Birthdays are important as

they are a time to recognize

the value of the individual as

well as to give thanks to God

for his or her life.

Here in El Salvador, we

celebrate the “birthdays” of

churches by celebrating the

anniversary of the founding

of the church.

This is an important event as

it is a way to affirm our faith

and vision, and to give thanks

to God for His care and

p r o v i s i o n f o r t h e

congregation.

At Emmanuel,

we celebrated our

49th anniversary

throughout the

month of June,

with a special

dinner being held

on June 6, the

anniversary date

of the founding

of the church.

The church was decorated

festively with colorful

balloons and

whi t e paper

doves.

C o n g r e g a t i o n

m e m b e r s

brought in the

piggy banks that

h a d b e e n

distributed in

early May for the

collection of

coins for a

special offering. Special

letters of congratulation

were received from

members living outside of

the country in the United

States and Europe.

We honored the founders

of the church, Zoilita y

Víctor Flores, and

Margarita y Virgilio

Méndez. Guest speakers,

Ismael Mendoza and Ana

Silvia Gómez preached on

Emmanuel Celebrates 49th Anniversary

" When he saw the crowds,

he had compassion on

them, because they were

harassed and helpless, like

sheep without a shepherd."

Matthew 9:36

The families in our mission

communities are part of the

large majority of poor

people in this country.

They are challenged by poor

health and nutrition,

unemployment and low

levels of education, and an

inability to meet basic

needs.

While the poorest 20% of

the population own just

3.8% of the nation’s wealth,

(continued on page 3)

49th Anniversary Pastoral Statement Summary Sunday, June 16, 2013

Giving the Gift of Education

2

Short Term Missions Teams Visit Emmanuel

2

Inside this issue:

Did you know?

El Salvador is home

to 22 volcanos, 6 of which are active.

The San Miguel

volcano last erupted in 1976. It has a crater more than 1,000 ft. deep.

In the book "The

Little Prince", the rose of the history is Salvadoran Consuelo Suncín, wife of Antoine de Saint-Exupery.

El Salvador is the

world's largest exporter of live iguanas.

La Cosecha † The Harvest News from Emmanuel Baptist Church,

San Salvador, El Salvador

August 2013

Elder Maria García Gives Words of Wisdom

regular reports on the

progress of their child.

In El Salvador, the gift of

an education changes the

lives of poor children,

bringing opportunities for

employment that they

would not otherwise have.

You may want to

consider sponsoring a

child. Your support will

have a lasting effect on a

child´s future and that

of his or her family.

Giving the Gift of Education

Members of Swiss United

Church in New Glarus,

Wisconsin and other

churches and individuals

have been giving the gift of

education to poor children

for many years through the

IBE Scholarship Program.

The program supports 145

poor children in urban and

rural settings by providing

school supplies and fees,

so that they can receive an

education. Sponsors who

support a child receive

P a g e 2 L a C o s e c h a † T h e H a r v e s t A u g u s t , 2 0 1 3

If you are interested in giving the gift of

education, please contact Lidia Mendez :

Lidia04mendez@yahoo.com.mx

Photos courtesy of Jake Oelke

Short-Term Mission Teams Visit Emmanuel Emmanuel was blessed with

the presence of two

delegations in July and

August. A team of 16 people

from Central Presbyterian

Church in Baltimore came to

assist with building a youth

center for one of the IBE

mission churches.

We also received a **

member team from Watt’s

Street Baptist Church in

Durham, North Carolina

who worked to restore the

school facilities, and Cal

Pipil. These teams put in a

great deal of hard labor

during their time in El

Salvador!

Yet we know that the

greatest value in receiving

delegations is found in the

building of relationships

between Christian brothers

and sisters from around the

world.

Mike Pettengill lists the

positives aspects of these

visits in a blog article on The

Gospel Coalition website:

Christianity is a

global fellowship.

Christ calls us regardless

of age, race, gender,

ethnicity. or socio-

economic status. Short-

term missions allows

those serving and those

being served to see they

have brothers and sisters

throughout the globe.

Believers can give

and receive love.

Emmanuel’s Anniversary (continued)

49th Anniversary Pastoral Statement (continued)

the theme, “Called to be a

community which witnesses

to the Kingdom of God.”

Ana Silvia urged the

congregation to witness in

every situation, quoting St.

Francis of Assisi’s well-

known statement, “Preach

the Gospel at all times, and

when necessary, use words.”

She reminded us that we are

not alone when we preach

the Gospel – the Holy Spirit

is always with us, doing the

work of the Gospel through

us.

