Inter-America celebrates big-city impact from Mexico City

Some 70 evangelists from throughout Inter-America hold banners representing their country as Inter-America began its Vision One Million Big City Impact 2014 celebration of evangelism impact from Arena Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico, on Apr. 12, 2014.  The event was carried live through satellite and represented the culmination of intense evangelism efforts in Mexico and the rest of the Division territory which resulted in more than 45,000 baptisms so far this year. Image by Libna Stevens/IAD

April 15, 2014 – Mexico City, Mexico….Libna Stevens/IAD

The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Inter-America celebrated its big city evangelism impact across the territory with a special live satellite broadcast program from Mexico City, Mexico, on Apr. 12, 2014. The event was the culmination of thousands of evangelistic campaigns, which ended last week throughout the Inter-American Division (IAD) territory. The massive evangelism campaigns are the work of thousands of pastors and laypeople who have been spreading the gospel in their communities this year.

Some 18,000 people gathered at the Arena Ciudad de Mexico to witness and participate in the church’s evangelism impact celebration on Apr. 12, 2014. Image by Libna Stevens/IAD.

Coined as Vision One Million, the initiative carried a focus this year toward big city impact 2014 throughout the 22 major church regions in Inter-America. Vision One Million is an annual initiative in the IAD, which seeks to empower one million church members to become true followers and witnesses of Jesus while bringing one million new members into the church during the 2010-2015 year period.

Nearly 18,000 church members filled the Mexico City Arena (Arena Ciudad de Mexico) to witness the two-hour satellite event. The program was transmitted through The Hope Channel, Esperanza TV, 3ABN, and 3ABN Latino in English, Spanish and French. The live program included baptismal ceremonies and musical performances.

Mexico City’s Director of Religious Affairs Arturo Manuel Diaz thanked the church leadership and members for enriching the lives of citizens of Mexico. Image by Brian Carpiet/IAD.

“We want you to know that we are pleased that you have chosen our city to reach your objectives with your Impact 2014 efforts,” said Cesar Palacios Trejo, mayor of Azcapotzalco, as he welcomed the audience. “We know that with your efforts you will help mold a better society.”

Mexico City’s Director of Religious Affairs Arturo Manuel Diaz Leon thanked the church leadership and its members for enriching the lives of the citizens of Mexico.

“Mexico has seen this church grow with dignity while enjoying the freedom of belief the nation offers,” said Diaz. “Thank you for fostering principled values in your members and seeking to serve and be useful in your endeavors.”

As Adventist World Church President Ted N.C. Wilson delivered the keynote speech during the live program, he praised the work of pastors and church members for the city evangelism impact achieved throughout the last three months, and urged them to continue being a people that studies and promotes the reading of the Word of God.

“God is calling you as a remnant church to be part of revival and reformation to proclaim the prophetic messages of Daniel and Revelation,” said Pastor Wilson.

Adventist World Church President Pastor Ted N.C. Wilson urged leaders and members to continue being a people that studies and promotes the reading of the Word of God. Image by Gregorio Vazquez/IAD.

The Adventist leader encouraged the congregation and viewers to be part of the great emphasis in the world on the mission to the cities and to “pray like you have never prayed before, for God is calling you in a special way to help propel this great Advent message.”

Propelling the message in cities across the IAD is the main evangelism emphasis this year, said Pastor Balvin Braham, associate ministerial secretary and main organizer of the event.

“We want to focus on areas where we have planted churches and grow more members there,” said Braham. “We also want to focus on areas where there is no Adventist presence and plant new churches.”

As part of the Mexico Impact 2014, nearly 100 ministers and evangelists from Central America, the Caribbean, French Antilles, Colombia, Venezuela, Canada and England traveled to Mexico earlier this month to partner with local pastors and laypeople in churches, auditoriums, community centers and small groups for one week. During that week they met with new believers about joining the church, then spent one week in Mexico City to impact the city with evangelism campaigns, reported Pastor Braham.

“With a populous country like Mexico with more than 115 million people, we wanted to foster a big city drive not only among local leaders but also to connect with preachers from outside of the country to participate in a major city impact so they could get additional experience to go back to their own local territories within the context of this evangelism in big cities,” said Braham.

Pastor Balvin Braham, associate ministerial director and main organizer of the event reported that more than 6,400 evangelistic campaigns were held throughout Mexico so far this year, resulting in 28,300 new members.
IAD photo file.

