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Youth Ministry in the Coast of Oaxaca

January 5, 2012 in Center for YM, Mexico with 0 Comments


Oaxaca is a beautiful state in Southern Mexico, with incredible mountains, pristine beaches, and a rich cultural heritage. We had the privilege to visit Oaxaca a few years ago for vacation, and it’s still one of our favorite family memories of all time.

Oaxaca is also a state in which opportunities for youth ministry training have arisen in the last few years. Juan, one of the graduates from the Seminary program in Mexico City, has returned to his home state, fired up his youth ministry at his local church, and has begun training youth workers for local churches starting with a certificate level program in Puerto Escondido.

When I was in Oaxaca at the end of December, Juan told me that there was an opportunity to start another certificate level course in the capital of the state, and we are looking into the possibilities to begin in February.

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Camp in Oaxaca

December 31, 2011 in Mexico with 1 Comment

“Wa-Hock-a” is how you pronounce the name of the Mexican state that I visited this week (it’s spelled Oaxaca). I was speaking at a youth camp for the Baptist churches of the region.

Saul, the youth leader who invited me to speak at the camp, graduated last year from the Mexican Baptist Theological Seminary and is leading a certificate in youth ministry program in his city of Puerto Escondido.

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Contextualization and Guadalupe

December 11, 2011 in Culture, Mexico, Missions with 0 Comments


December 12 is a huge day in Mexico. It’s the day that millions of pilgrims descend on the Basilica that stands in Tepeyac on the northern part of the City. This Basilica is dedicated to the Virgin of Guadalupe, the Patron Saint of Latin America.

I’ve written a lot about this day in the past, and you can see all of my posts on the Virgin of Guadalupe here.

Recently (last year), I wrote something else about this topic, but I’ve hesitated to publish it. There aren’t a lot of people who will be interested in a 23 page paper about contextualizing the message of the Virgin of Guadalupe.

However, there might be some missionaries or Mexican church leaders out there who should read it, so I’ve decided to publish it here so that you can download it and read it if you’re interested.

Click here to download: The Virgin of Guadalupe in the Mexican Context

Our Neighborhood

November 11, 2011 in Mexico with 0 Comments


I took this picture from the balcony of our house and gave it a little tilt shift effect.

Check out my other tilt shift photos on Flickr.

Would you travel 300 miles for training?

March 29, 2011 in Global Youth Ministry, Mexico with 0 Comments


(Click the map to enlarge)

One of our students in the certificate in youth ministry course that we offer on Saturdays lives in Aguscalientes, Mexico. Where’s that?

Aguascalientes is a city located about 500 kilometers away from our Seminary. The trip is 300 miles one way! That most likely means a pretty long (almost 6 hour) bus ride. But this student gladly travels round trip every Saturday to take the four hour class and improve his ministry to the young people of his church and community. Huberto told me that he even makes it to class on time.

There are many youth workers all over Mexico seeking out training and help for their youth ministries. In the coming years we would like to offer more training to different parts of Mexico (and other countries in Latin America).

Please pray that God will lead us to the right places to expand training. Please pray, also, that He would increase our ministry budget as we provide needed training to youth workers in Latin America. We are currently seeking to increase the ministry budget we have. If you would like to help, we’d love to have you on our partnership team.

The Economy of the Day of the Dead

November 1, 2010 in Culture, features, Mexico with 0 Comments

I just read on Vivir Mexico about the Economics of the Day of the Dead in Mexico (Spanish link). Mexico is a country that spends big money on its parties. The Day of the Dead is no exception.

The Commerce department says that approximately 700 million pesos (Spanish link) will be spent to celebrate all Saints Day, the Day of the Dead, and Halloween.

Here are the businesses that see the most boom in their business:

  • Flower shops and candle stores: 80% more profit
  • Costume shops: 40% more
  • Stationary stores: 50% more sales
  • Museums: 40% more ticket sales
  • Bread shops, candy shops, and makeup stores: 15-35% more sales

(Photo by: DavidDennisphotos.com on flickr.com)

UNESCO video on Day of the Dead

November 1, 2010 in Culture, Mexico with 0 Comments

I just saw this video on the Day of the Dead by UNESCO (thanks Jim Cottrill) and thought it would be good to share with you.

I think what he says at the end is very important: “This fusion of pre-hispanic religious rites and catholic feasts brings together two distinct universes and allows cultural syncretism between indigenous thinking and the idealogical system imported by the Europeans in the 16th Century.”

You can find more of my resources on the Day of the Dead at this post from last year.

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