Children from Misión Hispana El Buen Pastor. Photo by Mary Bolton

Misión Hispana El Buen Pastor

by Jane Suitt

Misión Hispana El Buen Pastor in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, is one of the fastest growing new church developments (NCD) in the PC(USA). Each Sunday an average of 125 worshipers are in attendance. Four years ago, 10–15 people attended worship. The attendance of many families is irregular on Sundays due to changes in work schedules. Approximately 90 different adults participate on Sundays and/or Wednesday night bible study, with an average attendance of 45 adults and many children. This is a congregation of young large families. Instead of conforming to a pre-existing model, we believe that El Buen Pastor is building a new NCD model that meets the needs of a changing world.

The six-year-long coming together of the nine area PC(USA) congregations and the broader Forsyth County community, with the partnership of General Assembly and Salem Presbytery, is cause for celebration in itself. The steering committee is working to build reciprocity with the other Presbyterian churches within the presbytery. We build bridges by sharing the stories of the wonderful things happening in this congregation and by sharing in ministry. Many of the supporting churches go on mission trips to Latin America. There they see firsthand the reasons immigrants are leaving their homelands to come to North Carolina. El Buen Pastor provides opportunities for the supporting churches to continue to serve Latino neighbors here in this community.

El Buen Pastor ministers to the whole person. Lives are changing here. It is a place where people experience worth and dignity. They do not have to worry about language and cultural barriers. The pastoral needs of the congregation are great. The pastor often needs to utilize her remarkable social work and counseling skills. Many adults do not have a working use of English and often need assistance in dealing with unfamiliar medical, social, civic and cultural systems. Family crises and lack of resources create fear and frustration, especially in the current political atmosphere focusing on immigration issues. These families are finding a place of safety and support here.

Most of the adults are new to the faith. This congregation experiences a growing sense of being a community of faith as family in Christ. They support each other in times of need and suffering, and now they have also been responding as a community of faith to the need of neighbors within their neighborhood. At their own request, El Buen Pastor families have started a food pantry to be prepared when a need arises. They have spontaneously taken the initiative to collect and distribute love offerings to families who have lost a loved one, and have invited them to come to “their church.”

El Buen Pastor continues to be a safe place, physically and spiritually, for people to come and worship and have opportunity to start a relationship with Jesus Christ. People continue to show interest in what it means to be a Presbyterian as evidenced by three infant baptisms, seven children completing a one-year confirmation class, at their parents’ request, and by the children sharing why they wanted to do it. In June 2008, these children made their profession of faith. It was a big celebration!

Even in tough economic times, the ofrenda (offerings) of the people are 50 percent ahead of this time last year. Even more remarkable is that the members have had to learn the concept of returning money to God, since this had not been part of their religious culture. Members are also taking responsibility in the care and maintenance of the building and grounds. Just as sharing the peace of God was a year ago, now the prayer of the people has become a central part of the worship services and bible study. Some of the people have started to feel comfortable praying in public. They all share and pray for each other. They have experienced how God answers in amazing ways the prayers of His people.

Two years ago El Buen Pastor spun off its community service functions by forming El Buen Pastor Latino Community Services (LCS), which was incorporated as a nonprofit entity in order to gain access to secular funding sources for community services. LCS administers these programs which take place at the Hispanic church. The popular after school tutoring program, which stays at capacity with 55 elementary students, has expanded to include a preschool class as well as tutoring for middle school students. More than 100 area Presbyterian volunteers are involved in LCS. A full-time executive director administers LCS programs including classes in parenting, ESL, basic computer skills, reading, math and Spanish literacy for children and adults, as well as community partnerships with the public schools and other nonprofit organizations. All of these ministries, although administered separately, are expanding El Buen Pastor’s outreach to the surrounding community, and thus feeding the growth of the EBP NCD family.

On Thanksgiving Day 2008, people from the partner congregations, along with the families of the El Buen Pastor community, will sit at table together to share our second annual Thanksgiving meal and time of fellowship. We will all give thanks together for blessings of this year and for the blessing of being together as La Familia de Dios.

May God continue to give us the Spirit to lead us in this ministry so we may continue to share the love and grace that Jesus brings into our lives as we walk together as His people.