Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Dedication of Church Plant (part 1)
Yesterday afternoon I went to the official organization of the Planadas Church of the Nazarene (see pictures of the community in previous story entited "Planadas Community"). I’m sure the “experts” would say something like “there is little potential return for your investment in this community.” Quite frankly, a few months ago I would have thought the same thing.
The small plain (Planadas) of this community is landlocked by steep mountains and steep declines on all sides. The only way to get there is to zigzag down the side of a mountain on not much more than a goat path. At the top of the mountain there are houses which have electricity from wires which I think might be speaker wires. But the Planadas below have no electricity. During the service only one light bulb hung down in the middle of the building. A generator which had to be refilled with gas in the middle of the service kept the bulb lit. A garden hose running down the mountain provides water for the community. The sixty or so people who live on this plain do so because the price is right.
Over a year ago someone told Pastor Rodrigo about these people. He’s the Jesus Field Coordinator for Ecuador. So he went down the mountain with a team from his church and showed the Jesus Film. Everyone in the community showed up. (If you lived in a community without electricity, wouldn’t you check out an outdoor showing of a movie?) Such a big percentage of the people responded to the invitation at the end, it was decided that they needed a Bible study or a mission or something to meet on a regular basis to disciple these people. Juan Carlos and his wife, leaders in my church, accepted the challenge and for the last year have faithfully pastored these people, going down that mountain and holding services every Sunday afternoon at 3:00 p.m.
Several months ago on a Sunday morning, Juan Carlos and I drove down the mountain, filled our cars with many of his people and brought them to the local church. I had 13 people in my 5-passenger Ford Explorer. They shared in the anniversary celebration service of their mother church. Over twenty were baptized and several of these were from the Planadas Church. The boys in the picture below were all baptized.
Dedication of Church Plant (part 2)
When we arrived at the church yesterday afternoon, several people were already there. Others were walking to the church from all directions. My friend Fabricio started practicing a song with some of the boys. They had a drum, a tambourine, and another instrument like a tambourine made from a metal hangar and bottle caps. This was their praise team practice. Inside the building there is a wood floor in the middle and dirt in the rest. Most of the thirty or so people sat on benches, but some sat on water jugs and a few stood. They worshiped with enthusiasm. The kids performed a special song with motions.
Dedication of Church Plant (part 3)
Pastor Rodrigo preached, and then Pastor Hernan, our District Superintendent, performed the dedication. With several dogs going in and out, he explained our articles of faith. He explained that the Church of the Nazarene is in 152 countries with over three million members. He said the appropriate words with the people responding, and with a prayer he dedicated this local Church of the Nazarene to the service of God. With the “amen” there was a great applause and shouts. This community, forsaken by most of the world, is now officially an important part of what God is doing all over the world.
