Articles

ESL Classes at Resurrection, Spring

2008-03-13T09:18:00.005-05:00

On March 12, 2008 Pastor Pedro and Erica Jofre celebrated the graduation ceremony for the ESL classes that are taught by volunteers from Resurrection Lutheran in Spring. This is the second semester taught at Resurrection and is providing contacts for the Hispanic ministry that meets there called Centro de Alabanza.

Pastor Steve Sohns and Pedro Jofre are pictured in the first photo as Steve receives a gift from Centro de Alabanza for his support.

Garage Sale - Point of Contact for Centro de Fe y Esperna

2008-03-13T08:59:00.004-05:00

It is extremely important for a ministry to be open and engaged in the community. Even events that aren't exactly evangelistic in nature can serve to make important contacts with the neighborhood. Centro de Fe y Esperanza held a garage sale and many people came to buy things.

One of those who came was a young lady from the community. Brenda Vega-Ayala is shown in the hat sharing the Gospel message with her after meeting her for the first time. This young lady came to faith and is now attending LINC Bible Institute in Spanish to help her grow in faith.

This same church, led by Pastor Luciano Vega-Ayala, distributes bread to the community on Sundays after worship, and also takes food downtown to distribute to the homeless. The congregation is in constant contact with the community through these and other ministries such as ESL. Sometimes it may seem like these activities don't make a differnce, but many individuals and families have come to know Christ and His church through the contacts that are made.

One Year Anniversary - Manantiales de Vida

2008-03-03T08:42:00.006-06:00

March 1, 2008 at St. Timothy Lutheran Church, Pastor Rodrigo Fernandez and his wife Dayana celebrated the first anniversary of their church Manantiales de Vida.

They have been working hard to win their friends and neighbors for Christ in the northwest area of Houston. There was great praise and worship, special music, a drama and words of encouragement from other LINC pastors and leaders.

We praise God for the ministry that is carried out daily by this ministry for the sake of the Gospel.

Reach 2008 - Church Planting Conference

2008-02-13T05:19:00.004-06:00

Reach 2017
Planting churches that transform communities
A church planting conference hosted by LINC-Houston and CrossPoint Community Church

Goal
To further the church planting movement in the LCMS by creating an experience where leaders of LCMS congregations who want to multiply can learn from and network with leaders of LCMS congregations that have.
To expose missional LCMS leaders to influential ministries that are changing their communities.

Dates
The conference will be held Sunday evening, October 12 – Tuesday afternoon, October 14

Location
Houston, Texas

Target Audience
The conference is for:
Congregations that are considering planting or replicating
Congregations that have decided to multiply and are looking for the right model and methods
Congregations who want to become more effective at reaching their community
Planters who want to learn from LCMS church-planters who have planted well

Speakers
The speakers & presenters will be LCMS church planters or sr. staff from a variety of settings (suburban and urban) who have effectively planted or multiplied ministries.

Components
Large-group inspiration through worship and plenaries
Learning best practices in workshops and small groups
On-site visits at some of the most influential urban and surburban churches in the Houston metro area

LINC Citywide Worship

2008-02-06T10:47:00.002-06:00

LINC Houston invites you to worship with our mission groups from multiple countries and ethnicities.

God is moving throughout our city to restore communities to Himself and to each other. Come celebrate our oneness in the body, mission and message of Christ.

Guest Speaker: Pastor Greg Finke - Gloria Dei Lutheran Church

February 24, 2008
2:00 pm

Trinity Lutheran Church gym
800 Houston Avenue
Houston, TX 77007

For more information, call 713.426.2451

Download flyer

LINC Bible Institute begins classes in Spanish

2007-10-14T00:13:00.001-05:00

Congratulations to the students of the Instituto Biblico LINC (LINC's Spanish Bible Institute).

The first semester began in September of 2007 with 24 students registered for the first class "Homiletics 1" taught by Rev. David Kim. We would encourage even more people to prepare themselves theologically to better fulfill the Great Commission of our Lord. We pray that this Institute will be a great tool for the formation and equipping of our leaders and ministers.

For more information, call Pastor Luciano Vega-Ayala. (Director). Tel: 832.212.2515.

LINC North Texas Installs Director

2007-10-13T06:31:00.001-05:00

Rev. Oscar Benavides has been installed as Urban Mission Developer for LINC North Texas. He will lead the missionary activities in the areas surrounding Dallas / Fort Worth. We pray for God's blessing upon his work.

New Address for LINC North Texas:
Rev. Oscar Benavides
LINC North Texas
PO Box 561329
The Colony, Texas 75056

Phone: (972) 754-2830
Email: oscar@lincdfw.org
web: www.lincdfw.org

LINC Houston Celebrates 5 Years

2007-10-12T06:21:00.002-05:00

DATE: Saturday, October 20, 2007
TIME: 7pm
LOCATION: Trinity Lutheran Church - Downtown
800 Houston Avenue ·Houston, TX 77007

Music and worship by LINC Ministries.

