|
|
|
|
|
|
Iglesia Metodista
Hispanic Ministries
Iglesia Torre Fuerte
Torre Fuerte Methodist Church (the newly named Hispanic Mission of BUMC) holds weekly worship services on Sunday evenings, at 7:00 p.m. at 210 E. Roanoke Street. Disciple Bible Study meets on Tuesdays at 12:00 p.m., and Spanish classes may be offered on Mondays and Thursdays. For more information, contact Rev. Gus Segovia (250-3503, pastorsegovia@yahoo.com.mx).
At the end of April, Rev. Gustavo Segovia M. assumed the leadership of the Roanoke District’s “Hispanos Unidos” Mission. He has a diverse background in both Methodist ministry and missionary work. He is an undergraduate degree in Theology from the John Wesley Seminary in his hometown of Monterrey, Nuevo León, México. Pastor Gus has 3.5 years of pastoral experience serving the CAO (Northern Conference for the Methodist Church of Mexico). After strong service, Pastor Segovia was recommended by his superintendent to obtain his Masters in Theology at SETECA in Guatemala City, Guatemala. While pursuing his Masters at this interdenominational seminary, Pastor Segovia served on mission teams throughout Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and the southern region of Mexico known as Chiapas. In Spring 2006, Pastor Segovia received the Bell Scholarship (at Blacksburg UMC) in order to be able to complete his thesis work by extension. In addition to adding to his studies, Pastor Segovia taught theology at his undergraduate alma mater. Currently, he maintains ties to his Mexican conference by his “pastor-in-missions” status. Last summer, after marrying Lori Valentine, he served as a translator and team coordinator for Blackburg UMC’s Mexico Mission exchange. This mission team created a Hispanic mission in Blacksburg through which he had the fortune to meet Rev. Denise Huffman who founded the Hispanos Unidos Project.
In addition to Pastor Segovia’s experience, his wife also has many talents. Lori Valentine de Segovia is a Spanish teacher in Montgomery country. In addition to her education degree, she has a B.A. in Spanish and is completing her Masters in History at Virginia Tech. Her Master’s thesis focuses on Mexican Methodist History. In addition, Mrs. Segovia is a translator with a background in social service. Mrs. Segovia also served as a UMVIM missionary in both Mexico and Guatemala. This pastoral pair is very excited about the opportunity to serve the Roanoke and New River Valley area through the conference advance special, Hispanos Unidos. The Hispanos Unidos committee meets every three months, led by Pastor Bob McAden, and is made up of representatives from the conference, both missions sites, and their sponsoring congregations. The next meeting is Sunday, July 25th at 12:30 in Roanoke
Currently, the Blacksburg Mission and pastor’s office are located at 210 Roanoke Street.” Attendance averages twelve per Sunday. We serve individuals from different denominations and different countries. There are 7 families being served in the Blacksburg mission. We celebrated 2 baptisms in April with the 1st District Hispanic Retreat. We also are awaiting 2 new members to be born during the next month. One family in the mission hopes to marry in the fall. In addition to weekly Bible studies and home visits, the Blacksburg mission also has a prison outreach. BUMC’s mission is collecting love offerings (June-August, 2006) to provide Spanish language materials to the prisons served on a weekly basis. In the fall, we plan to open a women’s Bible study, while continuing the Descubra Bible studies, English, and Spanish classes. The BUMC Mission will celebrate one year of services this September.
In Roanoke, Pastor Segovia conducts weekly visits in congregant’s homes for pastoral care and bible study. His office is currently located at Raleigh Court UMC. Weekly services resumed this week in one congregant’s home. It is hoped that the services can begin on Williamson Road before the end of the summer. Pastor Segovia’s Roanoke work is mainly door-to-door, via flyers, and by establishing personal contacts. He meets weekly with two families to date. These families (approximately 10 individuals) are inquiring about baptism, marriage, and theological studies. We hope to have another District Hispanic Retreat with baptisms in August. We are optimistic that the Roanoke mission will be as successful as the Blacksburg one within 6 months.
We would like to thank all who have been supporting all the mission projects by their prayers, donations, time, and support. You can really feel the excitement growing when you join our activities; all are welcome with no Spanish required. You can also see the spirit moving in the lives of all the individuals we have the privilege of serving.
¡Que Dios le Bendiga! - May God Bless You!- The Segovias
|
|
|
|
