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Sunday Service to Celebrate La Vina (CA) Ministry
KERMAN, CA (November 20, 2003) - The transition of La Vina del Senor as a
ministry of Kerman Covenant Church to a church plant as part of the
Pacific Southwest Conference (PSWC) of the Evangelical Covenant Church
will be celebrated during a special Ohana service this coming Sunday.
The new church, with Michael Jordan as pastor, will be known as La Vina
Covenant Church effective December 1, according to Dan Shelton, senior
pastor of Kerman Covenant.
Ohana is a word for "family." Borrowing a line from the movie Lilo
and Stitch - "Ohana means family and family means nobody gets left
behind" - Shelton said the service is being planned "so that nobody
will get left behind due to culture or language in the worship service."
A Luau celebration luncheon will follow the worship service, sponsored
by Team Ohana, a multi-cultural task group comprised of representatives
from both congregations.
La Vina has been an active ministry of Kerman Covenant for the past
three years, Shelton observed. Jordan, a former short-term missionary to
Mexico, started the ministry as an outreach to migrant Hispanic farm
workers by visiting the local laundromat on Sunday mornings. A need to
provide ongoing ministry to the resident Spanish speaking Hispanic
community soon became apparent and La Vina del Senor was born. Over the
past three years, La Vina has been worshipping in the Christian
education building on the campus
of Kerman Covenant. Effective January 4, La Vina will begin using the
main worship center at Kerman Covenant.
"When Walter Contreras and Wayne Carlson came to our Council to present
the process of La Vina being planted as a church, the Spirit moved in
the room," Shelton recalled. "I wasn't expecting it, Walter and Wayne
were not expecting it, the leadership of La Vina were not expecting it
and our Council was not expecting it. Toward the end of the meeting,
church chair Bill Otto called for a vote of the Council to enter into an
agreement with La Vina and the PSWC to plant La Vina as a church.
"After a unanimous approval, you could feel the Spirit being unleashed
in the room," Shelton continued. "It felt like chains that were binding
both congregations were shattered and the flood gates of heaven opened
up into the room. Otto, a raisin farmer, shared that he came to the
meeting extremely tired. It was the harvest time and he had been working
extremely long days. During the meeting, he felt something come over him
and enliven him with energy. He had not planned on calling for a vote at
the start of
the meeting, but by the end of the meeting, he was moved to do so."
The planting process has not been easy, Shelton says, noting that at
times cultural differences produce anxiety and conflict between the two
congregations. "As these areas of anxiety and conflict are worked
through, both congregations grow in their understanding of what it means
to live their Christian journey," Shelton stresses. "At one point a year
ago, it was almost decided to bring an end to the ministry and focus the
funds elsewhere in the budget. A year later, we are planting a church!
I'm not even sure if using the word 'plant' is the proper terminology.
'Prune and plant' would be more accurate.
Raisin vineyards are a centerpiece of Kerman life. "For growth to occur
and fruit to be produced, the vines have to be pruned back each year -
new vines can be created from these cuttings," Shelton notes in drawing
an analogy to the church planting effort. "The planting of La Vina is
similar to this process. We are pruning one of the vines of ministry of
Kerman Covenant and planting it in the fertile ground of the community
to produce more fruit in God's kingdom - both from Kerman Covenant's
vine and from La Vina's vine."
Kerman is a small town located west of Fresno with a population of
10,000 and growing. "For a congregation in a rural community - one that
has experienced a depressed economy over the past few years due to low
agricultural prices - to decide to plant a church is almost unheard of,"
Shelton observed. "But we are doing it. We are doing it to build God's
kingdom. By planting La Vina, God's kingdom will grow . . . as La Vina
reaches out to the Spanish-speaking residents of Kerman."
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
