CDI BARRIO MEXICO, SAN JOSE, CR Mission trips are a strategy of outreach and to finance the vision of the local church. We see how the trips benefit the sending church and the local church. San Jose wants to receive 10 to 15 mission teams every year, this will allow us to hire a full time coordinator to take care of them, to do things better and to be more strategic with the time. The biggest contribution of mission trips is the impact and penetration of our church name in the community, which is our goal. We want to earn credibility as a church that is interested in people. This will allow us to share the Gospel with a fresh and friendly background. So far we don t see any cons, all the hard work that we do with the teams is worth it. We have recently started with mission trips, so we couldn t mention anything specific right now, but mission teams give our members the opportunity to serve in ways many of them won t do otherwise. They enjoy translating, coming to meals and spending time with the missionaries. - Pastor Carlos Gomez
In September 2014 the CDI in Barrio Mexico San Jose, Costa Rica started serving the community. Our goal is to minister to the soul, the mind and the body of a population that has been forgotten and underserved. We believe that the message of Jesus Christ can transform lives. We are a church located in the heart of the pain and troubles of Costa Rica s capital city. Our district deals with problems such as overpopulated cuarterias (single family rooms), prostitution, homelessness, home alone kids, youth with no purpose in life, neither study, neither work, broken families. As we serve them, we have attracted community leaders and business leaders who want to make a difference and that has empowered our church. Staffed with nine committed Christians and several part time teachers and volunteers and partners. We seek to continue and expand courses and programs such as: Dance Quilting Computer Skills Home Improvement Conversational English Small Business Development Food Handling Certificate High School Equivalency Diploma Public School Development Police Force: Ethics and Values Each program has an average cost of $7,500 and serves on average 25 people. Locally, our outreach is focussed in three groups People Courses of Computer (Office, Windows, Internet, Social Media) GED (High School Equivalency) Preparation for people to take the tests 2 ENGLISH.IGCLA.COM
Food Handling Certificate Convesational English For youth: Dance, Drama For Kids: After School Homework Support Organizations For Police Force: GED, Motivational, Values and Ethics, Community Support For School Principals: Strategic Management Technics, and walking with them through the process Churches We have been blessed to have training resources, training materials, and visits from leaders from all over. So any time we receive a leader s visit whose expertise can help, influence local Christian leaders, we invite other churches to receive the benefit. At the moment we have a six month training on the Perspective Class and 40 young people from more than 20 churches in the city that is being served at the CDI facilities. Why is it different from other churches? Because we are a fresh church plant, with very much open ideas, and we can see that is almost impossible to influence people nowadays with the traditional approach of inviting them to a church service or event. The younger generation chooses between staying at home playing their video games with friends, which is brain engaging, or coming to a place where they have to actually relate to people, be ackwarded, exposed, listen to some man speaking for 40 minutes asking them to change. So by opening doors, serving the community, is a non threatening way to tell them you matter, you are at home, what is your need? let us walk with you, etc. What is Barrio Mexico? Barrio Mexico is part of the Merced District. An old neighborhood with lots of old houses, lots of cuarterias (bedroom sized homes for families in stress), lots of youth and children, and elderly. ENGLISH.IGCLA.COM 3
It s also a home to many small businesses, startups, and also right in between there are expensive homes, homeless, prostitutes, Central Market, hospital. It is the busiest place in San Jose. In our District we have 5 slums, each with approximately 150 families. We chose Barrio Mexico, or God called us to Barrio Mexico after trying the Home Church concept and developing a strong core group, and then moving to different rental locations for the weekends, and finally landing in this wonderful place. Would mission teams work with our classes? Perhaps you could, but they are in Spanish, have a program they follow, there are teachers appointed, some staff are full time, some teachers part time, so unless we can plan accordingly, it is better to engage in specific projects. As you work with us we will give you T-Shirts, and invitation material to distribute as you engage with people. How does my mission team connect to the local vision? We are working day to day, Monday through Saturday serving the people in Barrio Mexico. As you come and work in our projects, you are accompanied with people from our church, staff from the CDI, so you become our hands and feet, you become our advocates, our advertisement towards the CDI and the church. We take advantage of that. With just 12 months of presence we can say we are the most renown and active organization in Barrio Mexico and Merced District. What is the vision/action plan of the CDI and church? Share: Share your story, share a meal, share a need, share your ears, share your heart, share the Gospel. Train: Very simple process, focussed on Mathew 28: We go and teach everything Jesus commanded us to do and baptize them. The training part has 9 studies. It is done by local leaders, church members, new belivers. Connect: The whole idea is that the new believer needs a place to connect and grow. We have a Bible Study on wednesday noon, and different ministries in the church, such as Teenage meeting, Youung Pro and College group meeting (called The Rats whether I like or not), Women meeting, Single Moms meeting, Men Ministry, Couples Ministry, Worship Band, and others that are totally open. 4 ENGLISH.IGCLA.COM
GCLA GREAT COMISSION LATIN AMERICA ENGLISH.IGCLA.COM 5