Making Hispanic Ministry the Priority!
CHM Homepage
Summer 2005
     
Greetings from CHM Director David Byrne!

José and Sonia Urrutia in Kingston, NY      With Spanish-speaking churches and ministries springing up all over North America, the impression is that there is an inevitable moving of  God in the Hispanic community.  I believe that is true, but the reality is also that this movement of God requires an enormous effort and many sacrifices by those leaders who come forward to lead God’s congregations.
     These are, “9persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in [their] body.” (II Cor. 4)  Ministry is costly and I, for one, deeply admire those who come forward to serve.  Most of those leaders (like José and Sonia Urrutia in Kingston, NY pictured to the right in front of their new church building) must work other jobs to be able to do the ministry they love.
     Many pastors have had to make difficult decisions about their family time and have been wounded by their own congregations.   I ask you to join me in praying for these dedicated servants, that God’s work would be completed in them and through them.
 

 CHM Board:
Thomas Hoke
Michal Alexander
Rev. Craig Davis
Paul Feaster
Jacob Estrada
Dora Gutierrez Kerr
Dr. Chuck Mylander
Dr. Karl Newman
Scott Randall
Dr. Jack Rea
Dr. Joe Roher
(--See a previous newsletter--) Note:  Check out our Spring Newsletter.
(For an easier to print "Acrobat Reader" Version of this Newsletter click HERE)  
Friends Group meets in Tempe, AZ
Friends Gather for Literature


     Some Friends gathered in Tempe, AZ for a few days in April to consider the literature needs of Spanish-speaking churches throughout the Americas.  Representatives from churches and organizations (including CHM) found that one of the primary needs for Friends Churches is Children’s literature.
     Plans are being made to produce new children’s books and to translate other books that have been published in English.  Barclay Press has already committed itself to this project.  Our plan is to multiply the Spanish language literature on our www.institutoalma.org/CHM internet site and make it available in several formats that would lend themselves to printing in locations across Latin America for easy distribution.
     Already, since the conference, we have put the entire “Diario de Jorge Fox” (George Fox’s Journal) on our site in “PDF” and “Palm Reader” formats.  Click HERE to jump right to our literature page to see some of what is available now.  The above photo shows most of the Literature Conference participants.  We are excited at how this new emphasis can bless Hispanic churches.  Pray with us that it would be so.

  
 New Ministries & New Vision

   Both Northwest and Rocky Mountain Yearly Meetings have taken impressive steps into Hispanic Ministry.  Check out the classy website that NWYM has put together complete with articles, information, and even Spanish-language sermons at:  http://www.amigosevangelicos.com/
     Thanks for your efforts and inspiration!


 Andrea Byrne
Heading for México

     EFM recently named David & Joyce Byrnes’ daughter, Andrea, along with Candi Foster to join Jeremy and Betty Smuck in church-planting in Aguascalientes in Central Mexico.  The following is her mother’s reflections on Andrea’s call to missions:  
Byrne's First Prayer Card
A Mother's Reflection on a Daughter's Calling:

It has been 20 years now since our family was appointed to serve as missionaries in Mexico City with Evangelical Friends Mission – the first step in our journey of ministry with the Hispanic people that we care about so deeply.  Lately I have been reflecting on an experience that took place shortly after our arrival in Mexico.  We were getting into the car with our daughters, 5-year-old Laura and 3-year-old Andrea, preparing to head off to a gathering at one of the churches.  As the girls buckled their seatbelts, we heard Laura’s voice from the backseat saying, “Andrea, I’m kind of worried about you.  I don’t think that you have ever prayed to receive Christ as your Savior.” As we listened in rapt attention, Laura explained the plan of salvation to her little sister, and Andrea prayed to receive Christ.  To this day it makes me smile to think that after our years of college, seminary, pastoral experience, and pre-field training, our 5-year-old daughter was the first in our family to lead someone to Christ in Mexico!  Andrea grew up with a heart for ministry and a deep sense of compassion for the lost, which have grown even more during the past four years as she has studied at Northwestern University.  She graduates this month and has just been appointed as a missionary candidate to EFM’s new field in Aguascalientes, Mexico.  We are so excited that Andrea is returning to minister in Mexico, the country where she spent her childhood and first came to know the Lord.  Please join us in praying for her and the rest of the Aguascalientes team: Jeremy & Betty Smuck and Candi Foster. Pray that God would raise up another man or couple to join this team so that they can begin ministry in Aguascalientes, that each of the team members would be able to raise the needed financial and prayer support, and that the Lord would prepare the hearts of the people in Aguascalientes.  If you would like to communicate with Andrea, you can send her an email at andreaby@gmail.com.

            Instituto ALMA Leadership Training Making Disciples—Preparing Ministers  Houston Graduate School of Theology    
      The first student to complete a Master of Arts degree totally in Spanish graduated from HGST in May through the partnership with CHM.  Leadership training is a key component of our  ministry as we work to support the  leaders of the present and future Hispanic churches.

News & Prayer

F --Pray for Alex Baldez and the new work that is beginning in Spring Valley, New York..  Already, nearby churches have been in contact with Alex to help hold services and rent space in a Nazarene Church.  Pray that God will anoint Alex and his ministry.
F

--You should have gotten one of our new EFM prayer cards for the Byrne family if you received this newsletter by mail.  We hope it helps  remind you to pray for them in their work with the Coalition for Hispanic Ministries, and don’t forget to especially pray for Andrea as she prepares to go to Aguascalientes with EFM.  If you would like a prayer card, send an email to CHM@institutoalma.org with your address.  Also let us know if you would like to be on our "old-fashioned" mail list.
F
--Pray for the literature project (above) and for the copy centers throughout Latin America that will be preparing online literature and making it available to the churches.
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