Covenant News

Sunday Service to Celebrate La Vina (CA) Ministry

KERMAN, CA (November 20, 2003) - The transition of La Vina del Senor as a ministry of Kerman Covenant Church to a church plant as part of the Pacific Southwest Conference (PSWC) of the Evangelical Covenant Church will be celebrated during a special Ohana service this coming Sunday.

The new church, with Michael Jordan as pastor, will be known as La Vina Covenant Church effective December 1, according to Dan Shelton, senior pastor of Kerman Covenant.

Ohana is a word for "family." Borrowing a line from the movie Lilo and Stitch - "Ohana means family and family means nobody gets left behind" - Shelton said the service is being planned "so that nobody will get left behind due to culture or language in the worship service." A Luau celebration luncheon will follow the worship service, sponsored by Team Ohana, a multi-cultural task group comprised of representatives from both congregations.

La Vina has been an active ministry of Kerman Covenant for the past three years, Shelton observed. Jordan, a former short-term missionary to Mexico, started the ministry as an outreach to migrant Hispanic farm workers by visiting the local laundromat on Sunday mornings. A need to provide ongoing ministry to the resident Spanish speaking Hispanic community soon became apparent and La Vina del Senor was born. Over the past three years, La Vina has been worshipping in the Christian education building on the campus of Kerman Covenant. Effective January 4, La Vina will begin using the main worship center at Kerman Covenant.

"When Walter Contreras and Wayne Carlson came to our Council to present the process of La Vina being planted as a church, the Spirit moved in the room," Shelton recalled. "I wasn't expecting it, Walter and Wayne were not expecting it, the leadership of La Vina were not expecting it and our Council was not expecting it. Toward the end of the meeting, church chair Bill Otto called for a vote of the Council to enter into an agreement with La Vina and the PSWC to plant La Vina as a church.

"After a unanimous approval, you could feel the Spirit being unleashed in the room," Shelton continued. "It felt like chains that were binding both congregations were shattered and the flood gates of heaven opened up into the room. Otto, a raisin farmer, shared that he came to the meeting extremely tired. It was the harvest time and he had been working extremely long days. During the meeting, he felt something come over him and enliven him with energy. He had not planned on calling for a vote at the start of the meeting, but by the end of the meeting, he was moved to do so."

The planting process has not been easy, Shelton says, noting that at times cultural differences produce anxiety and conflict between the two congregations. "As these areas of anxiety and conflict are worked through, both congregations grow in their understanding of what it means to live their Christian journey," Shelton stresses. "At one point a year ago, it was almost decided to bring an end to the ministry and focus the funds elsewhere in the budget. A year later, we are planting a church! I'm not even sure if using the word 'plant' is the proper terminology. 'Prune and plant' would be more accurate.

Raisin vineyards are a centerpiece of Kerman life. "For growth to occur and fruit to be produced, the vines have to be pruned back each year - new vines can be created from these cuttings," Shelton notes in drawing an analogy to the church planting effort. "The planting of La Vina is similar to this process. We are pruning one of the vines of ministry of Kerman Covenant and planting it in the fertile ground of the community to produce more fruit in God's kingdom - both from Kerman Covenant's vine and from La Vina's vine."

Kerman is a small town located west of Fresno with a population of 10,000 and growing. "For a congregation in a rural community - one that has experienced a depressed economy over the past few years due to low agricultural prices - to decide to plant a church is almost unheard of," Shelton observed. "But we are doing it. We are doing it to build God's kingdom. By planting La Vina, God's kingdom will grow . . . as La Vina reaches out to the Spanish-speaking residents of Kerman."

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