Over the decades the Latin Church has and continues to mature, and like personal discipleship, the US Church's partnership with these organizations must mature as well. Many Latin denominations and ministries planted by missionaries decades ago are now excelling on their own, have their own gifts and require a more mature type of collaboration. Not so different from adult children, who remain part of the family but now relate more as peers in comparison to when they were young. If a parent or ministry never moves beyond the childhood relationship, there's something grossly wrong with the parenting. What's more, they will miss out on all that these new partners have to share, encourage and teach their own parents!
As with our own boys' "launching" over these past few years, the opportunities before UWM are exciting yet challenging. Our time in Colombia clarified five major focal points for the coming year, but also the wealth of experienced Latin ministries at our side. Over the next few newsletters, I'll touch on each of these five areas, starting today with:
Pastoral Formation and Leadership -Throughout Latin America there are countless pastors faithfully serving without having been equipped theologically or practically. Thankfully during our time together, we identified no less than 30 ministries, most of them Latin, that focus on everything from "brick and mortar" seminaries to non-formal, mobile or online theological training and equipping of pastors.
Theological training is foundational and prepares a pastor and those he disciples to understand God's word and plan for His church and His people. Still, contextualization of the message (making it understandable in other cultures) without compromising Gospel/Biblical truth is essential, and takes a knowledge of both theology and the target culture. The ministries we've identified are experts in these areas, and rather than exclusively relying on materials, methods and teachers form a N. American context, these national ministries can meet the needs within their Latin context, avoiding many of the cultural differences that can be so challenging. To top it all off, most are already partners with UWM and can be connected through the network God has blessed us with over the past century, amplifying their impact significantly.
Please keep the "Hub Development Team", as well as our Latin Ministry partners in your prayers. Pray for discernment, ability to connect the needs with the providers and an ease of communication across many borders.
More on the other 4 areas we're focusing on in future installments including:
No comments:
Post a Comment