CHM Newsletter - Spring -2018

From CHM Director David Byrne -

Greetings!

   Since before the beginning of this year we have been looking at developing new ministries for the Hispanic churches across North America. We are currently in a process of reevaluation of some of our ministry commitments and are finding some freedom to be able to redirect CHM’s efforts in new ways to address current needs and opportunities and to make Hispanic ministry a priority! Some areas of new focus include:
      Church Meetings and Training sessions through Internet Conferencing: given the technology available we will be hosting more classes and local church meetings online to be of greater service to individual local churches. This goes beyond the Instituto ALMA leadership classes that are online. Our offering to the churches is a more personalized interaction to strengthen the vision and structure of a local Spanish-speaking congregation.
      Research and Broad Interaction with the Hispanic Church in America: The official name of CHM is “Hispanic Ministry Leadership and Research International” and understanding the ministries and needs of Hispanic churches is important. I foresee greater involvement with Spanish-speaking churches from many movements and contexts in order for us to share more specifically about what can and should be done to develop the church.
     Of course CHM will continue to support church-planting and leadership development as well as provide a bridge between cultures to develop and promote Hispanic ministries. The more things change, the more they remain the same!

Blessed by the Board!

One of the great blessings we have had over the years in the Coalition for Hispanic Ministries is the participation of committed, talented, experienced and wise board members. This year we are losing two valued board members to transitions in life. I believe that Eric Royle’s greatest frustration with CHM has been not being able to do enough. Eric has a servant’s heart but as he finishes up his last years of his career he has not had the time to dedicate and our meeting schedules have not meshed with his work. David Jaimes is a young minister with personal experience in Hispanic ministry and a passion for immigrants and their dilemma, but with studies and work back in California he did not feel he could continue to serve with the board. We thank God and the contributions that Eric and David have made and for their service on the board. We look forward to working with them on other projects.
On the other hand we welcome new board members who also have great experience and wisdom in ministry. Dr. Gene Pickard is an experienced missionary and professor who served in Guatemala and who has trained both Spanish and English-speaking Christians. He has decades of experience in equipping Spanish-speaking leaders and currently lives in Haviland, Kansas where he teaches at Barclay College.
Rounding out the board are Omar and Arlene Castillo who are pastoring the Chicago Hispanic Friends Church and have agreed together to fill out one board position. Arlene is the daughter of the founding pastor (Ovidio Ipiña) of the Chicago Friends Church and Omar serves as treasurer of AMANA. Both are bi-vocational leaders whom God has used to bless many. I look forward to seeing how God will use this multi-talented board to achieve great things in His name in the coming years.

North American Hispanic Friends Conference
And MORE!!

This is an exciting year as our North American Hispanic Friends conference sponsored by AMANA is joined by Friends pastors from across the Americas. Central and South American groups affiliated with EFC-LA (Evangelical Friends Church - Latin America) will send pastors to participate in this conference that will include churches from Bolivia, Peru, Central America, Mexico and beyond. The two simultaneous conferences will be hosted by the Friends Church – Willoughby Hills as the kickoff event for their missions focus this year. The theme of the joint conference is, “Siempre Siervos” (Always Servants) and reflects the challenge of servant leadership as we minister in Jesus’ name.

The dates are the 4-7 of October, 2018 at the Friends Church in Willoughby Hills, Ohio just east of Cleveland. Sign up here to help out with the conference. We are looking for people to prepare and serve some of the meals, to house visitors and to provide transportation among other opportunities. To attend, just fill out the online registration form and make your plans. We plan to have the equipment and interpreters to provide simultaneous interpretation to English during most of the general sessions in the evening.

	Pray for the CHM board and their ongoing work for the Kingdom of God and specifically their contributions to the development and promotion of Hispanic ministries.
	Pray for CHM as we set our agenda for Hispanic ministries and work with both Spanish and English-speaking churches and groups of churches. Pray that God would give us grace to fulfill our calling and make the most of the gifts we have received.
	Pray for the upcoming gatherings of churches and for the unity in the Body of Christ between the peoples from many different cultures and lands. May the family of God serve the Father and one another!