Message by President Ken Hennings of the Texas District - LCMS.

Cake reception to follow.

Please join us for a worship celebration to give thanks to God for the ministry that HE has done throughout our metropolitan area.

“I will enter His gates with thanksgiving in my heart”

Pastor Lincon Guerra Preaches at Resurrection

2007-08-16T17:15:00.001-05:00

July 22, 2007
Listen to Pastor Lincon Guerra, LINC's Area Coordinator for the Northwest, preach at Resurrection Lutheran Church in Spring Texas. Preaching is in Spanish with English interpretation.

Click here to download file

Whites a minority in one of 10 U.S. cities.

2007-08-14T08:18:00.001-05:00

Whites Now a Minority in Many US Cities
By Cindy Saine
Washington
09 August 2007

A new report by the U.S. Census Bureau shows that whites are now in the minority in nearly one in ten U.S. counties. Experts say that increased diversity is helping to offset population losses in a number of rural areas, but it is also creating social tensions in some communities. V-O-A's Cindy Saine reports from Washington.

The population of the United States is becoming increasingly diverse, fueled by immigration and higher birth rates among Blacks and Hispanics. Nationally, the number of minorities topped 100 million for the first time in 2006, to make up about one third of the U.S. population. --read more

Hispanics exceed Anglos in Harris County

2007-08-10T00:35:00.001-05:00

Census shows area leads the nation in growth of minorities

In a powerful sign of the region's growing diversity, more Hispanics than Anglos now live in Harris County as it led the nation in growth of minority residents, according to Census Bureau estimates to be released today.

This historic demographic shift reflects persistent immigration, high birth rates among Latinos and ongoing migration to outlying suburban counties, experts say. And a dramatic increase in Harris County's black population is partly attributed to an influx of residents displaced by Hurricane Katrina.

''All you have to do is go down to Southwest Houston, which is like our Ellis Island, and see who is standing at the bus stops," said Joe Rubio, vice president of Community Relations for Catholic Charities. ''You'll see people in native dress from all over the world." --read article

ESL Teacher Appreciation

2007-03-22T09:36:00.002-05:00

On Saturday, March 17, 2007, the Trinity Klein's ESL class said "Thank you" to their teachers. Together they celebrated 3 years of English classes. The students prepared a dinner, gave appreciation plaques and shared personal testimonies of how this program has helped them in their daily lives. One Hispanic man said in English "When I arrived here I didn't know how to speak a word of English. Now I can communicate at my work. God is good to me."

The students themselves raised over $2,000 for this event honoring their teachers. Rev. Lincon Guerra spoke to the teachers and students and said "We have not only sought to teach English, but also to share the Gospel with those who haven't heard it. Our first goal is to meet a need, our second goal was to plant a new Hispanic church. Thanks to God, we've accomplished both. This last semester, 200 students registered for ESL and computer classes. There was also a children's class led by Lilia Caban from Pastor Lincon's mission church Centro Familiar Cristiano.

What a blessing it is to see the Lord work in this place.

New Hispanic Worship at St. Timothy Lutheran

2007-02-20T09:54:00.001-06:00

Pastor Steve Henze of St. Timothy Lutheran Church told the 40+ Hispanics in attendance that "this night is an answer to two years of prayer." Many had come to celebrate the opening of a new Hispanic mission church, Manantiales de Vida.

LINC Missionary Rodrigo Fernandez (Chile) and his wife Dayana (Argentina) lead worship in Spanish for the Hispanic community surrounding St. Timothy in northwest Houston.

For me (Mark) and for others in attendance, it was a beautiful reminder of our purpose to plant, nurture and equip groups of new believers. Please pray for Manantiales de Vida (Rivers of Life) Church as it continues to grow and reach out in faith to the Spanish speakers in the area, and for Rodrigo and Dayana Fernandez.

Toys for LINC from Formby State Jail

2005-12-19T22:51:00.001-06:00

The students at the Formby State Jail in Plainview, Texas are busy making toys for the victims (children) of Hurricane Katrina and Rita. The students of the Windham CTE Construction Carpentry class and the CTE Electrical Trade's class taught by Mr. Bye and Mr. Spalding are making the toys.

This is a mission project of St. Paul Lutheran Church of Plainview, Texas. Members of St. Paul Lutheran Church donated materials and supplies. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans and many other people of the community have, also, donated to the mission project. The toys will be delivered to LINC Houston for distribution.

The students in Mr. Bye and Mr. Spalding's class enjoyed working on the projects and learned many skills in the safe operation of hand and power tools.

The following statements are from students:

Student Raymond Rivera " I really enjoyed making these toys for the children. I learned how to use all kinds of tools, but most of all I helped bring joy to a little boy or girl with these toys. It's been really fun and it has been a new experience working with the necessary tools".

Elias Perez, Carlos Balderas, Leo Gutierrez and Martin Calvillo. " First we would like to thank Windham School for the opportunity in taking part in this project. It warms a bunch of our hearts as a whole to be able to give back to the community in a time of need. A bunch of us put a lot of effort in our work".

