Comunidad Anabautista de Medellín

Part 2

by Javier Márquez

(The first part of this article is available here.)

We continue the story of our visit to Comunidad Anabautista de Medellín (Anabaptist Community of Medellín), whose pastors Carlos Sánchez and Nidia Montoya carry out a ministry with more than 40 families in Medellín. It has been growing little by little through discipling and baptizing members of the community, who now also work extending the Kingdom of God in their families. 

We headed towards sectors at the other end of the city of Medellín, where three exceptional people awaited us. 

Andrea is a woman who for many years was a commander and nurse in the FARC-EP guerrilla group, an armed group that entered a peace process signed in 2016 with the Colombian government. She met Carlos and Nidia in civilian life and since then has begun a life of discipleship after leaving her previous one as a militiaman. She was recently baptized and is now part of Comunidad Anabautista de Medellín. 

This time she invited us to her house, where her relatives and colleagues who had also fought with the guerrillas, and who had now been involved in the peace process for years, were also waiting for us. 

We shared the word with them, we read about what the Bible says about peacemakers, and we prayed together, but above all it was a time of great listening: we heard their story, the reasons that led them to the guerrillas and the reasons they had for betting for a life in peace despite the immense danger they faced, and the great difficulties to survive. Andrea leads with love as part of Comunidad Anabautista de Medellín. 

We also visited Karen Serna and her mother María Victoria Tirado in the Acevedo sector. To get there we took the metro and then a bus. Upon arrival to the area, there is a bridge, and under the bridge is a small theater used by groups to sell drugs. Past this bridge and down the stairs, there is a small stream running through the block. In this small community there is a group of girls whom the Anabaptist Community of Medellín has been accompanying for several years. 

The community seeks to accompany these girls in their growth, advising them, trying to protect them from prostitution networks that tend to be very attractive in contexts of great need, and encouraging them to dream of studying a professional career and make the best possible decisions for their lives. Nidia especially accompanies them in this process. She is a psychologist and has also been working with children and adolescents for many years, so she is the face of Comunidad Anabautista to the young women of the community. 

Among these young women is Karen, who is the oldest. She studies and works every day selling hot dogs near the university until two in the morning. Despite being only 21 years old, she is an example and leader to the rest of the girls. Carlos and Nidia met her many years ago when she was young, and ministered to her in the way she now replicates with her friends. She is a living testimony that Comunidad Anabautista de Medellín forms leaders in the community. 

On Tuesday night, we met at Carlos and Nidia’s house for dinner with people from the community. We sang together, read the word, prayed, and had dinner. It was a special night because, for the first time, Comunidad Anabautista de Medellín fellowshipped with the Mosaic Conference team. 

Before leaving Medellín we all prayed for Nidia and Carlos. We shared a time of communion where we all expressed our emotions and thoughts after three days of travel together. We felt like we had put on the sandals of Jesus, and our hearts were touched during each of the visits. In the conversations, we also managed to better understand the many needs and challenges of the church. The most immediate need is for a place to meet with all families, not only to officiate services, but also to have a meeting place for everyone in the community. 

Carlos and Nidia opened the doors of their beautiful home in Medellín to us, shared their food, and set aside their time for Mosaic. It was a time in which we strengthened ties, deepened friendships, and began to share the challenges of this incredible community. 

Part 1

by Javier Márquez

From April 15 to 17, Mosaic staff members Marco Güete and Noel Santiago and I visited Comunidad Anabautista de Medellín (Anabaptist Community of Medellín), where leaders Carlos Sánchez and Nidia Montoya welcomed us and guided us on a tour to learn about their ministry. 

We have prepared a short report complete with photos so that the Conference and its churches can learn about this wonderful ministry. 

It is called “In Jesus’ Sandals” because our time there was full of tours and visits, allowing us to get to know the immense Colombian city and visit the living rooms of the families that are part of the church—a total of 40 homes. 

Although we did not have time to visit all of them, we managed to meet and talk with many families and have a very special time. 

First, we took a cable car over the neighborhoods of Medellín’s Commune 13, until we arrived at the Margaritas station in the Robledo sector. There, Carlos asked us to wait while he went to get bread and milk that we would distribute on each of the visits. The agenda noted 14 visits, and the path between the neighborhoods was long and tedious, going up and down stairs, crossing small streams that ran through the mountain, walking through blocks and hills until reaching each of the houses. 

For each visit, Carlos not only buys bread and milk, but also prepares a biblical reflection that he shares with the families. When he arrives in each sector of the city, he meets with members from the church who live in the area and are community leaders. They help him arrange the visits. 

Whenever we arrived at a house, the residents welcomed us with love and joy. They prepared for the visit by making coffee or fruit juice, and brought out their best chairs, placing them in their small rooms so that we could sit. When there weren’t enough chairs, they improvised seats by placing buckets upside down, so that we could all be seated. 

Each house was very humble, and on each wall were traces of people’s lives: portraits, gifts, souvenirs, paintings and posters, all with meaning. The houses also had display cases with products for sale, sometimes homemade ice cream or clothes for resale. These are families that struggle each day to earn a living. 

At the time of prayer, there are common requests: for someone’s health, a job, for God’s care, and above all, for protection from the gangs and criminal groups. 

Carlos’ Biblical reflections are usually deep and full of testimonies. For these visits, Carlos prepared the text of Matthew 5:9: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” 

In each family’s house Carlos has a story, something to remember, and a word of encouragement to share. He knows all the people he visits very well and has known them for a long time, but the community continues to grow because many families invite someone new to participate in the visits. When we leave, Carlos shares the bread and milk with them. 

In this way we went from house to house through the different sectors of the city: from north to south, east to west. Carlos explained to us the context of Medellín, the situation of the city and the specific situations of the families. They are almost always families surrounded by crime, war, hunger, lack of job opportunities, and discrimination. 

A second article will follow, to share more of this incredible experience.