.
The Seminary has now had four commencements with
three students from the School of Theology graduating
in June, 2007. In addition, over one hundred students
have received diplomas from the School of Continuing
Education. Eight new students are scheduled to enroll
into the Seminary in August, 2007.
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Seminary Administrator Wilbert and
Magali Frias
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Sub-Director Aaron and Laticia Zapata
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Other
BEAMM Team Members in Ciudad Juarez |
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Community Development Coordinator
Rick and Sharon Marooney
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