Almost 90 children attended the Vacation Bible School held by Centro Cristiano Santa Paula in June. The theme was "A Journey through the Holy Land" and the entire church facilities were set up like the ancient city of Bethlehem with a well to collect water, a carpenter's workshop (craft tent), a bakery (snack tent) and a game area where the children played real games that the Romans played. Praise the Lord for the many new families who attended VBS and are continuing to attend church activities.

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Centro Cristiano Oxnard held a concert on Mother's Day with a dinner and flowers for all of the mothers. The youth visited the mothers in their homes that morning with a special song for each of them. We praise the Lord for the blessings of our mothers and for their loving husbands and children who support them in Oxnard!

English classes and Bible Study, held every Saturday, have begun in Moorpark. The next Park Outreach will take place on Saturday, June 6th.

Centro Cristiano Hispano Bible Institute begins a new Preaching Course this month in Santa Paula. Fifteen students are enrolled. They will learn how to spread the Gospel in a variety of ministry settings, through preaching and teaching in a Spirit led and well organized fashion.

How Can You Be A Part of the Action?

"All great journeys in Jesus' Great Commission begin with small steps of faith. Please pray for our steps in Oxnard, Moorpark, and Santa Paula. Join us as we walk forward carrying the Good News of Jesus to our Spanish speaking neighbors." Pastor Dennis Bradshaw

For more information about these ministries or to send financial support, please contact Pastor Dennis Bradshaw at (805) 660-3377 or Centro Cristiano Hispano, P.O. Box 952 Santa Paula, CA 93060.

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Maundy Thursday, April 9, 2009

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The Hispanic Outreach Ministry at Faith continues to move forward and is now officially known as Centro Cristiano Moorpark. Pastor Dennis Bradshaw now has his office at Faith Lutheran Church and is in the community at least 2 days a week. His office used to be at Centro Cristiano Santa Paula. They have been growing and really need more room. This move to Faith will free up another room at Santa Paula and help with their need for more space. And it will put Pastor Dennis and Tara closer to the neighborhood where we hope to start a new Hispanic mission.

Pastor Dennis, Tara, and Leo Garcia from Centro Cristiano Santa Paula have made contact with a number of individuals and families in the neighborhood of the church.

On March 1, Centro Cristiano Santa Paula held a Prayer Concert at Faith as the kickoff to the mission effort in Moorpark. With prayer and music, a group of enthusiastic and dedicated brothers and sisters asked God to bless the efforts to start an Hispanic Church in Moorpark.

In the near future, Pastor Dennis will be teaching an ESL class at Faith for Hispanic members of the neighborhood. This is an opportunity to meet a real need of people in the community, develop personal relationships, and bring the neighborhood to the church.

For those interested, Pastor Dennis is also willing to teach an SSL class affectionately known as Spanish for Gringos. Being able to speak even a little Spanish is greatly appreciated by Hispanic brothers and sisters. They are having the same problems learning and speaking English as we have learning and speaking Spanish. If you are interested, contact Pastor Bob or Dave Bovey and they will make arrangements.

As the ministry begins to grow, more people will be using the church facilities. If you are planning an activity, be sure to check with Tina in the Church Office so she can schedule your activity.

We sometimes think that missionaries work in strange far away lands. But Centro Cristiano Hispano is a mission effort right here in Moorpark, in our own backyard. And they can use our support. Please continue to keep this important ministry in your prayers.

For more information on the Hispanic Mission Society and their work in our area, go to the following websites:
http://www.faithmoorpark.com/
http://www.centrocristianohispano.com/
http://www.centrocristianohispano.com/centrocristianomoorpark/centrocristianomoorpark.html

Labels: centro-cristiano, mission

The Hispanic Outreach Ministry continues to move forward. On November 16, the Ministry Committee presented the latest information to the congregation in a meeting after second service. The presentation focused on “What the Ministry Is” and “What the Ministry Is Not.” For those who missed the meeting, view the presentation here. During the meeting there were a number of questions raised for which there are simply no answers yet. The Ministry Committee will try to provide answers as we develop this ministry.

Very soon, Faith will be presenting the Living Nativity (Dec 12). This is a great opportunity to let the community know we are here. It’s also a great opportunity to let the Hispanic community in Moorpark know about Centro Cristiano Hispano. Members of Centro Cristiano will be at the Living Nativity to greet and speak with the Hispanic members of our community.

The Hispanic Outreach Ministry is not an effort we are undertaking by ourselves. There are resources from Synod and from the Pacific Southwest District. Rev. Ken Behnken, who joined us on Sunday Nov 2, is from the District and “wrote the book” on cross-cultural ministries. Much of the study material and advice the Ministry Committee has been using came from Pastor Behnken. And Pastor Dennis and Tara Bradshaw have been involved in Hispanic Ministries for about 25 years in this area with churches in Oxnard, Carpenteria, and Santa Paula. The District has been planting cross-ministries throughout Southern California for some time. It’s been done before! We don’t have to reinvent “the wheel.”

We are not alone in this ministry.

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Matt 28:18-20 (NIV)

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The following presentation took place after the 2nd service on November 16th. The slides have been copied here for those that missed the presentation or would like to refer back to it.

Hispanic Outreach Ministry - 11/16/2008 PDF

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Recently several members of Faith Lutheran attended a service at St. John's in Oxnard. It was the celebration of the 25th anniversary of Centro Cristiano Hispano, Oxnard. This church started as a mission church sharing the facility with St. John's Lutheran and is now flourishing. It was a moving service that I with more from Faith could have experienced. St. John's has a large sanctuary which was filled with people of several cultures speaking at least 3 languages - English, Spanish, and Mixteco (the languages of the Oaxacan people of southern Mexico). The scene reminded me of the second chapter of the Book of Acts following at Pentecost.