Student James Madrid " It has been a wonderful privilege to be able to do something for these children who otherwise may not have had much for Christmas. It is easy to get caught up in the misery of our incarceration, and this project has already brought about a positive impact for the men working on these toys. I know I speak for the entire class in hoping that these toys will make a lot of kids happy this Christmas. It has been a rewarding experience for all of us to be able to be able to give something back".

Michael Zalesaks ,"Doing for others brings a peace knowing that somewhere children are going to be helped.. It also gives you a feeling of self worth. That is sometimes hard to come by in here. Bottom line, doing for others feels great".

Danny Hernandez, " Building these toys made me feel good and I hope that the kids that are receiving these toys get a smile on their face. I worked hard on them and I hope they enjoy them".

Adam Lozanio, " As an inmate here in Formby State Jail the vocational construction class was proud to be a part of the team in providing toys for the hurricane victims both here in Texas and Louisiana. May God's grace be with us all." We would like to give special thanks to the WSD administration for allowing us to undertake this project. It is our hope that these toys will put a smile on the children who have suffered so much from the storms. back

Pastor Sun Moon Lee's Speech

2004-12-27T21:58:00.001-06:00

at Reach 2004

Those of you who attended the LINC Annual Meeting and Mission Festival (REACH 2004) had the privilege of hearing from Rev. Sun Moon Lee, Missionary-at-Large to the Korean Community in Houston. We feel his message is worth repeating.
“Greetings from brothers and sisters of the newly started Korean Lutheran mission to all of you who attend the mission festival this evening. I give thanks to our Lord for this privileged opportunity to share my personal testimony and the true meaning of LINC with all of you.

Some of you may already know, while others may not, how the Korean ministry started in Houston. Last year, I had to leave my church in Toronto, Canada that I had served for 16 years. I received a call from the Texas District and arrived here in Houston in July 2003. Receiving warmest welcome and loving interest from all members of St. Andrew Lutheran church, the Korean service was started in September, following my installation as Missionary-at-Large to the Korean community in August.

Starting a new mission is a very difficult task. Without God’s help and His grace, it is overwhelming and at times even impossible to start from the bottom line. Among the Koreans there is a prevailing misconception and ignorance of Lutheranism which is even for some, considered a very strange and unknown sect. Apparently, however, this is my mission but sometimes a heavy burden as well.

Naturally, I feel pressure and loneliness often come upon me while evangelizing people I am meeting for the first time, making them as one community gathered by confession of one true faith in Christ. It was then when I came to know LINC. Through Pastor Mark Junkans' encouragement, support and prayer, many problems have been solved very nicely. Let me tell you a couple of important things among them.

First, he gave an enormous help to start an ESL school. My survey clearly indicated this need in the Korean community. Many immigrants are having a hard time and struggling to learn English. Given that, I thought if our church could start an ESL school, this would be a very good tool to help the community and, ultimately, an opportunity to proclaim the Gospel.
Without hesitation, I asked for help from Pastor Paul Ferguson of St. Andrew Lutheran church. It is St. Andrew Lutheran church that recruited the ESL volunteer teachers. Meanwhile, we did not actually know how to teach ESL. All we had was great zeal and energy. It was then when Pastor Mark took charge of training the volunteer teachers through LINC. In other words, LINC made it possible for our ESL ministry to serve and evangelize the Korean community.

Second, when we started the mentally challenged children’s ministry, LINC also gave a huge support again. One of the main reasons why so many Korean people come to United States is children’s education. Especially those parents who have mentally challenged children come to United States with one desperate hope, which is also a kind of vague idea as well, that this country could give their children a better education and a better chance to live as equally treated human beings. But they don’t know exactly what would be the reality of living here. After settling down, it is not long until they come to realize that there are not many things for them to do for their children, definitely much fewer than expected. Language obstacles and status matters, which cut any possible access to government supports for their children, are a few examples of their problems.

This convinced me that our church should do something practical for them by starting a mentally challenged children’s ministry. Thanks to God’s grace, we would meet 11 children out of 10 families. For these parents, we made a ‘parent supporting group’. And for their children, we opened a ‘Saturday school for mentally challenged children’. Every Saturday, we have 25 volunteers from the Korean community, 10 families, and 11 mentally challenged children - over 40 in total.
At first, the main challenge was to train the volunteer teachers. Again, this was done by Mr. and Mrs. (Rick and Kathie) Laurie who take charge of special education and Chaplain David Cecil of Bethesda. They were introduced by LINC. Indeed, LINC is the organization that God has prepared ahead to give crucial helps for the Korean ministry. I strongly hope that not only our Korean ministry but also all other ethnic ministries in Houston take part in building and extending God’s kingdom in partnership with LINC.

Do you know what is the nickname of Pastor Mark Junckson (Junkans)? His nickname is the ‘Godfather’. When you hear the word, ‘godfather’, you might think of the ‘Mafia’, but no, he is not! He is the Godfather of Korean Lutheran mission. From the very beginning of Korean ministry here in Houston, every single step was possible by hard works of LINC and the precious supports from LINC.

