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February 2009 News
February 2009 - Volume 4, Issue 1
It is with great joy that we send out this edition of the LATNewsbytes. We are so encouraged by what God is doing in and through LATN/ProMETA that we want to share just a few of those things with you. We are grateful to God for His continued leading, guidance and provision as we follow him in growing a ministry designed to equip the equippers of Latin America's evangelical churches. We trust this brief note will encourage you to continue praying for the ministry as well as bring you up-to-date.
Sincerely,
Keith Anderson
LATN Executive Director
- LATN Registers as a Non-Profit in Costa Rica
- LATN and ProMETA
- Courses and Students
- The 2008 ProMETA Summit
- The 2010 ProMETA Summit
- Vision 2011
- Staff Publication
- ProMETA Finances
- Arrival of Happs and Fernandezes
- Staff Finish Doctoral Programs
- Work Team
- Prayer Points
- How to Contact Us
LATN Registers as a Non-Profit in Costa Rica
On August 13,2007, LATN submitted legal documents to the government and in November 2007 was recognized as a legal non-profit entity in Costa Rica. We praise the Lord for this step in the maturing process of this growing ministry. The official name is Asociación Educativa ProMETA Latinoamericana. (ProMETA in English translates "Master's Programs in Accessible Theological Education.") The website for ProMETA is www.pro-meta.org
LATN and ProMETA
Because of the previous paragraph, you may notice in this e-message and related blogs, websites, and literature, that it appears that the terms LATN and ProMETA are used interchangeably. The Latin America Training Network (LATN) is the ministry of EFCA ReachGlobal which gave birth to ProMETA. Although there may be certain contexts where the two terms may overlap, for the most part, ProMETA will refer exclusively to the academic institution and LATN will be the name used most frequently in the US within ReachGlobal circles. The website for LATN is www.latn.org.
Courses and Students in 2008 and 2009
It is exciting to see the student body grow. Twenty-four students were accepted to study in the January 2008 term. The three courses offered during the term were: Biblical interpretation in a post modern world (mentored by Jose Luis Chinchilla), Theology of leadership (Dr. Jeff David), and An Hispanic approach to the protestant reformation (Dr. Jon Nelson). In May ProMETA offered three courses to 28 students: Leadership models and skills (Dr. Tim McIntosh); Education for Christian leaders (Dr. Mark Hendrickson and Dr. Sofia Amador), and Communication and interpersonal relationships (Dr. Gordon Pike). The September quarter saw ProMETA's largest student enrollment with 36 students enrolled in four courses: Biblical World View (Dr. Enrique Fernandez and Pr. Javier Balláz), Genesis (Dr. Merv Breneman), The Culturally effective leader (Dr. Tim McIntosh), and Counseling essentials (Dr. Gordon Pike).
Six new students joined the 24 current students in the January 2009 term. Six of the students enrolled in more than one course. (Pray for these brave souls!) Though the total number of students is down from the record number the quarter before, we thank God that from year to year we are seeing an increase in the student body. ProMETA now has 62 leaders who enroll regularly but because of time, ministry, family or financial constraints, find themselves taking time off before re-enrolling. Praise God for His blessing of a growing body!
The 2008 ProMETA Summit
What a wonderful event to celebrate! On February 5-6, 2008, the ProMETA staff offered Summit 2008 to a healthy group of invited guests who arrived in Costa Rica to see, hear, and feel what God is doing in and through ProMETA. Participants were presented with numerous Power Point presentations beginning with a study of the Latin America context in which the program is being developed. Other presentations included the history of the project; distance learning in Latin America; ProMETA's program; how leaders find, enroll and take an online class; as well as challenging presentations given by both staff and ProMETA students regarding what ProMETA means to them as Latin Americans. We had prayed that God would be glorified and exalted in all of this and we believe that He answered that prayer. One of the participants summed up the time with these words: "God is truly blessing this ministry and I see a 'God future' which means a great future."
