In a time when debates are raging in the U.S. over building fences and strengthening the border lines that divide nations, the Church of the Nazarene is compelled to cross borders with the gospel message and bring unity. Church leaders from the Mexico/Central America (MAC) Region, USA/Canada Mission Strategy, and the World Mission Department met from May 15 to 18 in Monterrey, Mexico to launch an initiative for the border of the U.S. and Mexico.

The border between the neighboring countries is 3,152 kilometers (1,900 miles) long, from Monument 258 northeast of Tijuana, Mexico to the mouth of the Rio Grande into the Gulf of Mexico. The border states in northern Mexico are: Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas. The U.S.'s southern border states include: California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas.

The purpose of the Border Initiative is to mobilize the Church of the Nazarene in northern Mexico and the U.S. Southwest to give special attention to the border area of both countries, and accomplish the following:

• Promote growth and development of the existing churches on both sides of the border
• Reach new towns and cities on both sides of the border and establish new missions
• Discover and develop volunteer leaders who accept the challenge to go and establish new missions
• Discover and develop leaders at all levels: Laypeople, pastors, missionaries, etc.
• Channel support groups, ministry teams, and resources from Mexico and the U.S. within the structure of the Church of the Nazarene.
• Establish links between the border districts to resolve issues they face in their related contexts

As a result of these partnership initiatives, Nazarene leadership envisions churches multiplying with new Nazarenes, new churches, and new decentralized centers of theological education.

--Ron and Laura Sylvester for NCN News-MAC