(Through tonight’s event,) I would like to express my thanks from the bottom of my heart to those of you that support LINC. I pray that God’s grace will be revealed continuously by LINC. Also, I would like to give my thanks to Pastor Ferguson of St. Andrew who helped our Korean ministry from even before it was started. Finally, I give my thanks to all Korean members who work together for Korean Lutheran ministry in Houston.

By working together, we make the ‘mission impossible’ to the ‘mission possible’. I would like to ask everyone (who has gathered here tonight) to give continuous support to LINC for God’s ministry.”

Collaboration

2004-12-26T21:56:00.001-06:00

When the job is bigger than one congregation

December 2004

What does a congregation do when pastor and people recognize the mission opportunities in their community but don’t have either the expertise, the staff or the financial resources to be able as a single congregation to be effective?
At the 2003 Houston 2020 Conference, the word collaboration was introduced as a means by which Lutheran congregations could become more effective in reaching their ethnically and culturally diverse communities with the Gospel. By pooling resources, working together as pastors and people, several congregations together could accomplish great things.
Following is a success story of collaboration - how five Lutheran area congregations have come together to bring a new church planter to the far northwest sector of Harris County – to make the commitment to be financially responsible for him and his family and to work with him as volunteers in the Hispanic community to which he is being called.

Northwest Houston Hispanic Ministry
In the first months of 2004, several pastors on separate occasions expressed interest in starting an intentional outreach to the growing Hispanic population in his congregation’s community. All expressed an awareness of the growth of the Hispanic community in their area but each knew that their congregation working alone would not be able to afford a major outreach effort.
In late Spring, Mark Junkans, Executive Director of LINC Houston, met with leaders and pastors from St. John’s Cypress, Salem Tomball, St. Timothy, Trinity Klein, and Resurrection Spring to discuss how they, together with LINC, could most effectively plant groups of new believers in an area north of the Beltway and between Hwy 290 and I-45, essentially from the St. John’s area to Resurrection. The discussion centered not only on the financial commitment that each congregation would have to make but also on the volunteer support that would be necessary in order to bring a church planter who would work with the congregations. There was also considerable discussion about finding the right person.
In May the group met with Lincon & Noemi Guerra to discuss the possibility of their coming to work as mission planters. On August 1 they began their work among the Hispanic community in northwest Houston.
In preparation for their arrival, a hospitality committee was formed under the leadership of Ray and Flora Tacquard from Trinity, Klein. After talking with the Guerras, a list of furniture and household needs was distributed to the five congregations. Working together, the congregations have provided a town home in the area at a rent the couple could afford, furnished the home, and stocked the pantry with basic food needs. Volunteers came together on a Saturday to clean the home and then another group volunteered to move the donated furniture items so that the house would be ready. A group of Hispanic families who live in the Greenspoint area and who have worshipped at Centro de Fe y Esperanza will become the core group of a new worshipping community.
But the best is yet to come because the people at these five congregations will have opportunities to partner with Lincon in his ministry so that relationships can be formed and the Gospel shared.

About Lincon & Noemi:
Both Lincon & Noemi’s fathers are pastors with a missionary heart. The families were friends in Panama and both came to the United States as missionaries to the many Hispanic immigrants coming to this country, Lincon and his family to Charlotte, North Carolina in 1999 and Noemi’s family to Houston in January, 2000. Lincon served as the regional youth director for all of North Carolina until a church in Raeford, NC was without a pastor and Lincon was asked to lead the congregation. Lincon and Noemi were married in June 2001 and continued to serve the church in Raeford for three more years. They have one son, Joash, who was born in December, 2002.
According to Noemi they always felt the Lord had a bigger mission field for them. “We have our hearts on fire! We cry for all of those souls that are going to hell...we want to do something! And we pray the Lord uses Lincon to spread His Word among the Hispanic community (in northwest Houston).”
Beginning in the fall of 2004, Lincon Guerra will be enrolled in the Ethnic Immigrant Institute of Theology, a three-year theological program through Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, whose purpose it is to provide an alternate route to ordination for men engaged in pastoral missionary contexts in ethnic immigrant and urban cultures in North America.

