As you cross the border, the contrast is immediately noticeable between San Diego (also known as “America’s Finest City”) and Tijuana, Mexico. In minutes one can cross into Tijuana, but on the opposite side of the road, long lines of traffic may wait up to several hours to cross into the United States. You might wonder how two countries can have such radically different socio-economic conditions and be next-door neighbors. The answer isn’t simple, and even attempting to start a ministry in Tijuana proves challenging.
In this over-crowded city, there are more than 2 million people officially (and 3 million unofficially) who live in one of Tijuana’s 998 colonias (communities), and only 3 or 4% claim to be Christians. Tijuana is a city with a mass volume of people, many socio-economic needs, and a lack of churches to reach them all.
The need for physical and spiritual provisions is what prompted the San Diego Southern Baptist Association (SDSBA) to take action and minister in Tijuana. Dwight Simpson, SDSBA Director of Missions, explained that when the association first began working in Tijuana they felt they needed to understand why there was such a lack of evangelical presence despite all of the ministry that had been done. After talking with Tijuana city officials and people on the street, they discovered the problem was that many groups came in temporarily, held an event, and left; no one stayed behind.
“We realized that to have meaningful impact, we were going to have to establish a ministry presence for an extended period of time to create credibility. This is the reason behind why the SDSBA heavily invested in benevolence ministries in the beginning. We did various ministry events just to be taken seriously and let them know we’re here to stay.”
Initially, the focus was humanitarian aide, but after hiring Juvenal Gonzalez, a missionary of the SDSBA, the approach became more holistic, adding church starting, church strengthening, and leadership development. Gonzalez primarily focuses on church starting; currently there are 20 churches in Tijuana, with a goal of starting at least seven more this year. When starting a church, many people might begin by finding a church building, but Juvenal encourages church planters to think beyond bricks and mortar.
“We’re not here to build buildings, we’re here to start churches…buildings aren’t the first priority, the people are.”
To create awareness and develop interest for a new church within a colonia, Juvenal and his wife Maria often hold a children’s program to reach out to families. During these initial community events, Juvenal identifies a person of peace to host future home Bible studies. The church begins as this type of study to alleviate conflicts of religion and background. Juvenal says residents with Catholic backgrounds are more receptive to an invitation to study the Bible in a small group than to come to church.
One of the greatest challenges when starting a house study is finding a leader. Many adults work long hours or multiple jobs to make ends meet and few have any ministry experience. Training sessions are held once a year to help prepare leaders, but this is often the only instruction they receive. Although there is the option of bringing in people from outside of the city, Gonzalez finds it important to find leaders within the communities.
“We have a lot of locations for missions, but not enough leaders. God has enough people in Tijuana, they just need to rise up.”
While there is a need for long-term leaders within Tijuana for church plants, there is also a need for short-term workers and volunteers to help both new and established churches. As Dwight Simpson, SDSBA Director of Missions, clearly states, “These churches need help.”
In next month’s edition of Merge, look for Inside Insight: Ideas & Tips for Ministering in Tijuana, which will help you and your church understand how you can partner in Tijuana.
