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Minnesota Church Pursing Ministry to Hispanics
DASSEL, MN (April 28, 2003) - Nuestra Esperanza (Our Hope), a Hispanic outreach
initiative through the Evangelical Covenant Church of Dassel, has found a
way to meet the needs of an emerging population in a small Minnesota town.
The two counties in the church's vicinity - Meeker and Wright - have grown
significantly in recent years and many of the new neighbors are Hispanic.
The church wanted to be better neighbors to the newcomers and after a
meeting between parishioner Marcella Craswell and pastor Keith Carlson in
the fall of 2001, the church began pursuit of a new ministry.
For more than a year, the church has offered language classes, Bible
studies and a clothes closet for meeting basic needs. The opportunities for
service have expanded so much that Craswell, a native Costa Rican, has been
called to minister on the church staff as a part-time director of outreach
and Hispanic ministries.
"The church is starting to see not only a physical and social impact, but a
spiritual impact as well," said Jon Kramka, who serves as director of
mission development for the Northwest Conference. "The most impressive
thing was that, as God had them looking in another (ministry) direction,
they had the courage to respond, even though they didn't
fully understand the implications of where this ministry would take them
and what it might require of them."
Kramka said that based on per capita growth, Minnesota is the fastest
growing state with regards to the Hispanic culture. Kramka stated that the
state's emerging social services for that aggregate has made Minnesota a
more attractive option for immigrants.
Craswell says she was first drawn to ministry to the Hispanic community
when she drove by some people one rainy day and realized that she had not
been noticing the needs of that population. After praying about how she
could help, she made contacts with a local teacher and a local nurse. She
has been encouraged as five local people received Christ recently. Seven
Hispanic families are now attending the church. "It was not something I
ever imagined myself participating in," she said. "It was definitely God's
idea and I feel privileged that God, knowing my heart, could use me."
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