It is always encouraging to see ministry moving forward and to see people coming together to use their gifts and talents in the service of others. This is what we witnessed in November as participated in various meetings to talk about next steps forward. On November 18th a group of educators, youth leaders, and young adults met to talk about the various English initiatives that the Covenant Church of Colombia has and how they want to work together to continue to move forward in English. The representatives of the schools talked about their goals of offering quality English education, which is typically associated with upper strata private schools and often not offered in the communities that they are a part of but has become essential in upper education and employment opportunities. Young adults and youth leaders talked about the service that the church can provide to the youth and children in their communities through day camps and other week-long immersion experiences. The dialogue was stimulating and the commitment to move forward was encouraging. This is just one of the ways the church is moving forward in its commitment to the whole mission of the church.

That same weekend another group of people met to discuss their next steps forward. Ten people from around the country gathered to begin to develop a project, which was born out of the year-long certificate course on peace and reconciliation that they participated in. They have committed to develop a national initiative to equip youth as agents of peace and impact their communities. They worked long-hours and were guided in the process of thinking through all the dimensions of the project. Again, it was an awe-inspiring time of seeing people’s gifts, talents, experiences, professional training, and desire to serve come together. It was teamwork at its best. Together they dreamed, brainstormed and talked logistically about their goals for this project. There was laughter and prayer. There was determination and a dependence on God to guide. Next steps have been taking and prayers are appreciated as this group continues to plan, raise funding, and implement this national initiative as God’s call to be peacemakers in local communities that have experienced violence as a norm is what motivates them and moves them forward.