This update is from GCI district and church pastor and church planter Heber Ticas.
For the past two years the Spanish-speaking district that I lead in Southern California has been participating in a leadership/pastoral development program. We invited both established and emerging young leaders from our seven congregations to attend ten intensive daylong training sessions held over a two-year span.
Dan Rogers, Mike Morrison, Lorenzo Arroyo (shown teaching below), Ben Escalante, Manuel Ochoa, Jose Luis Escalante and I provided teaching, including introduction to the Old and New Testaments, Trinitarian theology and incarnational missional ministry.
It is with great joy and expectation that I report that 21 participants graduated from the program last month (see picture below). On December 7 we held a district-wide gathering where participants were recognized with diplomas presented by Dr. Dan Rogers. It was a great time of fellowship and celebration as we thanked our Lord for his grace over our Hispanic work in this region.
It is my expectation that we will continue to develop emerging leaders with the purpose of sending them to their local congregations for leadership and missional work. I also expect that some in this group will become church pastors, church planters and/or participants in a launch team to plant new GCI Spanish-speaking congregations.
I have set as a goal for our Spanish district to multiply itself to 14 congregations in the next 7-10 years. Please join me in prayer about this goal—thanking our most loving God for his grace with respect to our Spanish work.
