On Sunday, August 31, a new chapter began in the life of Mosaic when we formally enfolded an entire church into our body. On that day, more than 100 Latinos (including two full-time pastors) - formerly, the people of Iglesia Nazareno del Samaritano - committed to walk, work and worship together as one with us in the years ahead to the glory of God and in order to advance His kingdom, on earth as it is in heaven!
Here's a few quick facts ...
1. Iglesia Nazareno del Samaritano was established by Pastor Osmani Silva in the summer of 2001. It is today one of the two most long-standing, respected and effective churches evangelizing and discipling first generation Latinos in Central Arkansas.
2. Together with his worship pastor, Jorge Bazan, Pastor Silva is coming with approximately 100 members to unite as one with the people and passion of Mosaic.
3. In addition, the church has established two mission churches in Mexico, and is currently planting one in Stuttgart. These, too, are now part of the Mosaic family!
4. The church’s worship team, Grupo Samaritano, is well-known in Latino churches throughout the south, and travels with Pastor Silva conducting church services, revivals and seminars. To date they have recorded five CDs.
5. Pastor Silva and his wife, Alison, have been married since 1997. Pastor Bazan and his wife, Diana, have been married since 2002.
Concerning the merger, Pastor Silva recently commented, “I am so excited to now be working together with the brothers and sisters of Mosaic in order to grow the Kingdom of God and to win more souls to Christ.”
So just like that, Mosaic now offers three worship services and one venue on Sundays as follow ...
9 am (1st Service) - English (with music directed by James Wafford III);
10:45 am (2nd Service) - English to Spanish and ASL (with music directed by James Wafford III)
12:30 pm (Venue Samaritano) - Spanish (with music directed by Jorge Bazan)
6:00 pm (3rd Service) - Spanish to English (with music directed by Jorge Bazan)
Now what's the difference between a service and a venue? Services at Mosaic feature the same message whereas the message delivered at the afternoon venue is entirely different. In addition, the venue exists primarily for the purpose of evangelism among the growing 1st generation Latino population within Central Arkansas.
Finally, here's a few thoughts re. what it is and what it's not ...
What It Is
1. It is an official merger between Iglesia Nazareno del Samaritano and the Mosaic Church of Central Arkansas whereby from now on, we will all be known as the Mosaic Church of Central Arkansas.
2. It is an opportunity for expanded, more effective evangelism of first generation Latinos via Mosaic.
3. It is an opportunity for expanded, more effective discipleship of Latino young people, i.e., second and third generation Latinos, via Mosaic.
What It’s Not
1. It is (we are) not two churches under one roof. We are one church with multiple service and venue options.
2. It does not in anyway change our DNA. Rather, it eliminates a barrier we unintentionally established through the years, namely one that made it difficult for many first generation Latinos to find Christ and/or a church home with us at Mosaic.
3. It is not an exclusive or intentional segregation of people by ethnic heritage or language, etc. Anyone and everyone is welcome to attend any of Mosaic’s worship services or venue options! In fact, Mosaic’s unable to attend morning services for one reason or another in the future, will be encouraged to attend at our new 6:00 p.m. service – a service in which, though the music will be different, the morning’s message will be repeated or otherwise generally taught (same passage and principles) by a different teaching pastor. In addition to worship, the 2:00 pm venue and the 6:00 pm service will provide ongoing opportunites for those wishing to learn Spanish to interact with others in an environment of immersion.
Long-term, we believe that a balanced diet of service and venue options will lead to increased understanding, relational development, cross-cultural competency, purposeful interaction, co-laboring within the church for the sake of the Gospel, and seamless interaction among all who call themselves Mosaics!
Dr. Warren Bird recently wrote to ask and address the question, What Have You Learned About Launching an Ethnic or Multi-cultural Site. Re. the coming integration of the local church, here's, in part, what he said:
"What's your sense between multi-ethnic churches and multi-ethnic campuses of multi-site churches? Which is more likely to take the lead, and why?
"My prediction is that it will happen through mergers. Our multi-site survey also asked, 'Have you used your multi-site approach to assist (or take responsibility for) a declining church?' Of 197 churches that replied to this question, 30% said yes, plus 10% more said, 'No, but we plan to in the future.' I think those mergers will open the way to more multi-ethnic congregations."
I agree with Warren; and through our recentl experience at Mosaic, we hope to both inspire and inform other local church pastors interested in merging churches in pursuit of the multi-ethnic vision. If you're interested, just let me know.
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