The 2010 ProMETA Summit
We found it necessary to cancel the 2009 Summit due primarily to the economic crisis faced by many. Although individuals had registered to attend the meetings, we felt that we did not have enough participants by the time the deadline arrived to go ahead with the event, especially in light of many who said they would pass this year and attend next year. Thus, we are setting our focus on the 2010 Summit. Dates and information will be posted on our LATN website later next month. We hope to see you here in Costa Rica!
Vision 2011
Since late 2007, ProMETA leadership and staff have been working on a comprehensive plan which is now known as Vision 2011. This broad strategy harnesses 10 goals and brings the following areas together: spiritual formation, programs of study, course production, recruitment, country coordinator and mentor recruitment and certification, partnerships, accreditation, regional impact and sustainability. Each goal has a ProMETA leader responsible for developing the plans for accomplishing those goals. These comprehensive goals can be viewed at http://latn.org/vision-2011 . We thank God that every month we are seeing God move ProMETA forward in goal areas!
Staff Publication
It was with great joy that we received the news that Dr. Jon Nelson's book was published in Spain this past summer by the Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha. The title of the work is Breve y compendiosa institución de la religion Cristiana (1542). It consists of Jon's introduction and critical notes to the text of the earliest Protestant catechism published in Spanish by the Spanish reformer, Francisco de Enzinas, based on similar work by Luther in German and Calvin in French. The general purpose of all three catechisms was to make available to the non-Latin speaking population, the opportunity to be discipled in their mother tongue. We congratulate Jon on this great achievement and look forward to the second volume he is currently working on.
ProMETA Finances
As always, we thank the Lord for how he provides the resources for ProMETA to move ahead. God has provided what was needed to launch this equipping ministry and we are grateful for the way he has resourced ProMETA with both funding and personnel. Now, as ProMETA moves forward in equipping strategic leaders, we are praying for God to grow the ministry. Pray with us as we seek his resources for growth. Without a doubt, the prayers of God's people have been key to meeting these needs.
Arrival of Happs and Fernandezes
With great joy the team in Costa Rica welcomed the Happ and the Fernández families. Their arrival has greatly strengthened the team as Henry Happ serves as the director of the Information Technology department and Enrique (Quique) Fernández serves as the director of strategic alliances as well as the head of the department of Intercultural Studies. Along with these much needed men, the wives are also contributing strategically to the team; Marcette Happ in the area of team communications and prayer and Becky Fernández in the area of promotions and event planning. What wonderful additions these teammates are! We thank God for their arrival.
Staff Finish Doctoral Programs
Since the last edition of the LATNewsbytes, three more ProMETA missionaries have completed their doctoral programs: Tim McIntosh received his Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership from Regent University, Jeff David completed his D.Min. in Christian Leadership from Gordon Conwell and Keith Anderson finished his Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from Barry University. In addition to this, Tim Dahlin has begun his D.Min. program at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Tim's focus is Missions and Evangelism with the goal of contributing another piece to the puzzle of how to grow leaders for a healthy church in the Spanish speaking world.
Work Team and More Teams
This past March, a team from Mt. View EFC in Greeley, CO arrived in San José, CR, and in a week's time remodeled part of the first floor of the ProMETA office building into a wonderfully efficient and very nice looking conference room, large enough for 22-25 people. The team did a wonderful job and ministered sacrificially as they worked long hours in order to complete the job on time. They even gave up a day of sight-seeing in order to stay on the job and finish. Thanks so much to the team. If you are interested in sending a team to help with various needs, please contact Clyde.Porter@efca.org for more information.
Prayer Points
As always, ProMETA is in need of focused prayer. Would you join us in praying for the following?
- Pray for God to lead us to the right individuals who can mentor courses and who can coordinate ProMETA's presence in a particular country.
- Pray for ProMETA's 62 enrolled students, that God would use each one to equip and strengthen the church in Latin America.
- Pray that God would bless his desire for Latin America through Vision 2011. Pray that each one of the 10 goals will evidence God's blessing!
- Pray for God to continue to resource his ministry!
- Pray for LATN as we seek to make quality theological education accessible to Latin America's evangelical leaders.
How to Contact Us
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ProMETA |
