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Hoosier United Methodist News Archives
| Hoosier United Methodist News |
May 2002 |
El Mesias finds a home
After more than 11 years as a congregation, El Mesias UMC will lay claim to their own church building in Frankfort, Ind.
By Melinda Grismer
Special to the Hoosier UM News
FRANKFORT, Ind. -- On May 19, El Mesias United Methodist Church -- North Indiana Conference's oldest Hispanic congregation -- will celebrate the first Sunday in their own church building. For this mission-oriented church, which began in 1991, the new building is a major step toward enabling the congregation to carry out a more effective and far-reaching ministry to Frankfort's growing Hispanic population.
"The rented property on Clay Street in Frankfort where El Mesias used to hold services was inadequate to meet the needs of their congregation," says the Rev. John Wortinger, senior pastor of St. Matthew UMC, El Mesias's sister church in Frankfort. "There was only one bathroom and little more than a sanctuary, which made fellowship difficult."
The new building at 1003 S. Columbia St. in Frankfort, formerly the headquarters of a heating and cooling business, is complete with two bathrooms and education and kitchen/dining space, in addition to the worship area. Though not an intentional choice for "moving in" day, May 19 -- Pentecost Sunday -- may prove to be an accurate forecast of what God has in mind for the congregation of El Mesias.
The Hispanic population is the fastest-growing in Frankfort, having quadrupled in the past 10 years. It is to this largely immigrant mission field that El Mesias ministers. From offering the Gospel in their own language to providing basic assistance to families in need, El Mesias is an anchor to this community of seekers and believers.
The church has become a "home" in a new, and often intimidating, environment -- just like it has for so many others who have come to this country. It's often the one and only place, says Juan Martinez, pastor of El Mesias, where newcomers experience the unconditional love of God. "When I see this group, I see how God is working with them and how he's changed their lives," says Martinez.
Among the many benefits of the new church, Martinez says that having a place to "share over food" will mean a lot to the people of his congregation. "The people relate to each other better around the table," he adds. "It's sometimes easier for them, I think, to identify with me that way than when I'm in the pulpit. When the people are having problems, they want to talk to me right there. So, I stop eating, listen to them, and counsel them." Martinez says when they're in the new church he anticipates gathering over food at least once a month after Communion Sundays.
"We started out with no other Spanish mass communication in town: no TV, no radio, no newspaper. It was even harder then for people to connect to resources than it is now." Martinez says he particularly remembers one instance when he opened the old church to 14 people (three families with children) who had nowhere else to go, supplying blankets, pillows and food. "Through these nearly 11 years, the church is still the center of it all," says Martinez, "the place where people come to find the answers."
Melinda Grismer is a freelance writer living in Frankfort.
Not by accident |
A day in the life |
|
If you ask Juan Martinez, pastor of El Mesias United Methodist Church, what brought him to Frankfort, he'd say "a car." An immigrant worker who took seasonal jobs all over the country, Martinez was literally driving from Michigan on his way to Florida when he and his family had a car accident in Lebanon, Indiana, just south of Frankfort. "My wife was pregnant with our second child at the time," says Martinez, "and the doctor who saw her in the emergency room said that she could not continue the trip to Florida. She must rest." So, Martinez decided to settle down in Frankfort and look for a steady job. Before he even found that first job, says Martinez, an acquaintance brought him and his family to El Mesias. It was the church's first pastor, Francisco Ramos, who found Martinez a job at a local factory and helped smooth the path for him to stay in the community. "That's why I view this church as such as important link," says Martinez. "If we're not available to reach out to newcomers, someone else will reach them -- for better or worse." The Martinez family became actively involved in El Mesias, and Juan became a lay speaker for the congregation. That's when he felt his calling to the ministry and started his course of study at Garrett Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois. He became pastor of El Mesias in 1998, when the church's second pastor, Rev. Hernandez, left. Martinez, actually the church's third pastor, is the first to come from El Mesias's own congregation. In 2001, he graduated from Garrett as a certified lay pastor. Although it's been a long road, says Martinez, it has been one full of blessings along the way. "My vision for the church is to raise up good leaders from the congregation," he says. El Mesias is currently offering a lay speaker course for the third time with eight students enrolled. "I want to help others like I was helped," says Martinez, "to teach, preach, lead worship and share the good news of Christ." |
Nowadays, "a day in the life" of Juan Martinez looks something like this.
Martinez says that he begins preparing his Sunday sermons during the week at the factory. "I'll start thinking and praying about what God would have me say," he says. "By Saturday, I have the main point and look through books to illuminate the message. And, there you go … it's complete. God's never let me down yet." |
Last updated on 01/14/2004