Mosaic Mennonites

Missional - Intercultural - Formational

Charles A. Ness

Global Missional Blessings

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by Charles A. Ness

The email read, “There is a young man from our church who would like to live in the United States for several months to sharpen his English. He is also a good piano player and willing to assist in ministry. His father is an elder in our church. Would Perk be interested in hosting him?” The email was from Bob Stevenson who is credentialed through Franconia Conference, and is pastor of the Monte Maria Church in Mexico City with whom Perkiomenville Mennonite Church has had a long relationship.

We were excited about the possibility of having a young adult from the Monte Maria church be part of our worship ministry and so, after discussion with the elder team, we gave an enthusiastic “Yes!”

There were various logistics that needed to be worked out, such as housing and finances, but we were confident that they could be addressed. Initially, a local business offered full-time employment, but because the young man did not have a work visa, we had to look for other means of support.

TonyReyesTony Reyes arrived from Mexico City at the end of May in 2015 and we quickly learned to appreciate his musical talents and passion for the Lord. He plays keyboard and writes music for several groups in Mexico, so we planned a fundraising concert. Tony enlisted the help of his friends, the Linker Sanchez family (who are church planters in Maryland from Monte Maria Church). We had a great night of Spanish and English praise and worship with a combined worship team made up of Tony, plus members of Perkiomenville and the Sanchez family. The funds raised helped support Tony during his stay in the United States.

Our LEAD Minister, Noel Santiago, also suggested applying for a Franconia Conference Mission Operational Grant, and we are thankful it was approved.  The partnership of the conference in this way was a very important contribution to Tony’s support.

Tony lived with Charlie Ness, pastor at Perkiomenville, and his wife Janet while searching for long-term housing arrangements. Tony’s housing need was met when Pastor Scott Roth of Perkiomenville Mennonite Church began a discipleship house in Pennsburg and had a room available. Scott was able to benefit from Tony’s assistance with the discipleship house known as The Gathering Place, a ministry to youth in the Perkiomenville area.

From June to November, Tony lived in Pennsburg assisting the community-based ministry there and playing regularly on the Perkiomenville worship team. His presence brought a spiritual and cultural diversity that was a blessing.

This unique, enriching ministry was made possible because of the global relationship we have with the church in Mexico. For years, members of Perkiomenville have gone to the Monte Maria Church for teaching and construction-related ministry opportunities. This was the first time someone from Monte Maria came here for an extended time of ministry. It is a great example of the value of cross-cultural partnering in mission relationships. These relationships are encouraging to all who are involved.

In reflecting on his experience Tony wrote the following: My name is Tony Reyes. There are no words to describe how thankful I am with the Lord, with Pastor Charlie Ness, with his beautiful church, and with all of you at the Franconia Conference. You all have given me a lot of support and you have been a blessing in my life.

 There are many things that I would like to share with you about the wonderful experience that the Lord gave me with all of these amazing people in the Perkiomenville Church, but I will share them with you in the next few sentences.

First of all, I did not know what to expect when I first arrived to Perkiomenville, but I was trusting the Lord and the purpose for which He was sending me to that unknown place. He took me little by little, and showed me many things as the time went by. From the time I integrated to the worship team and played the piano, to time I spent working with Pastor Scott Roth in the different activities in the church and in the community of Perkiomenville, and to the time I spent remodeling the house I was staying at, I could only see God’s love and grace pour out in life. I learned many things from my brothers and sisters, and from Pastor Charlie and all the people I met, who allowed me to become a part of their life. I keep everyone in my heart and prayers, and I hope in the Lord I will see you soon. 

May the Lord bless you in every area of your life. 

Kind regards,
Tony Reyes

Additional partner-in-mission relationships are possible with the Monte Maria Church. Contact Pastor Charlie Ness at charlie@perkmc.com for more information.

Maná de Vida Eterna springs alive along the Hudson River

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Charles A. Ness, Perkiomenville
perkmc@verizon.net

The Hudson River Valley just north of New York City is a beautiful historic area that attracts both vacationers and residents. Towns with names like, Tarrytown, Ossining, Sleepy Hollow and Croton on the Hudson, have had an idyllic appeal for hundreds of years.

It is also home to many Spanish-speaking persons from a variety of Central and South American countries, including Daniel and Jacky Lopez and their two sons who came to the United States 15 years ago from Chile. Daniel works as a maintenance supervisor at a children’s hospital and Jacky is employed in domestic services.

Years ago the Lord delivered Daniel and Jacky from a life of addiction and healed their marriage. This gave them a passion to share Christ’s love with others who need to know abundant life in Christ. For several years they have had a desire to be part of a church that could effectively reach the Spanish-speaking persons in Ossining. Daniel had led several persons to Christ who found it difficult to assimilate into their existing church. After prayer they decided to begin a new fellowship for these and other persons.

In February 2010 the group began a Friday evening meeting in the Lopez home attended by several persons from their home church and those who had recently professed Christ. It was very small at first but as persons came to faith in Christ they outgrew the Lopez living room. In December 2010 they began renting space in another church building. This new church, Maná de Vida Eterna, has adopted the Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective as their statement of faith.

This group got connected to Franconia Conference when Pastor Alfredo Navea from Viña del Mar, Chile, who had been friends with the Lopez family for many years, introduced them to Kirk Hanger, Pastor of New Hope Fellowship, Alexandria, VA, and Charles Ness, Pastor of Perkiomenville Mennonite Church. This began a relationship where Daniel and his family attended Perkiomenville’s annual church retreat in August and persons from Perkiomenville and Franconia Conference have gone to worship services in New York. With Kirk serving as LEAD Minister for Perkiomenville, he and Charlie came together to support Daniel and the Manna of Eternal Life Church.

In December representatives of Franconia Conference, Steve Kriss, and Noel Santiago, persons from Philadelphia Praise Center, along with Kirk, Charlie and several men from Perkiomenville, attended the dedication of their new worship space. It was an encouragement to this emerging church to have representatives from the broader church present to bless this new beginning. In February 2011, Kirk and Charlie assisted with the first baptism. It is anticipated that this summer both the New Hope and Perkiomenville congregations will assist Manna of Eternal Life with outreach efforts which will further enhance the relationship and be mutually beneficial to all the churches.

A Franconia Conference Missional Operations Grant has provided important seed money for rent and other start up costs for this emerging church. Additionally, Daniel is participating in Eastern Mennonite Seminary’s STEP program which provides training for people who are licensed for pastoral ministry or have been encouraged to consider pastoral ministry—who may not have college, Bible school, or seminary training. STEP combines spiritual and personal formation with content-based learning in Bible, theology, leadership, and ministry skills in a very practical way. Daniel attends a class in Philadelphia one Saturday a month. This is equipping him to be a leader and giving him an understanding of Anabaptist/Mennonite theology and practice.

This Partner in Mission relationship between Franconia Conference, New Hope Fellowship and Perkiomenville Mennonite Church and the Manna of Eternal Life Church is another example of how the Lord is working through relationships to connect congregations and conferences across what may have formerly been seen as boundaries that were not to be crossed. This new paradigm allows for authentic relationships that are both life giving and life sustaining and enables both congregations and the conference to participate in the fresh move of God. The Spirit is flowing from the Potomac River and Perkiomen Creek to the Hudson River to build the Kingdom of God.