A Chance for Growth in Mexico

A 60-hour drive isn’t the most pleasant experience. But when four staffers from the Universidad Cristiana de Mexico (UCM) drove that round trip last November from Mexico City to Lexington, Kentucky, and back again, they made the most of it. When the UCM team showed up to exhibit at the International Conference on Missions, they had no idea they’d become the talk of the convention.

The staffers were attending their first ICOM to help spread the word about their ministry. They accomplished that mission and then some.

This year at ICOM, CDF Capital offered a $2,000 donation to the Christian college or campus ministry that accumulated the most votes at our booth in the conventional hall.

 

Although there were dozens of colleges and campus ministries represented at the convention, with some hosting hundreds of alumni, the small contingency of UCM staffers used their persuasive efforts to convince hundreds of people to support their cause.

At the end of the week, UCM prevailed as the winner, amassing nearly double the votes of the second-place college.

When asked how the school will utilize the money, Joshua Nunez, the campus minister, told about a pressing need. “The school has been trying to import a 15-passenger van that has been donated to us. It’s sitting at the U.S./Mexico border, but is sitting at the border waiting to be imported.”

Formerly the Instituto Bíblico Nacional (National Bible Institute), UCM is a Bible college that was started in 1974. The school receives major support from the Workers for Mexico Christian Mission, an outgrowth of the missionary work of Clinton Looney, who started ministering in the country in 1961. Due to low enrollment, the school was forced to close for a few years but reopened in 2012. Four years later, the school has 37 on-campus undergraduate students, 12 graduate students, and over 700 students who study by extension. At the end of this academic year, UCM will graduate its first group of students since reopening.

Part of the educational experience at UCM is a summer evangelistic tour of churches throughout Mexico. The Bible college students encourage congregations and participate in leading worship and singing. Last fall at UCM has saw almost 800 in extension and 37 living on campus in the various programs of study in training to serve the Lord.

CDF Capital President, Dusty Rubeck, met the UCM staffers at the convention and expressed excitement for their work. “It is a privilege see how CDF Capital’s partnership at ICOM has affected transformation across the U.S border for UCM. God works in miraculous ways, and we are very eager to see how God will use this gift to bring greater Kingdom and educational impact at UCM.”

We at CDF Capital hope we made their long ride back to campus a little more enjoyable.

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