Christian and Ximena (pronounced (he MEN - a) came from Chile in 2003. They are gifted in the areas of worship, drama and youth. They serve at Iglesia el Faro in Lebanon. Christian and the worship team at Iglesia El Faro led worship during our 2005 district conference and they have ministered in several of our EFC churches. His greatest goal is to make worshippers of Jesus Christ, not just musicians. Christian and Ximena are expecting their second child in September.

Safwat and Nivin Attia
Son: Meyer
Pastor of Arabic Evangelical Church
in Brooklyn, NY
Financial Need: $2,000/mo.

Pastor Safwat ministers the Word and models servant leadership by helping immigrants and those new to this country with rides, help filling out paperwork, etc. He also serves at the Arab-American Friendship Center where bridges are being built to immigrants who come from Muslim backgrounds.

Hugo and Gissella Concha
Sons: Samuel, Lucas and Matteo
Associate Pastor of Visitation and
Discipleship at Iglesia El Faro, Lebanon, PA
Financial Need: $1000/mo.

Hugo was a pastor in Chile who had visited Lebanon, PA several years before. He and Gissella envisioned a Spanish-speaking church in that neighborhood. One day, back in Chile, someone shared a photo of a new church plant and the picture was taken on the steps of the building where they stayed while in Lebanon. Their vision had come to pass. After praying, they felt God urging them to immigrate to the U.S. and be part of this movement of planting churches in Spanish-speaking neighborhoods. Hugo is an associate pastor at Iglesia El Faro and is part of the planning team for a possible future church plant in Harrisburg. His main duties at El Faro are in the area of discipleship and training.

Ehab and Amy Melika
Sons: Daniel and Jon Mark
Co-pastor of Christ Evangelical Arabic
Church in Jersey City, NJ
Financial need: $1,500/ month

Ehab and his brother, Ashraf, are the co-pastors of this growing church in Jersey City, NJ. In addition to their work in Jersey City, their outreach spans an area from the NY Metro to the Middle East. There are ministries to the poor and church plants in Egypt that are being supervised and funded by the support of Pastor Ehab and brothers and sisters here in the U.S. Support for this congregation allows Ehab to multiply leaders not only in Jersey City, but in the Middle East.

Lorenzo and Betsy Meson
Jonathan and Tim
Pastor of Iglesia El Faro, Lebanon, PA
Financial Need: $600/mo.

Lorenzo came to Christ in Argentina when missionaries shared the gospel with him. His meat business became his first pulpit for sharing the gospel. Betsy’s father was one of the missionaries who discipled him. He and Betsy ministered in Argentina for 25 years before moving to the U.S. in 2000. Their ministries included churches, church plants, radio station ministry, camp, Christian School, and more. We evaluated them as church planters among Spanish-speaking people in central PA and Iglesia El Faro was born. Over the past year, over 40 people committed themselves to membership and they are intentionally following "Church with a Purpose" curriculum. A building was purchased in 2004 and a non-profit ministry arm called Hope for the City - Lebanon has been established. EFC of Hershey, Lancaster EFC, Lebanon Area EFC and Susquehanna EFC in Harrisburg are all regular supporters of the Mesons/Iglesia El Faro. A potential church plant in Harrisburg is being considered with Community EFC in Harrisburg. We also see future church plants coming out of El Faro to communities in Reading and Lancaster.

Joshua Lourdon
Hoboken EFC
Based in Brooklyn, NY
Hoboken, NJ

While attending Lancaster Bible College, Josh had the opportunity to go on two trips to NYC to visit a missions organization there. During his second trip he went to a Starbucks in the middle of Manhattan to pray and listen to God. It was then that he really sensed God drawing him to be an urban pastor and church planter.

Josh began exploring the idea of a church plant in Washington, DC. He first met with Dan Reeve, then other pastors and district staff. After discussions and much prayer, Josh felt the Lord leading him to move to New York City to work with a church there for a season. He will be working as a UTOPIA (Urban Target Outreach Project in America) missionary with Hoboken Evangelical Free Church in Hoboken, NJ. During his time there he will be responsible to start a youth group and train up leaders to sustain the group when the Lord leads Josh to his next season of ministry. Also, during this time he will be mentored by the Senior Pastor of this church and receive training in urban ministry and church planting.

After Josh completes his time in NYC, he hopes to move to Washington DC to plant a church.

Marcos and Colleen Solt
Daniel, Tim, Joshua and Caleb
Church Planter in the EDA
Financial Need: $600/mo.

This represents ministry funds to allow us to call and train a pastor for Iglesia de Fe and allow Marcos to move on to the next church plant.

Marcos and Ruth planted the Newark Church and now are in Allentown, PA. He is discipling several servant elders and preparing the church to become a full-status church this fall. We are praying for a pastor to work alongside of Marcos for a year or two who can take over the pastorate and allow Marcos to go to the next church plant.

Marcos is also a part of the National Hispanic Ministry Team and has worked to get credentialing opportunities clarified for Hispanic pastors.

Ron and Julia Tilley
Son: Keegan
UIM Missionary serving in Harrisburg, PA
Support need: $4151/mo.

Ron has been a missionary with the Urban Intercultural Mission since 1994. He has been a bridge builder for the EFCA to the African American community and serves on the task force for Biblical Diversity. He laid the groundwork for our church plant in downtown Baltimore.

For the past several years, Ron has been the executive director for Firm Foundation of PA, Inc. (see our section on Wholistic Minsitries). Firm Foundation focuses on rebuilding lives and thus renewing their community. The statistics of men in prison and men who are absent fathers are staggering. Firm Foundation offers transitional housing for men who are getting their lives together again, Proud Dads to help mentor men in relating to their children, job training programs, and employment services. Please check out the description of Firm Foundation and then check out their website.

Wayne and Cecilia Wong Po
Chinese Church Planters
Brooklyn, NY
Financial Need: $600/mo.

Wayne and Cecilia were married in 2004 and came to Brooklyn that same year to partner with ANACEFC and Second EFC in the planting of a Chinese congregation. Wayne grew up in Hong Kong and became a Christian in junior high school. He served as a music leader and elder before immigrating to Canada. There he became an assistant pastor in Vancouver and went on to help plant the Kamloops EFC while also taking undergraduate and seminary training from Prairie Bible Institute. Before coming to NY he was the pastor of Northeast Calgary EFC. Cecilia has served on staff at a church in Calgary before coming to NY. They love the Lord and the people of Brooklyn. They use ESL and tai-chi classes to draw people to the church.

Renee Young
UIM Missionary serving in Brooklyn, NY
Financial need: $1000/month

Renee has served as a missionary with the Urban Intercultural Mission since 1996. She has served churches and community-based ministries in Minneapolis, Brooklyn, NY, Denver, Baltimore, Washington, D.C. and now serves in Brooklyn NY. She works with lots of churches and ministry groups. This year, as the national coordinator of BUMP (Bridging Urban Missions Project – www.efca.org/bump), she’s facilitating a week-long urban missions experience for over 500 students in 8 cities. Renee also serves as the administrator for UTOPIA (Urban Target Outreach Project in America) which has placed over 25 urban missionaries in the NY Metro area in the past 7 years. She coordinates vision trips and, well, lots and lots of things to help promote urban ministry.