Spent an hour or so this morning with Beatriz Skippen who is forming a Spanish-speaking Christian community with the Uniting Church in Australia. Beatriz herself is a Spanish-speaking, Portugese-speaking and Italian-speaking native of Argentina. She has a background in church planting both in Latin America and Victoria, Australia.
It’s early days still. Beatriz and her family are gathering a team around them as they build connections with the Spanish-speaking communities of Brisbane. They’re negotiating a venue with one of the Uniting Church congregations of inner city Brisbane.
It’s fascinating to explore the need for both attractional and incarnational approaches to Christian community here. Many Spanish-speaking people come from a Catholic background and thus look for the feel of traditional church while hungering for a personal and passionate experience of God expressesed in community.
We talked about the need to inject life into the Spanish community here. We’re talking about the Spanish clubs, the soccer scene, and the festivities linked with events such as Argentinian independence.
The Uniting Church can offer a unique niche ministry alongside our partners in the Catholic and Pentecostal traditions. Hopefully soon I’ll be able to provide a link to the new web site. In the meantime it’s a matter of prayer, training and resourcing.
be interested in reading more about this over time.