Tutor Immigrant Youth

“I just need to say thanks,” said Peter, age 15, expressing his gratitude to Nueva Vida (New Life) ministry for blessing his life. Peter is one of nearly 20 youths aged 7-18 who had been living in Guatemala with extended family for years after their parents came to America looking for work opportunities. With the help of Nueva Vida, the children were reunited with their parents in Holton, Kan., just before the 2014-15 school year.

Evangel United Methodist Church in Holton began Nueva Vida in 2008 to help meet the needs of their Latino neighbors by providing translation and transportation assistance, helping with health care and legal concerns as well as other support services.

After helping to reunite several families, Nueva Vida identified another need: The kids were enrolled in public school, some for the first time ever, and none spoke English.

Seeing the challenge facing these students, Nueva Vida pastor, Hector Sanchez, approached EUMC about expanding the ministry’s role to address educational needs. The church, with 350 in regular attendance, was supportive and ready to help.

Pastor Sanchez formed an educational team within Nueva Vida, recruiting both adult and teen volunteers to teach English as a second language (ESL) in an after-school tutoring program, which included homework assistance. Along with many others, high school student Peter took full advantage of the help offered.

“Peter is very faithful in attending the ESL tutorial and works very hard,” says ministry chair Jennifer Pappas. “He made the school’s honor roll in the first semester.”

With the success of the program, higher education is now an option for some of its students and Nueva Vida hopes to offer scholarship assistance in the future.

“These are young kids like any others,” says Pappas, “with unlimited possibilities.”

Rebekah Hurst
Rebekah Hurst

Rebekah Hurst is a freelance photojournalist and a former reporter for the Manchester Times. She and her husband, David, live in Manchester, Tenn., and have been blessed with two amazing daughters. They enjoy sharing in fellowship and ministry with their First Baptist Church family.

When We Enter the Present Heaven, Will We Have Physical Forms as We Await Resurrection?

If we will indeed have an intermediate physical form immediately after we die, it’s critical we realize this would in no way make our eventual resurrection unnecessary or redundant.

When Bigger Isn’t Better

All kinds of churches will reach all kinds of people that your current church is not reaching. Bigger is not better. More is better.

The Next Level: A Snapshot of Church Multiplication Trends

Seventeen percent of churches say they were directly or substantially involved in a church plant that opened in the last three years.