Missions

Missions Service

Our intergenerational, active missions services for all ages returns Wednesday, January 20. The service begins at 7 p.m. and concludes at 8 p.m. Missions service takes place on the third Wednesday of each month. This event is also on Facebook Live.

For January, we will be reviewing the topics we had in July, August, September, and October. Instead of having participants rotate to the four stations, we will have the leaders from each month tell the purpose and activity at each station and show items that were used. We will have a game, song, project, and map activity that was done each month.

NCM Magazine

The latest issue of NCM Magazine is now online! We are excited to share stories of Nazarene churches who are serving with Christ’s compassion around the world.

In this issue, you will read stories of churches who are illuminating dignity and hope for people who are vulnerable, hurting, and alone. Read today about an urban ministry uplifting the Near Eastside neighborhood of Indianapolis, medical professionals who volunteered in the Navajo Nation during the COVID-19 panademic, and an outreach to those facing addiction in Moldova. When hope seems farther away, the church is present to bring it a little closer.

See how churches are spreading hope.

Prayer Mobilization Line

Countries of Focus

General: Puerto Rico—work established in 1944; 54 organized churches; 1 not yet organized church, 3,999 members.

Regional: Puerto Rico is on the Central Field of the Mesoamerica Region.

Cultural: For over 400 years, Puerto Rico was a Spanish colony, with the added influences of French, African, Irish, German, and Chinese immigration to the archipelago of islands, until in 1898 the country was brought into a stronger relationship with the United States following the Spanish-American War. Puerto Rico is considered a territory of the United States under a commonwealth arrangement where the US president is chief of state, with the territory being administered by an elected governor. Puerto Ricans have been citizens of the United States since 1917.

Special: The majority religion in Puerto Rico is Christianity (90.7%). Evangelical Christianity has grown significantly from less than 2% to more than 25%. The literacy rate in Puerto Rico is 94%. The estimated poverty rate stands at over 45%, a number that has increased since the devastating hurricane season of 2017, when it was hit by several high-category hurricanes that destroyed infrastructure and services. Over 35% of the population of Puerto Rico is under the age of 25. Education has become a significant area of concern, as nearly 62% of students fail to complete secondary school. This is linked to the uptick in poverty due to unemployment, crime, and substance abuse.

Mission and Ministry

Mission Challenges:

During the COVID-19 pandemic the number of cases in Puerto Rico has reached 112,934 with 1,562 reported deaths.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the churches and leadership in Puerto Rico have been challenged to keep services going within the recommended protocols of government. Several church plants have been seeking to move the work forward, despite the limitations to movement and personal contact. Challenges with regard to ministering effectively to those most in need have called the churches to be more mindful of young people and the unemployed, and the variety of needs represented in these demographics. The Church of the Nazarene endeavors to reach out and share the love the Christ, who is able to move beyond limitations and touch every heart.

Ministry Approaches:

The church at every level in Puerto Rico has been active in the use of technology in order to continue to provide help in their communities, still within the guidelines related to COVID-19. Many of the services carried out by the local Churches of the Nazarene have also continued in person while taking great care to stay within the protocols of safety and containment. Congregations have ministered in ways that would not contribute to the contagion.

Praises

The church in Puerto Rico is grateful to God for useful technologies and for persons capable of utilizing those technologies to share the Good News of Jesus.
Give thanks that to date, none of our Nazarene pastors have tested positive for COVID-19. All continue to faithfully lead their congregations with care and sensitivity.
Give praise that the four new church plants continue to move forward across the districts.

Prayer Requests

Pray that God would continue to bless the churches in Puerto Rico with effective ministry in the face of uncertainty and challenge.
Pray that the new church plants will soon become fully functioning and organized congregations to spread the love and ministry of Christ in new areas of Puerto Rico.
Pray for the government as it begins to release and administer vaccines to frontline healthcare workers, and then to the wider population.

Nazarene Mission Statement

To mobilize the church in mission through praying, discipling, giving, and educating.

Objectives

~ To encourage people to pray for all efforts of world evangelization

~ To inform people of the world’s needs and what the church is doing to meet those needs

~ To challenge children and youth to learn about and participate in the mission of the church

~ To raise funds for mission outreach.

Nazarene Missions International: https://nazarene.org/mission