Our Sister Congregation in El Salvador
New Hope began its involvement with El Salvador in the late 1980's as we supported the missionary ministry of Rev. Dan Long during the Salvadoran civil war. Rev. Long put New Hope in contact with the Salvadoran Lutheran Sister Parish Program and in 1994 we were paired with the congregation of El Buen Pastor (The Good Shepherd) Lutheran Church in Usulután.
The congregation of El Buen Pastor, lead by Pastor Julio César Chávez Aguilar, serves Usulután and the surrounding rural communities of Llano El Coyol, Puerto Parada, La Peña, San Rafael Oriente, and Santa Elena.
New Hope has helped fund the following for the people of El Buen Pastor:
- an agricultural loan fund;
- materials to build chapels in the rural communities;
- over 600 student scholarships from 1997 to 2008;
- a shrimp farm that provides income and employment for the people;
- a pick-up truck and repairs;
- fertilizer to replace crops lost in hurricanes and flooding;
- materials to build a literacy school in La Peña;
- earthquake aid - food and building materials;
- the pastor's and lay evangelist's salaries;
- church building rent and utilities;
- a personal computer and printer (to provide email communication).
From 1994 to 2009, New Hope has sent six delegations to visit El Buen Pastor, and Pastor Julio has visited New Hope five times.
The relationship with El Buen Pastor has given the members of New Hope:
- the realization that we are part of a global Christian community;
- a way to live out our mission of advocating justice and peace;
- an example of faith and hope in the daily lives of Christians in another cultural setting; and
- spiritual experiences to those that have visited El Salvador.