Come to Tierra Nueva’s School of Transformational Ministry: Going Deeper—Word, Spirit, and Street
Dates: Friday, May 1 at 6:00pm – Friday, May 22 at 10:00pm
Here at Tierra Nueva we are seeking the Gospel that has the power to save people on the margins and mainstream of society from powers that oppress. We have been ministering among poor peasants in Honduras since 1982 and working with immigrants, inmates, ex-offenders and gang members in Washington’s Skagit Valley since 1994. Learn about particular challenges and approaches to sharing the Good News of God’s transformational love in Jesus with marginalized people in North America. Join Tierra Nueva’s ministry workers and worshipping community for three weeks focused on experiencing God’s transforming love, following Jesus, and participating in the Kingdom of God here and now. Live together with others in a lush forest alongside the Skagit River at New Earth Refuge—a beautiful new retreat center on the Ekblad’s 35 acre property. Join us in a new move of the Holy Spirit to bring together orientations that are too often kept separate in the body of Christ: word, spirit and street.
Word
How do we read the Bible with all our questions, integrating both head and heart? What does it look like to read the Bible with people who consider themselves damned? Who is Jesus and how did he come to fulfill the Old Testament? What was his ministry in his context and what might that look like in today’s world? Explore Biblical perspectives on salvation, healing, and deliverance, as well as advocacy, peace-making/reconciliation, forgiveness and prophetic ministry.
Spirit
Enter into a deeper encounter with God through immersion in the Holy Spirit. Spend quality time in worship, contemplative prayer, and soaking prayer as the wellspring of daily activity. Receive God’s love and liberation for yourself and learn how to flow in the grace and power of the Spirit. What are the gifts of the Spirit? How do gifts awakened by the Spirit guide us in life and ministry, into hearing from God and entering the Kingdom? How does the Holy Spirit guide our theological reflection and Scripture reading? Special emphasis will be placed on learning how to hear the voice of God for personal direction, healing and deliverance, group discernment, and local, national and global social issues.
Street
Learn about the streets and the margins, with a special focus on Tierra Nueva’s context. What are some of the burning social issues of our time that affect people on the margins? Meet farm workers, ex-offenders, gang members, judges, prosecutors, public defenders and others who work with people on the margins of American society. Learn about social advocacy from Tierra Nueva ministry workers who work with ex-offenders, gang members and immigrants. Visit courts and migrant camps. Read and discuss books and watch provocative films.
Schedule and Themes
The journey begins on Friday, May 1 at 6:00 pm with introductions, worship, teaching and prayer. On Sunday morning we will join the 16th Annual Farm Worker Solidarity March, walking with farm laborers and advocates from Burlington to Mount Vernon. In the evening we will eat and worship together at Tierra Nueva’s bilingual service. Each day following will begin with worship, followed by morning sessions on key topics relating to our themes of Word, Spirit and Street. Afternoon sessions will vary between hearing from judges, gang members, farm workers and TN community members regarding aspects of advocacy and accompaniment of people on the margins. There will be many opportunities to receive prayer ministry. There will also be opportunities for quiet time, recreation and celebration. Topics covered throughout the course include:
History, Vision & Mission of Tierra Nueva
Knowing the God of love and experiencing God’s Spirit of adoption
The Ministry of Jesus and the Kingdom of God
Understanding Baptism and Christian identity & authority
The gifts of the Spirit & the five-fold ministries
Cosmology 101: The problem of evil and Jesus’ cross
Developing a real-world (contextual) theology appropriate to the margins
Poverty and social marginalization North and South
Sustainable development, relief and accompaniment
Developing a Biblical understanding of prophetic ministry in personal ministry and social engagement
Being Guided by the Spirit in Ministry
Developing and leading contextual Bible Studies
Faith Formation and leading not-yet-believing people into a living relationship with God
Faith formation for people on the margins
Healing Prayer
Facilitating deliverance from powers that oppress
Christian non-violence
Pastoral Ministry and spiritual accompaniment
Understanding the legal system, advocacy & accompaniment
Advocacy before other government institutions & the social welfare system
Prophetic Evangelism
Preventative health & self-care: hygiene, nutrition and exercise
Required Reading (ideally before arriving)
Bob Ekblad, Reading the Bible with the Damned, Westminster John Knox: Louisville, 2005.
Heidi Baker and Shara Pradhan, Compelled by Love: How to change the world through the simple power of love in action, (Mary Lake: Charisma House, 2008).
Brad Jersak, Can You Hear Me? Tuning in to the God who speaks, (Abbotsford: Fresh Wind, 2003).
Charles .H. Kraft, Deep Wounds, Deep Healing, (Tonbridge, Kent: Sovereign World, 1993).
Fees (partial scholarships may be available)
Tuition $600
Accommodation $340
Food $460
Total $1400
If you have questions or are interested in applying please contact us at
Check for more information soon at www.bobekblad.com or www.tierra-nueva.org
will pray about the school. There are elements to be covered that attract me, and could really equip me for the work I do as a missionary nurse.
But having just returned from the coast of Oaxaca, I forgot you were here. I am dealing with one particular issue that is glaring at me, and weighing on my heart.
That is the effects of “casarse por fuerza” among the Mixteco peoples. We have a group of believers with whom we serve , that have attended our Bible School, and whom we consider friends. I am recognizing more and more the presence of deep emotional scars among the believing women which I believe is likely related to the history of domestic violence and the violation that is recognized as “marriage”. And I wonder about the men, the husbands that have been raised in the culture.
To know of my background check out my blog. http://heartsforMexico.blogspot.com
Leeann Kelley R.N.