| Hispanics hold first
assembly
By Michael Wacht
KISSIMMEE — Florida Conference Hispanics met
for the first time Sept. 28-29 under their new leadership structure.
Several elements of that structure became the focus of discussion.
More than 150 Hispanic pastors and laity met at
First United Methodist Church here for the first annual meeting of the
new Hispanic Assembly, which comprises the 40 Hispanic churches and
missions in the Florida Conference. Its goal is to promote unity
within the Hispanic community, celebrate and plan ministries, and
interpret and promote conference ministries to the Hispanic community.
The Assembly’s development is the result of
the Florida Conference’s decision last year to adopt and fund the
National Plan for Hispanic Ministries and hire a conference
coordinator of Hispanic ministries. It replaces the former Florida
Conference Hispanic Committee on Ministries.
The National Plan for Hispanic Ministries is a
general church initiative to help Hispanic and non-Hispanic United
Methodist churches grow by planting new faith communities. They are
led by people called lay missioners who are supervised by
pastor-mentors. Each community is sponsored by one or more established
congregations.
One part of the new structure is the conference
coordinator, who will oversee the training and rollout of the plan.
The Rev. Miguel Velez, pastor of Miami’s Coral Way United Methodist
Church, asked Assembly leaders about the progress in hiring the
conference coordinator. “Who has the power and authority to
represent Hispanics?” he said. “Without this, the plan is
meaningless…and we cannot tie into conference initiatives.”
The Rev. Cruz Edwin Santos, pastor of the
Hispanic Mission at First United Methodist Church, Kissimmee, said the
Assembly’s search committee is working with the conference’s
personnel committee to identify the best person for the position.
Santos is one of two Hispanic National Plan
regional coordinators who are coordinating training on the plan for
individuals and churches.
The Rev. William Jones, a retired pastor and
former coordinator of the conference’s National Plan for Hispanic
Ministries, updated delegates on the progress of the plan, comparing
the urgency of implementing it to the urgency of the United States’s
response after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
“We see a rapid growth among Hispanics,”
Jones said. “If you’re not convinced of the urgency of what God’s
doing, this plan has no value.”
Jones said Hispanic ministries are forming on
their own and coming to the Assembly for help and support. The
Assembly, he said, needs to be busy preparing leaders and seeking
resources for those ministries.
Santos told the Assembly’s delegates that the
first phase of the plan is already taking place. Eight Hispanic
churches have begun training individuals and preparing local
congregations to play an active role in the plan.
An important part of this first phase is the
Hispanic Institute, according to Jones. The Institute is an
educational ministry that includes “a mobile group of facilitators
that can offer support in each district,” he said.
The institute includes the Orlando campus of
Asbury Theological Seminary, which is offering classes in Spanish.
Delegates also discussed financial support for
the Assembly and its ministries. Each of the 40 churches and missions
is asked to contribute by paying dues, $75 for missions and $100 for
churches. So far this year, 14 have paid.
The dues help pay travel expenses for people
attending training or Assembly meetings and events. They also support
the Assembly’s various ministries, including the annual Hispanic
Family Camp in Leesburg.
After discussing various ways to increase
financial support, delegates voted to increase the annual dues by $50
next year. Delegates also asked the executive committee to develop a
program to encourage more participation.
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