Biggest UPC church in the US???

[notofworks]

Originally Posted by DAII

Stevie,

SEM stands for Spanish Evangelism Ministries.

It is presently a dept. within Home Missions and is the oldest of the multi-cultural ministries within the UPCI.

Presently, the SEM director is a friend of mine, Sergio Vitanza. Formerly it was Elias Limones and before him, Dan Scott.

The annual SEM conference is taking place right now in Raleigh, NC.

This is night #2. It is webcasted @ www.mundopentecostal.com

Tomorrow is the final night.

In a fellowship of 3000 plus churches, there an estimated 500 plus Spanish speaking churches and works.

Dan Scott was the head of Spanish Ministries? I know nothing about nothing here and it's also the first I'd heard of this division, but I have to ask....Why was a guy with a name like "Fred Smith", or "Bob Johnson", or "Dave Anderson" the head of Spanish Ministries and not a guy like, "Antonio Gonzalez" if you get my drift?

[DAII]

Originally Posted by notofworks

Dan Scott was the head of Spanish Ministries? I know nothing about nothing here and it's also the first I'd heard of this division, but I have to ask....Why was a guy with a name like "Fred Smith", or "Bob Johnson", or "Dave Anderson" the head of Spanish Ministries and not a guy like, "Antonio Gonzalez" if you get my drift?

Dan Scott, Sr.

His son pastors Christ Church of Nashville.

He was missionary to South America ... Ecuador I believe .... and widely respected by his Spanish minister peers.

Notwithstanding, a handful took exception to a gringo always leading the way.

[notofworks]

Originally Posted by DAII

Dan Scott, Sr.

His son pastors Christ Church of Nashville.

He was missionary to South America ... Ecuador I believe .... and widely respected by his Spanish minister peers.

Notwithstanding, a handful took exception to a gringo always leading the way.

I was figuring (hoping) it was the dad. Sorry, personal feelings just emitted! I have no right to claim expertise in the field of international or cultural missions but no one can ever reach the natives like the natives. Am I wrong? And for all I know, Dan Scott, Sr. may have been the greatest thing that ever happened to that ministry so maybe my thoughts here are way out of line. Forgive me if I'm way off, here.

[johnny44]

Originally Posted by DAII

Very familiar w SEM.

My parents were saved in the Assembly under the ministry of Roberto Martinez, son of Domingo Martinez, in NYC.



.

Had dinner with Bobby as I know him Sunday.

[Hoovie]

Spanish Evangelism Ministries... yes. I just did not recall the acronym.

[johnny44]

Originally Posted by johnny44

Had dinner with Bobby as I know him Sunday.

OOPS it was Saturday.

[johnny44]

Originally Posted by johnny44

OOPS it was Saturday.

WOW!!!! My age is realing showing,it was Sunday.

[timlan2057]

Actually, the thread-starter has somewhat of a point to bring up race in terms of church size--at least in the UPC south and maybe elsewhere.

I've been there, heard that, done that and got the t-shirt as far as hearing from some preachers, pastors and other folks that a "big church" doesn't count if it ain't white folks that, in their perception, have some sense or count for something.

I probably wouldn't be too credible if I started being anecdotal, but Kenneth Phillips made the point behind a Texas Campmeeting pulpit.

This was back in the early seventies and while he was preaching, he was referring to C. W. Shew's bus ministry in Ft. Worth that was bringing people in by the hundreds.

Phillips said he heard the talk over plates of food in restaurants after campmeetings and conferences and he quoted the general feeling of a lot of the Texas District and elsewhere: "Sure, Shew's got a big Sunday School, but they're all niggers."

The qualifier said it all.

I can see some folks, especially in this modern day Western District and elsewhere in the UPC, saying much the same about this guy's church.

"Yeah, he's got a big Sunday School, but they're all illegals," or something to that effect.

So discussing UPC folks' attitude toward race with regard to big Sunday schools or churches is not without precedent, and not without relevance.

[pelathais]

Originally Posted by timlan2057

Actually, the thread-starter has somewhat of a point to bring up race in terms of church size--at least in the UPC south and maybe elsewhere.

I've been there, heard that, done that and got the t-shirt as far as hearing from some preachers, pastors and other folks that a "big church" doesn't count if it ain't white folks that, in their perception, have some sense or count for something.

I probably wouldn't be too credible if I started being anecdotal, but Kenneth Phillips made the point behind a Texas Campmeeting pulpit.

This was back in the early seventies and while he was preaching, he was referring to C. W. Shew's bus ministry in Ft. Worth that was bringing people in by the hundreds.

Phillips said he heard the talk over plates of food in restaurants after campmeetings and conferences and he quoted the general feeling of a lot of the Texas District and elsewhere: "Sure, Shew's got a big Sunday School, but they're all niggers."

The qualifier said it all.

I can see some folks, especially in this modern day Western District and elsewhere in the UPC, saying much the same about this guy's church.

"Yeah, he's got a big Sunday School, but they're all illegals," or something to that effect.

So discussing UPC folks' attitude toward race with regard to big Sunday schools or churches is not without precedent, and not without relevance.

Racism is an ugly legacy - a human legacy that reached across every ethnicity and tainted every kindred, tribe, tongue and people.

The true measure of success is in how one rises above this "heritage." By stooping to the same level as the past shame with race baiting and slamming "white people" as someone else had done in an earlier post, thee past isn't allowed to be "the past."

Do we really want to live in a society where 70 - 80 percent of the people are constantly vilified for no fault of their own?

[oletime]

yep get thata big brush out and start paintin !