Pastors Ezequiel Santiago and Karina Altamirano of the Vision Central Church of the Nazarene in La Chigulera, Oaxaca, Mexico, felt God's call to minister to the children of their community. 

In 2021, they began pastoring the Vision Central Church and quickly noticed the many needs of the children from the nearby communities where they ministered.

The pastors, along with a team of members, decided to begin hosting Vacation Bible Schools, which were well received by the community. The team provided breakfast, taught Bible stories, and gave singing lessons on Saturday mornings.

The team continues to share the Bible through games and entertaining activities with the goal of teaching children about God's love while encouraging them to experience Jesus in their life. On Saturdays, they host a group of 15 to 20 children for breakfast, including a time of Communion at the table.

“Working with children has been both a blessing and a challenge, as children are growing and absorb both the good and the bad,” said Belem Luis Santana, who is part of the children's ministry at Vision Central. “That God uses us to sow the word in their hearts is a great responsibility and blessing. At Vision Central, we are very grateful for being instruments in the hands of the Lord.”

In December, a special event was held when 24 children were blessed by members of Vision Central and members of Etla Church of the Nazarene. They came together to share breakfast, Bible teaching, and toys with the children.

Abi Luna Brena, children's teacher and collaborator at Nazarene Compassionate Ministries in Etla, said she was very grateful to God for the opportunity to teach, share, and serve so that children learn about His kingdom.

As the Etla compassion group prepared to go to Vision Central, Brena said everyone was happy to help since Vision Central is a newly formed church that is full of enthusiasm to serve the community.

"I had to share the Word with the children,” Brena said. “The class was about the story of Simeon... It was fantastic to see their faces when they heard this story that they had never heard before. We talked about how we feel when someone says bad things about us, and we also talked about how beautiful it is to receive a powerful blessing. We prayed for them, and that day we blessed them as our children. I cannot describe what we felt when we saw the little ones receive those blessings. It was beautiful!”

The pastors of Vision Central believe the vision they received from God is clear and goes beyond what they have accomplished with the children of their community so far. 

“The vision we have with this project is that children and their families know Jesus and be saved,” said Pastor Santiago. “This year, we also want to form a more professional choir so we can present ourselves in different parts of the community and evangelize through the choir.”

--Church of the Nazarene Mesoamerica