On June 16, we were

privileged to witness the

baptism of 6 new believers.

Each was presented with a

Bible , purchased by

different study groups

within the congregation.

broader society they

experience marginalization

and exclusion, the good

news is that every man,

woman, young person, and

family, each one has been

called to receive the

salvation and freedom that

God offers in Christ the

Lord. Jesus’ vision is "that all

may have life and have it

abundantly" John 10:10.

The Gospel calls all people

to a new and free life in

Christ Jesus.

What does it mean to heal

the brokenhearted?

It means restoration, the

redeeming plan of God who

i s e s s e n t i a l l y t h e

RESTORER. It means the

healing of mind, body, and

spirit; the elimination of

inequality and injustice that

cause physical, emotional,

mental and spiritual pain.

It means reconciliation. We

believe that God offers full

restoration of our lives in

Jesus Christ, to participate

in the reconcil iation

between all people, and the

reconciliation of our society

with God. We proclaim

God's restorative love in

Jesus Christ, by whose grace

our pains and sorrows have

been cured in the wounds of

the Redeemer.

What does it mean to give

sight to the blind in our

time?

the richest 20% own nearly

53%. This situation of

injustice and sin is an

abomination God’s eyes.

In Luke 4:16-21, Jesus says:

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me,

because he has anointed me to

proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim

freedom for the prisoners and

recovery of sight for the blind, to

set the oppressed free, to proclaim

the year of the Lord’s favor".

What does it mean today

to announce the good

news to the poor?

First and foremost it means

to claim the value of human

dignity of each sister and

brother in these mission

communities. While in the

What does it mean

today to announce

the good news to

the poor?

P a g e 3 L a C o s e c h a † T h e H a r v e s t A u g u s t , 2 0 1 3

IBE Anniversary Cake

IBE Youth at the Anniversary

Dinner

A New Believer is Baptized

Next year we will be

celebrating the 50 th

anniversary of Emmanuel

Baptist Church. We would

love to have you visit and

share in this important time

in the life of our church!

The members of our

Christian communities have

e x p e r i e n c e d t h e

transforming power of Jesus

in their lives, therefore we

can say that the blind see!

People today experience

alienation and confusion,

under a constant siege of

the media which promotes

m a t e r i a l i s m a n d

consumerism. The media

alters priorities, encouraging

us to buy cell phones and

cell phone minutes rather

than beans, tortillas and

(continued on page 4)

826 Calle Mexico y Av. Cuba

San Jacinto, San Salvador

EL SALVADOR

How do we understand

the need to give freedom

to captives and the

oppressed?

This question takes us to a

theological dilemma: can we

be free in Christ and live

under oppression? We can,

but we must declare the

whole truth of the Gospel.

Freedom in its fullness is

when nothing and no one

prevents the individual from

being fully free with dignity;

free of economic, political,

milk. They promote the

need for a TV and cable

t e l ev i s ion over our

children’s need for health

and a pair of shoes.

We want to share the light

of the Risen Christ with

these people. We want

them to know the truth of

the Gospel which frees

them of the blindness in

their hearts, minds and

consciences, so that they

can see and recognize Jesus

as Lord and Liberator.

religious, cultural and

spiritual oppression.

We believe it is important to

work to educate others,

implementing programs that

dignify life, family and

community. These are the

signs which would show

that the God’s redeeming

action is taking place in

these places where we

witness to the Gospel.

On the 49th anniversary of

our Church, we commit to

49th Anniversary Pastoral Statement (continued)

Phone: 555-555-5555

Fax: 555-555-5555

E-mail: someone@example.com

Emmanuel Baptist Church

L a C o s e c h a † T h e H a r v e s t A u g u s t , 2 0 1 3 P a g e 4

making ourselves available

to the Holy Spirit, so that

under His authority, in the

proclamation of the Gospel,

in the teaching of Christian

values, in affirming the

Biblical foundations for

Christian discipleship, in the

building of the Culture of

Peace, that our God be

glorified in our lives, in our

personal and fami ly

testimonies, and in the life

of our missions and

communities.

Short-term Mission Teams (continued)

Missions can be expanded

in home churches.

Short-term missions can

increase the importance of

missions in the sending church.

If your church sends a short-

term team it is reasonable to

think your congregants are

thinking and praying more

about their role in the Great

Commission.

Increased prayer and

giving in Christ's name.

Increased participation in

long-term missions.

The full article is found at:

http://thegospelcoalition.org/