Sometimes in ministry it is easy to get impatient for results. People are financially supporting you and the ministry and you want them to see tangible progress. Progress in ministry however does not always come easy or according to our schedule.
One instance of this is the Spanish Church Association that we attempted to start a year and a half ago. A local Spanish-speaking pastor and I both had a vision to bring the Spanish churches in Wichita together to help encourage, train, and resource Spanish pastors in the city. We planned for five months before attempting to launch the association and it went well for the first two meetings but it quickly fell apart due to various problems. As we talked about it more it became clear that division within the churches in Wichita was nothing new regardless of culture! The city in the past is known for churches dividing and splitting, which resulted in a lack of cooperation for Kingdom work.
After some time evaluating and praying through different options we decided to make another attempt at starting a Spanish Church Association. We spent months praying and laying the groundwork. A local supporting church hosted an event, which was attended by over forty Spanish pastors! It was the first time in years that the pastors had gathered together. Since that time the association has developed a leadership team and is meeting monthly!
We are so excited about what God is going to do through this association of Spanish pastors. We believe that church plants, pastoral training schools, and healthier Spanish churches will be a direct result over the next few years! Our plan was for this to start a year and half ago, but God had different plans and knew when the soil was ready for the association to be planted.
World Impact is working closely with the association to resource, train, and equip the attending pastors and leaders.
Repeatedly in ministry here we have seen that pastors and their families need the community and support of other pastors and leaders. The association provides a place not only for training and resourcing local urban pastors, but supporting them and their families emotionally and spiritually. Please be in prayer for these dear brothers and sisters in Christ as they minister the Gospel in their local church and communities that desperately need to see the light of Christ!
Together we are truly making an impact in the inner city of Wichita for the Gospel.
