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Two Hispanic Church Plants Conduct Services
PHOENIX, AZ (December 29, 2004) - Puerta Abierta Covenant Church recently
conducted its first preview service – one of two Hispanic churches
conducting previews during the past month in the Pacific Southwest
Conference (PSWC) of the Evangelical Covenant Church.
More than 80 people attended the preview service, which was held in a
building used primarily by a Presbyterian church and a day care center,
according to PSWC
administrator Walter Contreras, who coordinates Hispanic ministries.
Pastor Eliseo Bongarra and his wife, Geraldine, are from Argentina –
their families helped pioneer schools and a radio ministry in that
country – and Eliseo founded a Christian Athletic Ministry in Argentina
before serving a Bible church in Arizona. The new congregation is
partnering with Hope Covenant Church in nearby Chandler with some
support from another church plant in Phoenix - Genesis Covenant Church. It
is part of an effort to plant 10 Arizona churches during the next
decade, including five Hispanic congregations.
To learn more about Puerta Abierta Covenant Church and its ministries,
call 602-567-5385 or email Bongarra at ebongarra@hotmail.com. Contreras
believes that the Bongarra family's outreach skills will serve them well
as they minister to people from Mexico and nearly a dozen other
countries. The core group includes a diverse group of Hispanic cultures
and it is hoped that youth and sports outreach programs will aid the
growth process.
An air of excitement is already evident at the church. "One new couple
attending (the preview service) acted on their enthusiasm for this new
church by leaving in the
middle of the service and returning with two additional families from
their neighborhood to join the worship and fellowship," an email
newsletter from PSWC reported.
While outreach seems to be a serious goal for Arizona Covenant
congregations, a southern California church plant is attempting serious
ministry using someone with a "humor-filled" past. On November 27,
Armonia Covenant Church, under the leadership of pastor Marcos Vasquez,
conducted its first preview service in Vista, California, a north suburb
of San Diego. According to PSWC staff, there were 80 people in
attendance and 15 of those present made a commitment to follow Jesus.
Financial assistance is being provided by Mt. Miguel Retirement Village
in Spring Valley, which is located an hour from the new church.
Originally from Chile, Vasquez is a pastor's kid and co-founded a radio
ministry there and worked for a time as a stand-up comedian. Vasquez
graduated from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, last
June and he and his wife, Pamela, and their three children moved south
after helping another Hispanic Covenant church plant, Vision Covenant
Church in Azusa. Oak Hills Covenant Church, also in Vista, has given
support and Contreras expects that other congregations in and around San
Diego will help the church plant as well.
Vision Covenant Church has been especially helpful this fall by sending
some Hispanic leaders to assist Vasquez in worship leading and
translation – some of those participating at the first preview service
spoke English. The congregation is exploring the "cell model
church" paradigm and wants to reach a bilingual segment of the community
and to create bridges of relationships while serving an area that has a
mix of wealthy and poor communities within a few miles of each other.
To learn more about Armonia Covenant Church and its ministries, email Vasquez at marcosvasquez@cp.fuller.edu.
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