Youth and Adults Serve at Comunidad de Gracia

2004-07-14T23:02:00.001-05:00

July 2004

During the week of July 5-9, 9 students and 3 adults from Gethsemane served as missionaries at Comunidad de Gracia (Community of Grace). Comunidad de Gracia is the new community center on the St. John Lutheran Church campus at 66th and Sherman here in Houston. St. John Lutheran Church was decommissioned in May of 2004 by the Texas District. LINC (Lutheran Inter-City Network Coalition) began work at St. John’s/Comunidad de Gracia earlier this year to begin witnessing to the community and forming a new church for the people of the community near 66th and Sherman. LINC hopes to begin worship services at Comunidad de Gracia by Thanksgiving.
During the week that youth and adults from Gethsemane served this community, we led summer camp (VBS) each morning. The students and adults alike shared the duties of leadership through music, crafts, storytelling, and games. In the afternoons, our group held devotions, canvassed the neighborhoods with fliers about the community center, performed yard work, and helped to clean-up the community center. Through this experience, we learned that most of the 40 children that came through the doors those mornings did not have a Bible in their homes. And, the majority of them had never heard the saving message of Jesus’ love through His death and resurrection for them.
It was a week of learning and growth for each of us who served because we were pulled out of our comfort zones. Most of the children that came to summer camp were bi-lingual but not all of their parents could speak English. The times that we canvassed to share news about Comunidad de Gracia were sometimes hard because we didn’t speak Spanish and many of the people didn’t speak English.
The students from Gethsemane shone during this week as they did everything that was asked of them because they knew it had to be done. They were Jesus to the kids and families at and around Comunidad de Gracia. And, they were Jesus to me. As Kathy Laurie, LINC program director, said, “You guys (Gethsemane students and adults) brought church to these kids and to me this week.” Gethsemane students also brought church to me. They showed beyond imagination what God will do with us when we allow Him to take over and use us as His vessels. May God continue the work at Comunidad de Gracia as His Word is brought to the people in that community, and may He continue the work in each of us as we, His children, step out of our comfort zones daily to love those around us because He first loved us.

In His Care,
Jennifer Tate
Director of Family Ministries
Gethsemane Lutheran Church

Why ESL?

2004-02-26T21:54:00.001-06:00

Why ESL classes are one of the most effective ways to reach immigrants with the Gospel.

One of the most basic strategies in mission work is to find a need in the community that is not being adequately met and to create a ministry to meet that need. Jesus is the greatest example of this. Most often He began with the physical need of the person and used it as a bridge to meet the person’s spiritual need. He fed the five thousand with bread and fish along with the Word of Truth. He forgave the sins the lame man and then healed his body.

One of the most critical volunteer needs at LINC continues to be teachers for ESL classes. While it’s never been necessary to speak English to be Lutheran, we continue to be amazed at how great a tool the English language can be for discipleship. In each new cultural ministry – Hispanic, Chinese, Korean – ESL classes attract the most number of new opportunities for sharing the Gospel.

English as a Second Language becomes effective as a discipleship tool only when the following factors are present:

• There is a genuine passion to share the Gospel with the community and make disciples
• There is a willingness to go the extra step to build a meaningful relationship with those being ministered to
• The church doesn’t see social ministry as an end in and of itself but a tool and a means for discipleship
• There is a direct connection between the ministry in community and the Word and Sacrament ministry in worship

LINC is involved with all levels of ESL classes at Centro de Fe y Esperanza. Trinity, downtown and San Pedro are collaborating to offer classes at San Pedro. St. Andrew has started classes for their community which is predominately Korean and Memorial-Katy is offering ESL classes as part of their Christ Clinic outreach ministry. Family of Faith and Christ Memorial are also locations for English classes.

How will you serve – as teacher, tutor, teacher support, childcare? It takes a lot of work and patience to make disciples. It is good that God has given us the tools with which to do it.

It was the Sunday before Thanksgiving

2003-11-26T22:00:00.001-06:00

It was the Sunday before Thanksgiving, the last Sunday of the church year – so most Lutheran congregations were celebrating that event in a very traditional manner with Scripture readings and sermon centered on the importance of being prepared for the arrival of the Bridegroom. It is good to reflect on that aspect of Christian life and how it should have an impact on how we interact with those around us who may not know Jesus. What if your neighbor doesn’t have his lamp filled with oil when the Bridegroom comes?

On that same Sunday in another place a congregation was celebrating Thanksgiving. The Scripture emphasis was the story of the 10 Lepers who were healed, only one of which came back to return thanks. The church was full of young families and small children. The atmosphere was charged with excitement. The hymns were full of praise and thanksgiving and joy. The sermon was intense and full of energy and emotion. The prayers of thanksgiving were heartfelt and sincere. The service was in Spanish, but there was no doubt about what was being celebrated and Who was being thanked. As the only Anglo visitors, we could understand almost nothing of what was being said in the service, but we had no problem connecting with the spirit of it. St. Paul described Christian joy as overflowing joy – exuberant joy…and that’s how it was.
Later we sat at lunch with Xochitl and Reynaldo and their two small sons, and enjoyed having conversation with them as they practiced English and struggled to find the words to communicate their thoughts and feelings. The young husband said, “We had not found a place to worship until today!” This worship experience was not in Mexico or Panama or Guatemala. We were in a neighborhood very near downtown Houston, Texas. On this particular Sunday, Xochitl and Reynaldo were among the thirty visitors from ESL (English as a second language) classes who had been invited to worship at Centro de Fe y Esperanza Lutheran Church and participate in a Thanksgiving lunch following the church service.

As with many mission efforts throughout the world, success is not measured in dollars and cents or in numbers of new members. Success is measured when one person recognizes Jesus as his Savior and wants to follow Him.

