TEQUISQUIAPAN, MEXICO (July 18, 2008) \u2013 For only the second time in the history of the Evangelical Covenant Church, missionaries from across Latin America will gather together beginning Sunday for strategic planning and personal renewal. The first gathering was held in 2000.
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\nThe retreat, which runs through Friday next week, will draw missionaries serving Mexico, The Dominican Republic, Colombia, Ecuador, and Honduras. Participants include 33 adults who are long-term, short-term, and project missionaries, as well as onsite-support staff, Covenant Merge Ministries personnel, and Covenanters doing mission in the region who are supported by their local church. Twelve children of missionary parents also will attend.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is rare for missionaries in our region to have the opportunity to be together for fellowship and strategic thinking,\u201d says David Mark, who is a co-regional coordinator for Latin America for the Department of World Mission. \u201cGiven the enormous changes in Latin America and in the U.S. and Canada world mission scene, it is imperative for us to gather to share insights and experiences and to seek to discern God’s direction for us. Together, we can explore the meaning of present events and think through the best practices for our engagement in God’s mission today and into the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
The first half of the week is designed as a Sustaining Pastoral Excellence retreat. The second half will focus on practices, policies, and strategic mission planning.<\/p>\n
The retreat will focus on \u201cCaring from the Heart,\u201d \u201cCaring in Community,\u201d \u201cCaring in a Cross-Cultural Community,\u201d and \u201cCaring with Godly Wisdom.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sharing and planning sessions will cover spiritual direction and formation, resource management, local church initiatives, and work groups from the U.S. and Canada. Changes in needs and opportunities for staffing also will be explored.<\/p>\n
Participants will include David Kersten, executive minister of the Department of Ordered Ministry, and Carol Lawson, director of staff ministry for the department. Also attending will be World Mission Executive Minister Curt Peterson, as well as World Mission directors and staff: Baxter and Margie Swenson, Walter Contreras, Byron Amundsen, Lana Heinrich, and Sally Carlson, member care representative Cheri Auman, and co-regional coordinator Wendy Mark.<\/p>\n