More than 150 educators and leaders representing Church of God International and national offices, Church of God Hispanic Ministries, and Hispanic regions convened August 2-3. The two-day event was hosted by Southwest Hispanic Region Administrative Bishop, Samuel and Yvette Santana. The sessions were rich with challenging and sound presentations that encouraged dialogue on how the Hispanic Church of God can contribute to the denomination’s Christian education programs and give consideration to its history, the present and future.
Plenary sessions were highly participatory and followed with attendees divided into breakout groups for discussion and exchange on main points and a submission of their conversations. The event concluded with the reading of the Strategic Declaration of FIEL 2017 and the approval of all participants responded with a strong “Amen.”
Reflecting on the event, Dr. David Ramírez, Third Assistant General Overseer and Division of Education Director, stated, “The Church of God is blessed to have Latino leadership that is dedicated to increasing theological understanding for all generations through the development of resources, implementation of innovative concepts, and the offering of contemporary learning opportunities in Biblical training and ministry callings, which advance the FINISH Commitment to fulfill the Great Commission.”
Ramirez concluded by saying, “Congratulations to Dr. De Jesús, USAMEH Advisory Board and FIEL 2017 Program Committee for an excellent event.”