More than 6,400 evangelistic campaigns were held throughout Mexico, 200 of which were held in Mexico City last week. The thousands of campaigns in Mexico generated more than 28,300 new members, reported Pastor Braham.

Ministers also took part in a three-day school of evangelism last week focused on evangelistic strategies for urban areas, church planting in urban areas, use of technology in evangelism, social media evangelism, evangelizing those of non-Christian religions, contextualization in evangelism and more, explained Braham. Thousands of pastors across the IAD territory also viewed the evangelism training via the Internet.

In addition, the church in Central Mexico hosted a six-week school of evangelism in Mexico City with some 30 ministers from across Mexico. The ministers were trained in urban evangelism and took part in urban outreach with local district pastors.

Group of One Year in Mission youth from across the IAD pose for a picture during the satellite event as they concluded the city’s three-month evangelism impact in Mexico City.  Image by Libna Stevens/IAD

The live event also highlighted the work of more than two-dozen young people who traveled from IAD’s major church regions to Mexico City to participate in urban training under the world church initiative One Year in Mission. The IAD-run OYiM initiative had trained young people doing missionary work throughout the metropolitan region to strengthen the Adventist presence and do visitations into un-entered areas with health classes, English classes, social and spiritual activities and more.

Pastor Tomas Torres, president of the more than 74,000-member church in Central Mexico, thanked the support of the Inter-American Division and its territory to boost urban evangelism in Mexico City.

Pastor Tomas Torres, president of the church in Central Mexico said the church has expanded to five local fields since the headquarters was established five years ago in Mexico City. Image by Brian Carpiet/IAD

“It’s a privilege to share with you this historic moment for the Adventist Church in Mexico City,” said Torres.

“This union was established just five years ago as the Central Mexican Union, headquartered here in Mexico City with one conference and three missions,” said Torres. “The church now has three conferences, one mission and a brand new region today,” he added.

“The growth of the Adventist Church has been richly blessed by God, the laity and church members who dedicate time to proclaim the gospel message,” said Torres.

Seeing the church grow to a five-region territory in Central Mexico is a strategy that was set in motion nearly a decade ago when IAD administrators studied and planned to pay closer attention to the big cities throughout Inter-America, explained Pastor Israel Leito, president of the church in Inter-America.

Two dozen new members were baptized during the Vision One Million event at the Arena. The new believers represent some 3,100 new members who joined the church in Central Mexico since Jan. 2014. Image by Libna Stevens/IAD

“We are glad to see this progress and continue to work towards targeting our cities across the territory,” said Pastor Leito. “We realize that this big city impact is not as easy as far as soul-winning is concerned than in rural areas, we have to go deep into the structure in establishing centers of influence, special initiatives to reach the post-modern mind.”

Already, the church has established 24 centers of influence in cities across the IAD. Work has begun where there are non-Christian communities throughout the territory. That work includes special health initiatives and planting new churches in urban areas, IAD leaders reported.

The numbers are slowing down, added Pastor Leito, something leaders have noticed and have been studying. “The soul-winning plan we set out was to have an average of 250,000 new members joining the church every year, that would give us approximately one million new members by 2015, but we understand big city impact is not fueled by the traditional evangelism approach,” added Pastor Leito.

“We are working on rekindling the fire of soul-winning throughout the territory, stressing to our pastors not to stop nor slow down on the vision of the mission to reach more souls for the Kingdom,” Pastor Leito added. “It’s the power of the Holy Spirit which will open the way to reach more people with the gospel in the cities.”

Thousands gather at the Palacio de los Eventos in Maracaibo, Venezuela, to attend evangelistic series Mar. 1-22, 2014.  More than 1,200 new members joined the church as a result of the city impact efforts. Image courtesy of West Venezuela Union.

Through city impact, the church across Inter-America has held massive evangelism gatherings this year, such as the one in Maracaibo, Venezuela, and a health initiative in Monterrey, North Mexico. In addition, there has been evangelism outreach in Tabasco, Southeast Mexico, city-wide impact throughout Jamaica, evangelism impact in San Sebastian, Puerto Rico, urban outreach in Guatemala, and more.

Church leaders reported nearly 45,000 baptisms as a result of intense city evangelism efforts and some 30,000 baptisms in rural evangelism efforts so far this year.

Next year, the IAD will carry out Vision One Million city impact throughout its territory and will host the annual celebration program in the English speaking Caribbean territory.

For more on Inter-America’s Vision One Million Big City Impact 2014 initiative, Click HERE

To view a photo gallery of the event, Click HERE