With the support of LINC-Houston, Centro de Fe is having an impact and making a difference in the Denver Harbor Community through ESL classes for adults and soccer for neighborhood youth. In far west Houston, Family of Faith Lutheran Church has, from its ESL classes and soccer activities, formed a weekly Bible study of over 30 adults and a youth group of nearly 20 and are ready to begin an alternative worship service in Spanish in January 2003.

Social ministry is not an end but always the means to the goal of bringing the message of Jesus Christ to those who have not yet become followers of Jesus. Volunteers from Lutheran congregations north of 1960, west of 290, south of 288 and east of I-59 are partnering with LINC-Houston to provide leadership, manpower, and financial support to ensure that the Gospel is being shared in urban Houston.

What if your neighbor doesn’t have his lamp filled with oil when the Bridegroom comes?

Ghanaian Lutheran Outreach

2003-10-23T11:00:00.001-05:00

Houston is growing among people groups from hundreds of different nations. The question for the church is, “who will minister to these different cultures and share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with them in a way that they can understand?” On July 14th of this year, Christian Attah Kwami from Ghana-West Africa, a new lay minister was commissioned here in Houston at Family of Faith Lutheran Church as missionary at large to the African population. He is working in partnership with LINC Houston, The Family of Faith Lutheran Church and The LCMS Texas District to begin new ministries to the growing African immigrant population in the Houston area.

Christian was born in Accra, Ghana on Dec 14, 1964. His name Kwami means he was born on Saturday. He holds a B.A. with a major in Social Work and a minor in Sociology from the University of Guana-Legon. He also holds a diploma in teaching from E.P. Training College in Amedzofe, Ghana. In his home country of Ghana he worked twelve years as a Junior High School teacher. He also worked with street kids and disadvantaged children in Ghana as a social worker. Here in the U.S. he studied at Concordia University in Mequon, Wisconsin and graduated from the Lay Ministry program in 2001.

Here in Houston, his plans are to make disciples of Jesus Christ and train them as leaders to begin new ministries themselves. Chris is married to Esther Attah and has two children, Chris and Emmanuella. They reside near The Family of Faith Lutheran Church in Northwest Houston. When asked if he was up to the task of reaching such a large group of people in a strange city like Houston, Chris replied confidently, “Yes, by using all means possible to make contact with people and with the help of God to touch them with the Gospel.” His greatest challenge in ministry is for people to open the hearts and minds to the Gospel and the ability to break through the barriers among the hundreds of different African groups in the U.S. There more than 2,000 different dialects spoken in Africa and almost as many different cultural groups. Chris’ vision for ministry is to unite all people from the African Continent in Jesus Christ, no matter where they come from.

A Great Harvest Waiting

2003-09-22T22:41:00.001-05:00

What is the future of our church? Many congregations ask themselves this question with their fingers crossed. Our communities are changing constantly around us and our churches are called to respond to those changes with the unchanging Gospel message of Jesus Christ. Our churches had better begin to make disciples in the communities around them, or risk becoming obsolete museums of the days gone by.

Rev. Mark Joeckel from LINC Dallas says “The vital signs look grim...10 churches in America close each day and just 3 start; Mormonism eclipsed the ELCA to move into the top five of largest denominations with 5.2 million members, and not a single county in the US has more Christians today than 10 years ago (ARN). In a nutshell - the church is in the midst of a downward spiral and it may not bounce back. Worship attendance has declined by 20% over the last 20 years and just 1/10 of all congregations worship over 250 people each week. (Barna) Projections indicate 50% less people will be in worship in 2030 than today (that does not factor population increase) and 70% of all Protestant Churches will close by 2050!”

What is happening in our churches to produce this trend, or better yet, what is not happening? I believe that our church is asleep to its true mission in the city, which is to make disciples of the whole city. What are our congregations passionate about today? Where is the unifying vision for the conversion of the whole city? May I so humbly submit that God is beginning to make known to the church this purpose and vision that we so desperately need to discover? I believe that we are not far from the day when the Lutheran church in the Houston area no longer asks itself “what will this new ministry cost us?” The new question will be, “what price will be paid if we don’t begin new ministries to the community?”

A recent study of NEW churches showed a 240% increase in growth. The majority of churches experiencing growth over the last 10 years by conversion were new plants. (LB Study of New Plants) What does this mean? The church must move away from internal conflict, territorial politics and maintenance ministry toward an aggressive, offensive, prayerful movement of planting churches just as was done when the first church was planted outside of Jerusalem in Antioch. We can no longer see only dollar signs when thinking about cross-cultural and urban missions. For every Hispanic that dies in the U.S. 12 persons take their place. For every Asian that dies in the U.S., 20 persons take their place. It is not too long from now that Houston’s majority race will be Hispanic.

Only God can do such great a miracle as is needed for our church to begin to make disciples on such a large scale. Only God can empower our area church to partner together in a common mission to reach all nations for Jesus Christ.

