WCC Celebrates Missions Partners from the Americas and the Caribbean

WCC recognized its global Missions partners from Central America, South America and the Caribbean during a Global Missions celebration April 14, 15 and 17. The three days of activities included:

• Global Outreach Sunday and Missions Expo (April 14), which included a unique bilingual service and the opportunity to visit expo booths to chat with, learn from and encourage the partners.
• WCC Español Missions Lunch (April 14) at which 40 people from WCC’s Hispanic ministries and their guests gathered for a Spanish-language lunch at the WCC Pavilion and to hear from WCC’s Latin American pastor and partners.
• Missions 24 Hours of Prayer (April 15), for which 30 people signed up to pray in half-hour increments for God’s fulfillment of the Great Commission. The event was designed to help the church body grow in its practice of praying for the partners, who depend on the church for encouragement and support.
• Taste of Missions and Night of Worship (April 17), an event that drew 200 people who enjoyed samples of street food from Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Honduras and interacted with WCC partners who represent those countries. After the meal, attendees engaged in bilingual worship and heard stories of God’s Good News and love at work in the Americas and the Caribbean.

During Night of Worship, Bradley Bell, author of “The Sending Church Defined,” presented Pastor Roger Reyes, a partner with Hope and Humanity, with the first Spanish-translated copy of his book. Pastor Roger, who was the inspiration for the translation project funded by WCC, dreams of establishing a church in Honduras that sends church planters out to spread the Gospel into the many remote villages.

“WCC is proud to partner with ministries around the world to share the hope of the Gospel,” said Mike Boze, pastor of missions at WCC. “We are privileged to set aside time each year to honor our partners and create opportunities for the church body to connect with them.

Our partners and guest pastors were encouraged by the fact they got an opportunity to share their testimonies and stories, and it was rewarding to watch the congregation learn more about the depth and breadth of the works WCC supports in these spiritually and economically challenged countries.

“It was also inspiring to be able to include WCC’s Spanish-speaking community directly by making a lot of the services and events bilingual,” Mike added. “This allowed us to honor our partners and the pastors who traveled from Honduras and Columbia while also engaging and inspiring the Spanish-speaking members of the church body. We were all challenged to learn more about the role each of us plays in the Great Commission.

“Despite the language barrier, I saw our church body and our partners interacting at the services and events,” Mike concluded. There were true connections made on several levels. It really was an amazing three days, and I praise God for bringing us all together.”