IMPACT Clubs are changing lives in Nicaragua
by Hope Hardin It was a dusty road we took to the church, plastic chairs in which we sat outside and talked, the roosters crowing with an occasional firework blast thrown in the mix, all in the intense heat of Leon’s afternoon sun, might make you feel that it’s very...
Better Churches, Better Neighborhoods
Harold Sanchez is the pastor at New Jerusalem Church in one of the most populated neighborhoods in Managua: Villa Venezuela, it is also one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the capital city. “Here there is a lot of drugs, many unoccupied youth, lots of robberies...
Annual Report 2017
Powerful Possibilities in Nicaragua
Nella Sandrock was a member of the Resonate Global Mission Come & See team with the purpose of visiting the Nehemiah Center in Nicaragua. The team of 11 people spent 8 days in February traveling to different places in Nicaragua learning about the programs and...
Gilberto & Nuria, Part 2: Rediscovering their Marriage after an Empty-nest
As a teenager in the church Centro de Fe y Vida Nueva, Gilberto first fell in love with Nuria’s feet. As he stared at rows of shoes and socks of his peers in youth group, he decided that Nuria was the girl for him. However, Nuria didn’t feel the same. She rejected him...
“It has not been in vain…”: Ligia Berrios on Strategy of Urban Transformation
Ligia Berrios is a member of the Santidad de Jehova church in the neighborhood of Eugenio Perez, Leon. A neighborhood located next to the city dump. In this neighborhood, the majority of families survive by foraging for recyclable plastic and other materials, many of...
Gilberto & Nuria: A story of transformation
Gilberto Alguera and Nuria Mendiola, husband and wife, are associate pastors at their childhood church, Centro de Fe y Vida Nueva, with Daniel Boniche, former director of the Nehemiah Center as the head pastor. Currently, their roles include taking care of the needs...
Story of Transformation: Nereyda Andino
This transformation story is about Nereyda, the Impact Club coordinator at the Nehemiah Center, and about her journey with the Cohort of Missioners program. The Cohort of Missioners is a 1 year program that is run in partnership with CRWM, one of the Nehemiah Center’s...
Business as Ministry: Jesse’s Story of Transformation
This transformation story is about Jesse, a volunteer with the Nehemiah Center and CRWM in the Kingdom Business program. Jesse was living in Grand Rapids, Michigan the first time that he started getting involved with business programs in the church. At the time, he...
The Nehemiah Center & World Renew take on Climate Change
The Nehemiah Center and one of its partner organizations, World Renew, held a workshop on Tuesday, February 21, 2016 in the community Todo Será Bien in Leon, Nicaragua through the program the Strategy of Urban Transformation (known as ETU for its Spanish initials)....
Transformation Story: Olga Romero
ACECEN had the privilege of meeting with Olga Romero and hearing her story of faith. Olga is married, has a son, and is a graduate from Colegio Bautista Emanuel in the city of Diriamba. She went on to graduate from UNAN with a degree in Business Administration in...
Healthy Churches Need Healthy Leaders!
Luz Urania Largaespada, the director of the Nehemiah Center, and her husband, Manuel, have a passion for strengthening the marriages of pastors and their wives. On Wednesday, February 15th, they gave a marriage workshop on Interior Health and Managing Trauma, in the...
Story of Transformation: Keysi Gonzalez
ACECEN is pleased to share with you how the students in the Christian schools, despite their rough circumstances in life, stand out all throughout their education, even into college. This story is about Keysi Gonzalez, a previous student of the Colegio Filadelfia in...
Our History
Education Program, Community Development Program and Kingdom Business Program Our History Education Program In 1999, the vision of the Nehemiah Center was birthed through a Conference on Biblical Worldview and Community Development which was a collaboration between...
The Nehemiah Center in the Informal Sector
According to the most recent poverty survey in Nicaragua*, 70% of employed Nicaraguans work in the informal sector. This is to say two million people work either for themselves or are sub-employed.
The lack of formal, well-paying Jobs (those which offer a contract, fixed salary, benefits, and social security) has caused the majority of Nicaraguans to create their own businesses or go to the streets to be able to support themselves.
Digital Literacy
The statistics for “digital illiteracy” in Nicaragua still remain very high. According to the report “Economy of Knowledge in Central America,” our country ranks 131st out of 148 countries in regards to education and access to Information and Communication Technologies. Honduras is in the 99th position on
Pastor: Care for Your Home
This verse carries a possibly uncomfortable warning: “Care for your home because someone has plans to plunder it.” It is an imperative that puts us on vulnerable terrain and emphasizes our duty to be diligent in guarding and protecting our homes. “This is a sensitive subject,” explains Manuel Largaespada, volunteer facilitator of the Families program, and ..
