Let me introduce you to our wonderful team of 13! Our names are Betsy (our fearless leader), Bob and Mary Ann , Jennifer and Scott, Carolyn, Cara, David, Jim, Michael, Julie, Jennifer and Melanie. We are all followers of Christ who attend either Northpoint or Buckhead Church in Altanta, GA, and we are so excited to serve our Heavenly Father in Spain this July (1st -9th)! We will be helping two churches (one in Seville, and one in Villanova) get started by setting up their "small groups" programs and implementing other ideas that our church uses. This is the first year Buckhead and Northpoint Churches have worked with the churches we'll be visiting, so we're excited to be on the "ground level" of what we know will be an exciting journey for these wonderful people!
To give you some background on religion in Spain....and what our group will be doing:
La Iglesia Protestante de Vilanova (the church we'll be working with in Villanova, just south of Barcelona) started with only 15 members where they began meeting on the back porch of a home. There are now over 60 in attendance on a regular basis, which ranks the church as one of the largest Christian churches in Spain. With a highly talented and committed membership, the church recently moved into their new facility in May of 2007. The church has a thriving groups ministry but would like to be prepared to offer other programs such as Starting Point, KidStuf and UpStreet. Buckhead Church will assist La Iglesia Protestante de Vilanova in casting vision and importance of small groups. The team will lead them through Community Group Leader Orientation, and possibly transform some of their facility into Starting Point rooms.
Country Background: Spain has endured a long period of enforced Catholicism under the rule of General Franco. When Franco left power, faith had largely become a cultural issue for the population. The emergence of a strong post-Modernist culture in Western Europe did little to help the situation. Church attendance is virtually non-existent and Christians are estimated at less than 2% of the population. With the recent arrival of a large and thriving Muslim population in Spain, there is a strong sense of urgency for existing Christians to seize the opportunity to reach a very disenfranchised and passive culture.
We hope you'll log in and join us in prayer on our journey! Feel free to post comments too!
To give you some background on religion in Spain....and what our group will be doing:
La Iglesia Protestante de Vilanova (the church we'll be working with in Villanova, just south of Barcelona) started with only 15 members where they began meeting on the back porch of a home. There are now over 60 in attendance on a regular basis, which ranks the church as one of the largest Christian churches in Spain. With a highly talented and committed membership, the church recently moved into their new facility in May of 2007. The church has a thriving groups ministry but would like to be prepared to offer other programs such as Starting Point, KidStuf and UpStreet. Buckhead Church will assist La Iglesia Protestante de Vilanova in casting vision and importance of small groups. The team will lead them through Community Group Leader Orientation, and possibly transform some of their facility into Starting Point rooms.
Country Background: Spain has endured a long period of enforced Catholicism under the rule of General Franco. When Franco left power, faith had largely become a cultural issue for the population. The emergence of a strong post-Modernist culture in Western Europe did little to help the situation. Church attendance is virtually non-existent and Christians are estimated at less than 2% of the population. With the recent arrival of a large and thriving Muslim population in Spain, there is a strong sense of urgency for existing Christians to seize the opportunity to reach a very disenfranchised and passive culture.
We hope you'll log in and join us in prayer on our journey! Feel free to post comments too!
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