My name is Guillermo "Willie" Berman. I am the Volunteers in Mission (VIM) Coordinator for the Eastern Conference of the Methodist Church of Mexico (GBGM Advance #014314) that covers the states of Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Coahuila, parts of San Luis Potosi and Veracruz. This conference borders Texas on the North and the Gulf of Mexico on the East. I live in Reynosa, Mexico, across the border from McAllen, TX, where I serve as a Pastor of the Iglesia Metodista Pueblo de Dios, which is also a VIM dorm facility for visiting teams. I am married to Veronica for ten years and we have two children. Marla who is eight years old and Alejandro who is four.
In 2003, we received over 120 UMVIM or other mission groups from over 16 states in the U.S. I work with teams in an effort to coordinate their visit to our conference to meet the priorities of the Methodist Church of Mexico as well as accomplish the goals of their mission according to the skills, gifts, talents and financial resources each brings to offer. I am a member of the Methodist Border Friendship Commission (MBFC) which supports mission and ministry of the Methodist Church on both sides of the US/Mexico border.
The following are the objectives for the VIM Program of the Eastern Conference of the Methodist Church of Mexico:
- To set up a structure to not only host and receive VIM teams, but to send them as well.
- To use the efforts of the visiting construction teams to improve our church facilities, i.e. classrooms, churches, parsonages. This includes building new facilities where needs have been identified and approved by appropriate church authorities.
- To promote the VIM Program within the Eastern Conference of the Methodist Church of Mexico.
- To assist each Mexican Methodist Church with the development of social programs as ministries of the Church in the surrounding community and coordinate the resources that the UMVIM/PIM Teams bring with them and others contributing to our ministries. Some of these ministries include breakfast/lunch programs, day-care centers, after-school classes, community libraries and computer labs, medical clinics, adult education classes (carpentry, sewing, English classes, literacy, computer, etc.)
All of these objectives promote the building up of the Church, making them a vital part of the community in which they exist…a place where people in the community come for worship, fellowship, learning and service.
The VIM Program of the Eastern Conference of Mexico is a GBGM Advance Special #14314A. The position of VIM Coordinator, Eastern Conference of Mexico is a position supported through the Global Mission Partners program of the General Board of Global Ministries #00440L.
Please feel free to contact Willie at
wberman@prodigy.net.mx.