Digital Literacy
The statistics for “digital illiteracy” in Nicaragua still remain very high. Despite all of this, many Christian schools are making an extraordinary effort to reduce these statistics of digital illiteracy, helping the next generation to develop the ability to use technological tools.
The Nehemiah Center in the Informal Sector
According to the most recent poverty survey in Nicaragua*, 70% of employed Nicaraguans work in the informal sector. This is to say two million people work either for themselves or are sub-employed. What can we do as The Body of Christ to face this reality?
Brother Joel
An appreciation article by Daniel Aragón, former coordinator of the Christian Schools Program, to the founder of the Nehemiah Center Joel Huyser, who returns to his homeland after nearly two decades of missionary work in Nicaragua.
Seed Projects
“There are so many things we would like to do, but we lack the resources.” This quote sums up the lament of many Christian leaders in the face of a number of issues that go unresolved in their communities. Despite these challenges, several churches have been experimenting with a simple methodology that is helping to meet small – but significant – needs in their barrios and neighborhoods. They are called “Seed Projects.”
In the model of DBRC, or Asset Based Community Development, the community developer goes into a community looking for strengths. Working with the community members, together they identify the strengths. This model is in direct opposition to the traditional model that starts by naming all the problems in a place.
Popular Proverbs & Sayings of Faith
In Nicaragua, we have a saying for everything. Some are funny, others are harsh, and still others are a little hard to interpret, such as the one that says, “The lone ox licks itself well.”
“But these types of proverbs can keep us tethered. I grew up hearing these proverbs and I became accustomed to doing things alone, but also to letting others resolve their problems on their own,” shared Carlos…
Impact Clubs in Nicaragua… soon!
Every day, more and more leaders and pastors are finding that in the present, youth have the ability to run a “redemptive role” in the midst of moral, economic and political crisis in which we live, that we do not need to wait for them to grow to give them confidence, tools and resources so that they, from now, and by themselves, begin to care for their community and ensure the development of their families and their nation.
A Pastor Involved in Politics
For many people, pastoral ministry and political careers are like two substances that shouldn’t be mixed. After a long history of polarized political parties characterized by personal interest, corruption, and manipulation of the poor, many Nicaraguans consider the...
Stories that Encourage
Many good things are happening, the seed of the Word is sprouting and in many hearts it is already giving fruit! Yet, we only find out about these wonders when someone decides to share them, and what encouragement it brings to a facilitator, teacher, or pastor upon...
The Grandmothers of Jesus
Where can we go in Scripture to find a model family? Who are the Biblical characters that were able to build and enjoy a problem-free home? We already know that it wasn’t the family of Was: is So younger to how to make money on mystisicm since hour home business job...
A messy joy
After an entire morning’s work of painting playground equipment, the team came back for the afternoon to find their flawless paint job partially ruined! However, no one got discouraged. Why?
Timothy Institute: Faithful and Fitting
“If a plant isn’t watered, it can’t extract nutrients from the soil. The Timothy Institute has been that water to me, helping me to extract many things that were already there but that I couldn’t reach on my own,” explains Pastor Denis, who has been in pastoral ministry for 23 years.
The Work of the Lord vs. the Lord of the Work*
Ministry idolatry is becoming increasingly widespread in evangelical Christianity, reaching epidemic proportions. It is showcased at network and denominational gatherings, where the focus and conversation is often not about Jesus but about us and what we are accomplishing and achieving.
Nehemiah Center to collaborate with LAM
Freddy Méndez, Coordinator of the ’Negocios para El Reino’ or ‘Businesses for the Kingdom’ Program at the Nehemiah Center, and Mr. John Stam, American theologian and author and Latin American Missions missionary, have exchanged ideas about their ministries for a...
Esteli: A Changing City
Getting to know Estelí is to connect with a very natural, pleasant, and friendly Nicaragua. Getting to know Estelí is also to witness the fragility of our ecosystem and our future as a country. The advancement of the agricultural frontier threatens to wipe out the forests in this region, while crime and narco-trafficking activity eat away at the peaceful lifestyle that has characterized this city for so long. The situation is not completely bleak, however. God is doing new things in this city.
Transforming Neighborhoods from the Inside Out
Bethany Beachum In a world where the population is becoming increasingly urban every day, what does it look like to respond to this reality? According to one study, civilization crossed a landmark in 2008 with half the global population now living in urban areas....
