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Coming Together to Serve Communities in the Pacific Northwest
The seed for World Vision’s Hispanic Ministry Initiative in the Pacific Northwest was planted in 1998, when a group of Hispanic pastors was invited to the organization’s weekly chapel worship service. During a lunch that followed, discussion focused on building strong partnerships to effectively minister to the Hispanic communities throughout the Northwest. That seed has been carefully nurtured, and a strong and active partnership has blossomed.In Washington state alone, the Hispanic population is approaching 500,000 people in metropolitan as well as agricultural centers. This population is a reflection of populations everywhere: while many are self-sufficient and successful, others face daily struggles that include poverty, illiteracy, violence, and a shortage of hope.
World Vision works closely with a regional alliance of Hispanic pastors called Ministerios Evangelicos Hispanos del Noroeste (MEHN) to meet the needs of this population, which is served by more than 300 Hispanic churches. Pastors come from the Seattle-Tacoma area, Yakima, Portland, and Vancouver, B.C. This regional alliance also partners with Alianza Ministerios Evangelicos Nacionales (AMEN) to strengthen and expand its effectiveness here in the Northwest.
AMEN is a national multidenominational faith-based association of evangelical Hispanic leadership. Led by Dr. Jesse Miranda, a professor at Vanguard University in California, AMEN brings years of experience, passion, and vision to help train and mobilize the Hispanic faith community.
Since 2000, World Vision has partnered with determined pastors and community leaders who are working to create self-sustaining programs that allow members of the Hispanic community to reach their God-given potential. They carry a strong desire to bring about long-term change for children and families fighting the devastating effects of poverty. The alliance has developed a list of five issues that are critical to empowering these communities to bring about change:
• Families - A variety of social and economic issues pertaining to children, youth, women, and education must be addressed.
• Leadership Development - Theological training, administrative management, church development, and seminars and conferences are crucial to building strong networks of faith-based support.
• Justice and Legal Affairs - Needs revolving around immigration, incorporation, and domestic violence must be addressed to create a solid foundation on which to help build secure, strong families.
• Community Outreach - World Vision ministries such as The Storehouse, which provides basic necessities (clothes, personal care items, books and blankets) to those in need; KidREACH, which provides academic and spiritual nurture to struggling students; the Kids in Need Resource Center, which gives educators free school supplies for children who otherwise would go without; and Vision Youth, which provides mentoring and guidance––spiritual, educational, and academic––to young people, are critical to building strong communities.
• Communication Network - Demographic information is necessary to help assess and determine need, and technological capacity will help manage that flow of information. Newsletters can keep the alliance and those it serves informed about programs, policies, and issues.
New Initiatives
The Hispanic Ministry Initiative has grown to include 321 ministry partners. It also is expanding programming to include the launch of the Hispanic Women’s Conference 2002, a project to unite Hispanic women of diverse ages, backgrounds, and circumstances who are willing to take risks, grow, and change their communities through the love of Christ. They will focus their efforts on humanitarian and community outreach in their churches and communities.
Also new is a youth program called Soccer Camps 2002, a partnership with the Hispanic Soccer League. In addition, a recent distribution of donated new clothing, toys, books, school supplies, blankets, and personal care items helped build bridges between Hispanic ministries meeting needs in the Portland and Yakima Valley areas.
How You Can Help
Prayer and financial support are needed to continue to strengthen Hispanic faith communities and improve lives.
• $15 can purchase a school kit, which contains pencils, colored pencils, two 6- by 9-inch steno notebooks, a pencil sharpener, a large pink eraser, crayons, a ruler, and three glue sticks.
• $25 can sponsor one woman to attend the Hispanic Women of Vision Conference, which covers registration, materials for three workshops, and a ticket to the evening celebration concert.
• $50 can help send one child to Soccer Camps 2002. The scholarship package includes registration, a shirt, insurance coverage, a soccer ball, awards, instruction from soccer pros, and four days of soccer training and instruction.
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