June 16, 2008 issue
Hispanic church plant fulfills a dream in Newton, Kan.
By Laurie Oswald Robinson Mennonite Church USAPage:
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NEWTON, Kan. — For years, Rosa Flores searched for someone who could begin a Spanish-speaking Mennonite church in the Newton area. It wasn’t until she recognized herself as that person that the dream came true.
Norma Stoltzfus, left, and Rosa Flores enjoy fellowship during a weekly Bible study at Inglesia Menonita Casa Betania, a new Spanish-speaking church plant in Newton, Kan. — Photo by Laurie Oswald Robinson/MC USA
Flores supported her husband, Gilberto, in his leadership roles within Mennonite Church USA after they moved from Guatemala to Kansas in the mid-1990s.
All the while, she also dreamed of worshiping in her native language, Spanish, with other Latinos who hungered for the same in a Mennonite setting.
One day it was Gilberto Flores’ turn to support her leadership gifts as he challenged her to step out in faith to do what she dreamed of others doing.
She eventually became one of the founders of a new Newton church plant, Iglesia Menonita Casa Betania (Bethany House Mennonite Church), which held its inaugural Sunday service March 30.
“There are Spanish-speaking churches in the community, and I’d gone to each one,” said Flores, a member of First Mennonite Church in Newton. “But none of them felt like mine. I had been a Mennonite for more than 30 years, and I wanted to worship in Spanish where it felt like I belonged… .
“I talked a lot with Gilberto about this. Finally he said, ‘You have to just start, Rosa. You can’t wait for someone else to do it.’ ”
Flores discussed the idea with her friend and work supervisor, Norma Stoltzfus, a Mennonite who moved from Puerto Rico to Kansas 33 years ago.
Like Flores, she explored many worship options, including Spanish-speaking Nazarene and Presbyterian congregations before she became a member of Whitestone Mennonite Church in Hesston.
“Though I was really involved at Whitestone and it was a good place for me, I felt God calling me to join Rosa,” Stoltzfus said. “She needed someone to believe with her that God would move this thing if we were faithful.”
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