LINC Summer Camp 2003

2003-08-23T22:53:00.001-05:00

The Summer Day Camp at Centro de Fe y Esperanza was a tremendously exciting experience. The program, which was held June 9 through August 1, served over 45 children who came from many different neighborhoods. The children enjoyed daily devotions, arts and crafts, weekly fieldtrips, and a very hot summer. In spite of several days of Houston's rainy weather, the children still found the program very fun and remained busy bodies.
With the help of great volunteers, the children were able to visit places such as Jumping Jacks, Miller Outdoor Theater, Main Street Theater, Lockwood Skating Rink, The Children's Museum, The Houston Zoo, Houston Fire Museum, and the Battleship Texas at the San Jacinto Battleground. Daily lunches and snacks were provided by the City of Houston Summer Food Program.

If there is one thing that I would say the children at this summer program learned is the ability to enjoy technological entertainment. On a daily basis, the children had opportunity to play computer games as well as enhance their computer skills.

Summer 2003 will be long-remembered by the children who participated in Centro de Fe y Esperanza's ummer Day Camp.

Editor’s Note:
Leticia Smith is a senior at the University of Houston where she has a Criminal Justice major. As Director of the Summer Camp, she completed a Criminal Justice Internship and was responsible for planning the program’s activities, organizing field trips, overseeing volunteers, and keeping financial records. Mark Zuñiga, Rocio Salgado, Diana Cabral, and Kanisha Smith also helped conduct the summer camp along with several volunteers from LCMS churches and the community.

Christmas Store 2002

2002-12-22T21:51:00.001-06:00

The donated Christmas tree, all 9 feet of it twinkling with over two thousand white lights, dominated the room. Small stuffed animals were tucked into its branches and over 100 larger stuffed toys were piled around its skirted trunk. Tables, covered in red and green, faced each other from opposite sides of the room and were laden with new toys, games and clothing for children from infants to early teens. A gift wrap station filled with colorful paper and bows, tape and scissors stood ready. LINC volunteers who had arrived before 7:30 a.m. on this Saturday morning before Christmas wandered about the large room putting on the finishing touches, anxious for the invited shoppers to arrive. As they waited, they gathered in a circle for prayer, that this activity would be a visible reminder to the people of God’s love and His gift to us of a Savior.

Across the courtyard, in the narthex of the church, children’s videos of The Christmas Story were shown, and juice boxes and cookies were available for snacking for that parents could make their selections without prying eyes. A couple of volunteer grandfathers hosted this activity.

At 9 a.m. the doors were open to the first eager customers who had waited patiently for this unique shopping experience. They each held an invitation with coupons attached, one for each of their children. The stream of shoppers lasted well passed the closing time of 12 noon. These parents, grandparents, aunts or uncles had come regularly to Centro de Fe y Esperanza Lutheran Church for ESL classes and had been invited to come to this special Christmas Store to select a toy and clothing item for each child in their family. Volunteers helped direct them to the age-appropriate area for their selections and then pointed them to the wrapping area where the gifts were wrapped and tagged for Christmas giving.

As the groups of shoppers left with their bags of wrapped surprises, they spent time in a devotion and prayer with Pastor Luciano, Pastor at Centro de Fe. They were invited to participate in Christmas services there; and during this time with Pastor Luciano, they shared stories of lay-offs from work, family illnesses, and other financial difficulties that had made gift-giving for this Christmas unlikely. The knowledge of the generosity of others brought tears to the eyes of many.

Thank you to all who donated toys, clothing, and money so that the Christmas Store, first envisioned by a Care Group from St. Timothy Lutheran Church, became a reality. The participation of many made it possible.

While helping others enjoy the gift of giving was one motivation, as always the main purpose was to share God’s love and particularly the unique gift of Himself in the gift of His Son, Jesus.

LINC Soccer Camp 2002

2002-07-26T22:50:00.001-05:00

Mark Zuñiga, an ex-professional soccer player from Belize, worked with LINC Houston to organize three week-long soccer camps for children and youth from age 5 to 16. These camps taught techniques, drills, teamwork and other valuable skills.

The children also learned about the love of God through devotions, songs, Bible studies and crafts during down time. Through these camps, the local missionaries will have an excellent outreach tool for the families in the community.

2002 Characteristics of Immigrants

2002-02-26T21:44:00.001-06:00

Education

* The level of education of immigrants varies more than that of the native population. While 13 percent of the native population aged 25 or older has less than a high school education, 33 percent of immigrants lack a high school degree. However, this figure is only five percent for immigrants from Africa, and is less than 20 percent for immigrants from Asia, Europe and South America. At the other end of the educational spectrum, 30 percent of immigrants arriving after 1990 have at least a college degree, compared with 28 percent of the native population.

* Less than six percent of immigrants from Mexico, El Salvador and Guatemala have a college education and approximately 60 percent do not have a high school education. Immigrants from countries that have many refugees are also less likely to be college-educated and more likely to lack a high school education than the native population and legal immigrants from other countries.