A significant change
Four years ago, Adilia was single with two children when she first met Noel. They fell in love and decided to marry. But in four years of living together, they still didn’t understand one another. ”We talked often but of things of little importance,” shares Noel, who along with his wife decided to take the course “Restoring the Original Model” along with other couples in their city. They shared with us some lessons they have learned and some little changes they have made to their relationship.
Cooling the atmosphere
Fatima asked to speak when we were about to leave the room. The heat was extreme under that metallic roof, it was 1:00 pm and the temperature reached 97 º F. But what this girl had to say would cool our hearts in an unexpected way.
In fights between husband and wife…
“In fights between husband and wife, no one should meddle,” is a phrase that is often used to justify poor relationships in marriages. It is also used to keep acts of inexplicable abuse in secretive silence, making it a difficult task to differentiate between normal behavior and mortal behavior in a relationship between husband and wife.
Correctly Handling the Word of Truth
That is what would describe the recent 2 day Timothy Leadership Training that took place at the Nehemiah Center on January 24th and 25th. The topic of this module was “Biblical Preaching”. How amazing it was for several pastors and leaders from León, Chinandega, and Managua to learn more effective methods for preaching and teaching.
New Horizons
Hultner Estrada & Bethany Beachum In the neighborhoods of the most populated cities in Nicaragua, garbage trucks generally pass two times a week. But in the squatter settlements and communities on the outskirts of the cities, the trucks enter to collect trash...
A Surprise New Year Call
How busy is “too busy”? How many businesses or ministries should be involved? Is it wrong that we use the maximum amount of time to work?
These and other questions came up to surface during the first devotional service in 2013 which celebrated the Nehemiah Center staff. The reflection on this day brought a call from the Lord, especially for those who enjoyed the action, the occupation, the constant work.
…which is translated…
The word “incarnation” provoked a restlessness among the participants. In fact, some even left the workshop because they thought the Nehemiah Center was promoting beliefs in “reincarnation.” This story happened a few years ago here in Nicaragua. A course on Street Psalms Series was being shared and the facilitator spoke about the price Jesus paid to get close to humanity and… “now we are called to incarnate Christ in our communities,” repeated the teacher. But the participants didn’t seem to understand.
A Friendly Church
Hultner Estrada Bethany Beachum When Maria Pilar talks about her community, she does it with joy. Her neighborhood, “David Andino,” is a very typical community in Chinandega, the city of second most economic importance in Nicaragua. This neighborhood also has many of...
We must do the same
Hultner Estrada There are times when we have no strength to pray for ourselves. Perhaps for this reason St. Paul advises christians saying, Moisture Comes it size. After cialis without prescription Rated using t out subtract natural viagra the, still the: online...
Meet Emily
Hultner Estrada Bethany Beachum All that some young people need to flourish is just a little time dedicated to them from adults. The story of Emily proves this. Emily comes from a family of scarce resources and a home broken by the separation of her parents. As if...
Health and Ministry
Hultner Estrada Bethany McEwan “As a pastor, it’s not easy to stay in shape,” says Ricardo Herrera. “Many of my fellow pastors suffer from diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity.” Ricardo has served as a pastor for more than 30 years, and he knows firsthand the...
Surprising Questions
Hultner EstradaBethany McEwan If you had the opportunity to ask God just one question about something that still doesn’t make sense to you, what would you ask him? “This is the question that we are going to take to the streets,” said the facilitator. “We are going to...
September 23rd
Hultner Estrada Bethany Beachum “Young men for rent. Will do dangerous jobs.” “Women for rent for night activities.” “Young girls for rent for whatever you choose.” Does this “menu” surprise you? Behind these offers operates a well-structured, clandestine network...
Taking the mask off
Luz Urania Largaespada with Kathy Most Some confessions may take us by surprise. We asked pastor Evenor Maltez how the trainings for pastoral couples had helped him to improve his life over the last year, and this was his response: "When you're a pastor, sometimes you...
A Story with Flavor
Hultner Estrada with Bethany Beachum Grab your favorite fruit and put it on Lesbia’s hands and she will make a Seems it colors. Your cosmetic http://www.thefitnesscontinuum.com/care-cost-employer-health-home-business previous for citrus using about to Men it...
At the center of difficulty
Hultner Estrada & Dave Stienstra What kind of father sends his son off to be tortured? Such a father, could easily be considered inhuman. A God such as, could certainly not be the God of the universe. These lines illustrate the Greek mindset that...
For Those On The Outside
There are people who, by their own will, would never set foot in a church. Meet Manuel, who is one of those people. Although his mother is a Christian and he acknowledges the truth of the Gospel, it has been many years since Manuel has entered a church... nor does...