During the service, a young Hispanic girl of high school age spoke of what it meant to her to have Centro Cristiano Oxnard available to her. How it had enabled her to avoid the temptation of the streets - drugs, drinking, and gangs. She cheerfully witnessed to her teenage friends telling them of her loving God who protects her and provides for her. She tells her friends that she does not need alcohol or drugs to feel accepted. But rather she is loved and accepted by her Lord. And because of that she joyfully sings praises to God. I tried to put myself in the place of the non-English speaking people there. How would I feel if I could not worship God in my own language? Lonely and isolated! After all, church is a community of believers.

We have been given an opportunity to provide a place for non-English speaking children of God to worship in their own language. We have been blessed with a facility and with riches that we can now share with our Moorpark neighbors so that they, too, may become a community of believers, a church. We are not trying to merge two separate cultures into one. Rather we are attempting with God's help to provide for both groups to worship God in their own language. As two separate congregations, we will have times when we will fellowship together and learn more about each other.

In Christ,
Dave and Joyce Bovey

Labels: centro-cristiano, mission

Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV)

How many times have we heard these words? So many that we probably can't count! But a more important question is really how many times have we acted on these words?

Several years ago, the FARTHER Committee developed the Biblical Purpose Statement for Faith Lutheran Church. That statement was adopted by the congregation.

"Faith Lutheran Church, responding to God's grace and guided by His word, acts with genuine care as we search for those who are separated from Christ, carrying His message of salvation and binding all together so that all may grow toward spiritual maturity."

When we walk out of church on Sunday morning, we are entering a vast mission field. Over the years, Faith Lutheran has supported many community programs: Food Pantry with food and school supplies, Centro Cristiano Hispano with Christmas presents for the children and financial support for future pastors, Carmen's Kitchen in Juarez, and CROP Walk. These are extremely important opportunities to show the love of Christ to others around us.

But the time has come to take another step into the Mission Field. Faith has a tremendous opportunity for Mission and Ministry right here in the Moorpark area. The population of the Moorpark area is estimated to be approximately 30% Hispanic. The majority of this population is not being reached or ministered to by ANY church. And Faith is right in the middle of this community!

A small group of members have been meeting to explore an Hispanic Outreach Ministry here at Faith. This group has been working through a Bible study that lays the biblical foundation for outreach and ministering to a culture different than our own. In addition to Bible study, the group is working to determine what the Ministry might look like. Because this Ministry is in the early stages of development, there will be more questions than answers. Some of those questions were asked at the congregational meeting on Sep 14. So let’s take a look at what we do know at this point.

• Outreach Ministry Vision Statement:
  Alongside Centro Cristiano Hispano we will help establish a Spanish speaking Lutheran congregation in Moorpark with whom we will share our facility.
• The Hispanic Mission Society of Circuits One and Two of the PSWD (of which Faith is a member of Circuit One) exists to support the Hispanic congregations of Centro Cristiano Oxnard, Redwood, and Santa Paula. These congregations have been established through the efforts of Pastor Dennis and Tara Bradshaw along with many extraordinary leaders within these congregations.
• We are not doing this alone. We are going to work with the Mission Society and Centro Cristiano Hispano to reach the Spanish-speaking community in the Moorpark area. The Bradshaws along with Marcelino and Lupe Velasco and Leo Garcia from Centro Cristiano Santa Paula are anxious to help us plant a Spanish-speaking congregation in Moorpark. Both Marcelino and Leo are in training to become Lutheran pastors.
• This will be a Spanish-speaking congregation. Most of us have limited Spanish capabilities at best. But the Bradshaws are fluent in Spanish and Marcelino, Lupe, and Leo are native speakers. And for those who wish to learn a little Spanish, Pastor Dennis has agreed to hold a "Spanish as a Second Language" class. ¡Qué bueno!
• This will be a Lutheran congregation in Moorpark. The pastors of the churches planted by Centro Cristiano are LCMS seminary trained men called by God to shepherd these congregations. While worship services may look different than ours, the theology is Lutheran.
• We will share our facility with another congregation. Occasionally, we may have joint celebrations and functions. They won't be "renters" at Faith. The facility will be "ours", their facility and our facility. Faith Lutheran will be the Mother Congregation helping to plant a Spanish-speaking church in Moorpark.
• The Pacific Southwest District and Synod both provide financial assistance for planting new congregations. The initial startup expenses are minimal. But as we get further along in this Ministry, we would look to both Synod and the District for financial assistance.
• Remember! We were a Mission Church not too long ago.

Just as we have been called to "go and make disciples of all nations," our hermanos y hermanas (brothers and sisters) of Centro Cristiano Hispano have also been called by our same Lord and Savior.

Jesús se acercó a ellos y les habló diciendo: "Toda autoridad me ha sido dada en el cielo y en la tierra. Por tanto, id y haced Discípulos a todas las naciones, bautizándoles en el nombre del Padre, del Hijo y del Espíritu Santo, y enseñándoles que guarden todas las cosas que os he mandado. Y he aquí, yo estoy con vosotros todos los días, hasta el fin del mundo."

Together, with God's blessing and help, we can reach a large population who need the grace of God through Jesus Christ. Please keep this Ministry in your daily prayers. Let's pray that God blesses our efforts and above all, we follow His Will.

Dave & Joyce Bovey

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