Report of the

Joint Committee on Ethnic Church Planting

            The Joint Committee met numerous times during the past year and continues to concentrate its efforts on Hispanic Church Planting. Our initial Hispanic Church Plant, the Lighthouse Church in south Allentown, led by Pastor Elliot Ramos, experienced growth in 2006 and is now looking to train several men to be elders.

            The Reading, PA Hispanic Church Plant continues to make progress under Carlos Rodriguez’s direction. An ESL program is well attended and it reaches new people. Carlos is seeking to evangelize the ESL people and assimilate them into La Roca. Growth at La Roca has been constant. Attendance varies but averages around sixty with the number of contacts that Carlos maintains over one-hundred. The Berks Regional Resource Team continues to function well. Pray the right timing for La Roca to have its own building. Recently the first baptisms were held and people continue to be saved.

            The Joint Committee is considering its next Hispanic Church Planting site. The Delmarva area is one site under consideration. This past year, four members of the Committee: David Gundrum, Elliot Ramos, Al Roberts, David Schlonecker, and Dana Weller traveled to Merida, Mexico and visited the Merida La Roca Church. The Committee representatives met with the La Roca Elders and the church members to discuss the possibility of having the church become a Bible Fellowship Church. At this time, the Elders and Church have declared their agreement with the Faith & Order. Pastor Marcos Ramirez, Senior Pastor of La Roca, is presently seeking credentials with the BFC. If all goes well, the Merida church could be received into next year’s Annual Conference. This would be the first church outside of the United States received into Conference. Pray for the Lord’s leading.

            The Committee met with CAM International Mission and several of its representatives. CAM is seeking ways to assist denominations ministering among Hispanics and planting Hispanic churches in America. CAM has several seminaries in Central America and could provide men to assist our Hispanic church planting enterprise. A Partnership Agreement has been drafted and is now being considered for approval. If approved, CAM could provide interns from its seminaries to assist our church planters and church planting missionaries to plant Hispanic BFC churches.

            The Committee formed a translation team directed by David Schlonecker. This translation team is preparing a Spanish version of the BPLs. Pastor Marcos Ramirez, from the Merida Church, worked hard in producing a draft of all the BPLs in Spanish and the team is editing his translation.

            Finally, we would like to encourage our Churches to reach out to ethnic people groups in their ministry areas. Perhaps your church will be used of God to reach a neglected people group and establish a church among the many people coming to our shores from all over the world.

            We encourage Annual Conference to continue its support for ethnic church planting. If your church has not budgeted an amount for ethnic church planting, please do so. The opportunities are many and we need your support. Send your contributions to the Board of Missions, designated for Ethnic Church Planting.

Joint Committee on Ethnic Church: David E. Gundrum, Chairman; Don Faust, Secretary; Elliot H. Ramos, Al Roberts, Carlos G. Rodriguez, David K. Schlonecker and Dana E. Weller.