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North
Central Conference Churches Offer Model for Hispanic Church Planting
by Helen Kaufmann
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Hispanic
camp at Sky Lodge
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More than 180 Chicago and Milwaukee area Spanish speakers
are attending the North Central Conference's Hispanic Family Camp
this year, scheduled for the first weekend in June. The camp is
somewhat unusual in that its main purpose is to involve people new
to faith and the church. According to Rev. Alma Córdova,
most who come are not yet believers.
The camp, which is now in its 7th year, began with
a group from Aurora, IL, but as Hispanic ministry in the area grew,
people from Waukegan began attending as well. Now the camp draws
interested families from Melrose Park, IL and Milwaukee, WI, target
areas for new church plants. Spanish speakers are invited through
flyers distributed in neighborhoods as well as through invitations
to those who attend community classes provided by the church plants.
The Hispanic family camp is just one of a variety
of developments in the North Central Conference's Hispanic initiative.
The first was the 1996 Aurora church plant project, begun by the
Córdovas, who were recruited from an East Coast Free Methodist
Hispanic ministry. Within five years the Aurora church was self-supporting,
and now, under Senior Pastor Juan Córdova, is in its second
year of operating as a bilingual church. All services are translated
by associate Rev. Juan Rivera into both English and Spanish languages.
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Revs.
Juan and Alma Córdova
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In addition to pastoring in Aurora, Juan serves the
Conference Superintendent John Grover as Assistant for Hispanic
ministry. He leads the new Spanish language ministry in Waukegan
IL, hosted by Waukegan Wesley FM Church. His wife Alma, in addition
to responsibilities with the Hispanic ministry, serves the Wesley
Church as a full-time Associate Pastor, working with senior pastor
Carl Brannon. Alma leads worship, preaches on occasion and works
with the CE program. The Córdovas say that the Hispanic ministry
is multiplying there through an active small-group network.
Spanish-speaking children in the area are frequently
bilingual and are easily attracted to programs for children at the
church. For adults a variety of classes are offered-everything from
guitar and drum lessons to cooking, computer training and English.
Pastor Alma says that the first time an English language class was
announced, an unexpected 100 persons turned out. The church provides
childcare while parents are in classes.
A promising development at the heart of North Central's
plans for Hispanic ministry expansion is its International Bible
Institute, which opened in October 2003. Housed at Wesley Church,
the Institute offers to men and women called to plant churches the
classes required for ordination. In the two-year program students
take classes for three days and work in church plants the rest of
the week. Students are currently organizing churches in Chicago
suburb Melrose Park and in Milwaukee. Pastor Juan Córdova
is Director and Pastor Alma one of the instructors in the Institute.
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Rev.
Alma Córdova distributes gifts at Christmas
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Pastor Alma reports that Hispanics now comprise some
60% of Aurora residents and comparable percentages of some neighboring
Chicago suburbs. In Waukegan's downtown school district, she says,
Spanish speakers now make up 70% of the children in the schools.
The Bible Institute appears to be a timely addition if the church
is to seize the opportunity to reach the changing population in
this area.
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