Nazarene Theological Seminary

For the past couple of months we have been preparing for District Assembly for the Central District of Paraguay.  Local churches have had local assembly meetings with reports from MNI, NYI, pastors, Sunday School, financial and so forth.  We had the opportunity to participate in a couple of these local assembly meetings and it was interesting to hear the stories of these churches over the last year.  Some churches operated in more of a business manner with reports and typed documents while others simply stood and told stories.  Sitting in the pews listening to these stories, I was made more aware of the struggles of these local pastors and their families, the local congregations, and the communities in which these churches are located.  However, despite the struggles, of which there are many, the pastors and local leaders continued to hold great hope in the Gospel and the power of the Gospel to change lives.  As we have traveled to many of these different churches our excitement began to grow for District Assembly and how it would be to have all of these local pastors and congregations gathered together in one place. 

District Assembly took place over two days and was held in two different local churches, on the first day we met in the Barrio Obrerro church of Pastor Fidelina Ocampos for Escuela Dominical (Sunday School), MNI (Nazarene Missions International), and JNI (Nazarene Youth International).  The day was structured in a way that might seem too organized for Paraguayans, but it was, as always, more of a guideline than anything hard and fast.  As the day went on, with great heat, stories were told, people were encouraged to live as people of the Kingdom, and relationships were deepened.  One of the greatest things that I noticed was the relationships between the churches…you could tell that these pastors worked together and encouraged one another.  When one pastor was having problems the others stood with that pastor, helping him or her in whatever way possible.  Being a pastor is not an individual calling, these pastors realize that they cannot do it without the help of other pastors and without the help of others in their community.  Being a pastor is not about doing everything ourselves, but about being discipled and discipling others.   (This is more of a reality for these pastors than for pastors in the States because the majority of pastors on this district are not paid by the church; therefore, they find themselves working other jobs during the week in order to provide in some way for their families. However, it is still necessary for them to be reminded that one cannot do it all by themselves.) 

One of the greatest storytellers throughout the entire assembly was the wife of the pastor of Makaí.  Makaí is a typical country neighborhood outside of Asunción.  This family has known sacrifice and poverty as they themselves have 12 children.  This woman is uneducated, she does not how to read or write, but she does know how to pray and listen to God.  As she stood before the other local churches she challenged the people to recognize the call to teach others.  She said, “If we are new creatures in Christ, then how can we not be willing to teach others, to teach children?  We need to be working together to build up the Kingdom of God!  Teaching is a calling from God and we need people who are going to love and raise up the children of these communities into the body of Christ.”  She herself recognized that this is a difficult task as she is also busy at home taking care of her own children.  Her family does not have much in terms of money or food or things.  She reminded the local churches that children have needs and we as the body of Christ need to be trying to help those needs; the needs of these children affect all of their being – they are spiritual, physical, and mental.  As the Church we need to remember that we are called to build up the Kingdom of God and this begins in seeing others, hearing their needs, and being in community with them.  The passion that I heard in her voice challenged me, and others, to remember God´s calling on our own lives to be witnesses of the Kingdom of God.  Sometimes that looks different in different places, but it is always rooted in the love and grace that we ourselves have experienced in relationship with God and others.