* The language barrier between many immigrants and the native population inhibits the educational attainment of immigrants. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, between 1990 and 2000 the number of people who spoke a language other than English at home grew from 31.8 million to 44.6 million people. Immigrants currently constitute nearly half of those individuals. Of the immigrants who speak a language other than English at home, one-fifth speak English either "not well" or "not at all."

* The number of children of immigrants who do not speak English proficiently has grown at an even faster rate. The United States Department of Education reports that between 1990 and 2000 the number of students with limited English skills doubled to five million, which is four times the growth rate for the overall student population. The number of teachers capable of instructing these students has not expanded at a comparable rate.

Employment and Labor

* Immigrants constitute a disproportionately large percentage of the labor force. In 2000, they represented 12.8 percent of the nation’s total work force even though they comprised only 11.1 percent of the total population. This disparity occurs because a higher proportion of immigrants is of working age compared to the native population. The employment statistics of immigrants reflect their lower average level of educational attainment. In 2000, almost 30 percent of immigrants who worked full time did not have a high school diploma, and of those who arrived in the 1990s, 34 percent were dropouts. As a result, although immigrants comprised close to 13 percent of the workforce, they constituted 35 percent of high school dropouts in the workforce.

* Due to the low level of education of some immigrants it is not surprising that many are employed at jobs requiring little formal education. In 2000, immigrants made up 18 percent of those non- private household service jobs such as janitor, security guard, and child-care worker. They comprised only 10 percent of individuals in managerial or professional jobs. In terms of self-employment, one of every nine immigrants was self-employed in 2000, a level equal to that of the native population.

* There is a significant earnings disparity between immigrants and the native U.S. population. Nearly 17 percent of those who are foreign- born live below the poverty line, compared to 11 percent of the native population. The poverty rate for immigrants from Europe (9 percent) and Asia (13 percent), however, is close to the rate of the native population, and is much lower than for those from Latin America (22 percent). In 2000, 10 percent of the immigrant population households had household incomes above $75,000 per year, compared to 13 percent of the native population.

* The longer immigrants live in the U.S., the less probable it is that they will be poor. Recent immigrants are twice as likely to live in poverty, but those who entered before 1980 are less frequently in poverty than the native population.

Rural/Suburban Concentration of Immigrants

* Recently, many immigrants, especially Hispanics, have been migrating from rural to suburban areas. In 1990 immigrants were nearly equally divided between cities and suburban areas. Today, immigrants are more likely to live in suburban areas. According to the 2000 Census data, five percent of immigrants live in rural areas and 45 percent in central cities, while approximately half live in the suburbs.

* As immigrants bypass central cities to move to areas where greater employment opportunities exist, they accelerate a demographic trend away from major immigrant hubs, such as New York, toward areas with formerly small immigrant populations, such as North Carolina and Florida. The Hispanic population in many southern metropolitan areas has been multiplying. Between 1980 and 2000 the Hispanic population in Raleigh, North Carolina grew 1,180 percent. Similarly, the Hispanic population in Atlanta grew 995 percent, while Charlotte (962 percent) and Orlando (859 percent) have had comparably high growth rates. Although established Hispanic areas such as Los Angeles and New York have much larger Hispanic populations than these new rapidly growing areas, their growth rates have been much slower in recent years.

The influx of immigrants to both rural and suburban areas has directly impacted the other inhabitants of those regions. Recent data from the 2000 Census indicate that as recent immigrants arrive from places like Central America and China, native-born residents and more established immigrants are moving out. (This assessment was based on preliminary income data, broken down only by county.) Looking at the economic boom of the late 1990s, most experts expected the benefits from the economic surge to be dispersed evenly throughout all counties. However, this was not the case. In regions with large immigrant populations, such as New York and parts of Southern California, the majority of the counties with small immigrant populations reported significant gains in the median income. Conversely, the counties with high percentages of immigrants reported negligible gains or significant decreases in the median income. Experts hypothesize that this gulf in the rate of change results from the replacement of longtime residents in immigrant neighborhoods by new waves of recent immigrants with lower levels of education.

This Executive Summary was prepared in August of 2002 by Stephen Sahlman, research assistant at the Population Research Center. Sources include the 2000 INS Statistical Yearbook, Immigration in the United States-2000: A Snapshot of America's Foreign Born Population by Steven A. Camarota (Center for Immigration Studies, January 2001), The Foreign-Born Population in the United States: Population Characteristics by Lisa Lollock (US Census Bureau, January 2001), "Census Finds Immigrants Lower City's Income Data," by Janny Scott (The New York Times, August 6, 2002), "Area Latino Population Among Tops In Growth," by D'Vera Cohn (The Washington Post, July 28, 2002), and "Wave of Pupils Lacking English Strains Schools," by Yilu Zhao (The New York Times, August 5, 2002). For more information, contact the Center at (202) 467-5030, 1725 K Street, NW, Suite 1102, Washington, DC 20006 or (609) 452-2822, 15 Roszel Road, Princeton, NJ 08540.

Please send feedback to prc@prcnj.org.