Students and teachers at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee, launched Project Ulpan to help people living in the Ulpan Valley in Guatemala. (©Jerry Atnip)
By Jennifer Taylor
School “˜Project”
Most people in the Ulpan Valley of Guatemala live in poverty. Many can”t read. Surprisingly, a small team of engineers from middle Tennessee is changing the situation.
Engineering professors and students from Lipscomb University (Nashville, Tennessee) have volunteered on short-term mission trips to Central America since 2004. They help with disaster relief or by building bridges and water towers.
But short-term missions have limited value, according to Kerry Patterson, associate professor of mechanical engineering at Lipscomb, in a recent Tennessean article.
“You are there for a week or 10 days, and then you are gone,” he said. “There is not much continuity, and there is not much you can do to build on what you did a year ago.”
To develop a long-term focus, Lipscomb connected with CAFNIMA, an organization assessing the needs in the Ulpan Valley with connections to the leadership of Guatemala and funding organizations in Switzerland.
“We worked on a safe water project in May 2009 and launched Project Ulpan in January 2010,” says Kristopher Hatchell, student missions coordinator at Lipscomb. “We completed a solar-powered cell phone charging station to provide reliable communication for the valley”s residents.”
The project, which The Tennessean reports as a four-year, $760,000 initiative, also works to establish literacy centers.
“Education is a big value,” Hatchell says. “Many residents don”t understand their rights because they can”t read.”
The next goal is literal and figurative infrastructure””a base of operations with meeting rooms, a kitchen, showers, and dorms.
“When a team goes to work they have to stay in the local schools, which means interrupting the education we care about,” Hatchell says. “This new building also allows our project coordinator to have a place for midwifery training and public health classes.”
This respect for the valley and its people informs every aspect of Project Ulpan.
“We don”t want to Americanize their culture or create a dependency on us,” Hatchell continues. “We asked the residents how we could help and we also ask each of the communities to work with each other.”
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Deep Impact
Impact Ontario was founded 10 years ago and expanded to Impact Canada in 2004. The organization has planted three churches in Toronto plus three more in Alberta and British Columbia. Now the ministry is growing again, partnering with Global Missionary Ministries to form the Impact Ministry Group with divisions for Canada and Europe.
“To be honest, when the idea was originally presented to me, I didn”t see how it resonated with our mission of Canadian church planting,” says Jim Tune, director of the organization and senior minister at Churchill Meadows Christian Church in Ontario. “But there are many similarities between Canada and Europe. Both are postmodern, post-Christian societies with similar challenging spiritual climates. The synergies of our organizations moving forward as one will enable us to ultimately bring many more people to Christ.”
George and Vera Bajenski have led GMM for decades and will continue to serve; George plans to lead the Impact Europe division until his retirement. The new umbrella organization will allow his team of leaders in Belarus, Poland, and other countries to continue evangelistic efforts while consolidating administrative oversight.
“Not only does this save money, but we can build on the Global Missionary foundation and keep growing,” Tune says. “I think we”ll attract new partnering churches in the United States and Canada who are excited about a reenergized vision. We”re not taking our eye off the ball of church planting in Canada, but we”ll see a growing emphasis on church planting in Europe.”
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Jennifer Taylor, one of CHRISTIAN STANDARD”s contributing editors, lives in Nashville, Tennessee. Read her blog accessible via this Web site.
Do you know of a church breaking new ground or leading innovative ministry? Send a brief description and contact info to [email protected].
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