Latest News From UCM

February 20, 2012. UCM has just begun a program where donors give in memory or in honor of someone. Contributors may print the form at MemorialHonorForm.doc and send to United Christian Missions, Inc.

On January 29, 2012, Rev. David Webb writes from Nicaragua: "Today has been an affirming day. We have traveled many hours over many remote backroads to visit churches. Four of the five churches have special construction needs. It is heartwarming to hear their stories of how they are raising funds to purchase materials to use in the construction of their church buildings. Two of the churches have members who are working in the coffee fields and bringing their funds to their churches for use in building their church building. They have no funds to give so they are giving of themselves in service and giving their pay to the church. These gifts come from homes with dirt floors, no running water, no modern convenienceses that we feel are necessities in our country. Instead of trying to better their own living conditions they are giving sacrifically to their churches."

"The pastors of two of these churches are unsung heroes in my book. They travel many hours by bus each week to their churches. They preach, teach, visit church families and non-church members. Part of their journeys to their churches requires miles of walking since the bus cannot make it on the back roads to the churches."

"We made it a point to show up unexpectedly so we could see the actual circumstances that are not improved to the best of their abilities to impress us. We found pastors preaching using the Bibles we provided them. We learned first hand that they are teaching the discipleship material that UCM is providing for them. We talked with members and pastors. One young pastor has been a pastor for four years and the only formal training he has received is through the courses he has completed through UCM's School of Pastoral Leadership. We walked in and he was preaching from the Bible we had provided him. His church family was using the Bibles we had provided his church. He said if it had not been for UCM all he would have had was a call from God and his simple Bible."

"Every church we visited reported growth because of the teachings we were providing for them. It was evident that the church members loved their pastors. People were walking to the churches over miles of road that our four wheel drive vehicle we had rented was barely able to make. We crossed streams and climbed mountains in our four wheel drive truck, and we wondered at times if we could make it. I wondered how many Christians living in America would travel by foot to worship God with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ."

The fields are white unto harvest. Prayer warriors are needed and a little help could go a long way for these churches and others like them. I know there are some who do not want to hear and see circumstances like this because it convicts us to do something about it. I pray that God will miraculously touch the hearts of those of us who have so much and convict us that to refuse to hear the truth does not relieve us of the responsibility to help our poorer brothers and sisters in Christ."

"Before I head out to another church service this evening, I want to close with this prayer. 'Dear merciful, loving God I pray that you will lead us to where we need to be, doing the things we need to do and in the ways you would have us do them. I pray that you will strengthen our hearts to enable us to keep going when we see such desperate needs. I pray that you will challenge us by the faith these Nicaraguan Christians have in you. I thank you for the things you are teaching us and for the responsibility you have given us. As I remind the Christians here that we serve the same God and that we are fellow brothers and sisters in Christ may we encourage them as they have encouraged us. I ask your blessings upon each church we visited today. I cannot help but feel, Dear Jesus, that if you came back and walked the roads of the earth with us that you would want to walk these roads with these your humble servants. As I share a word of encouragment may they truly believe with all their hearts that they are indeed special in your eyes. When I tell them that you are not blind may they realize that their suffering is not in vain and their prosperity lies in the future and not in the present.' Amen"

A summary of the ministries in 2011 and other past information is available online on our Detailed Info page. A major newsletter, released in August, 2011, is available on our Detailed Info page, or directly from from UCMNewsletter0811.pdf.

Previous News From UCM

The mission team returned July 16, 2011, having helped bring the blessings of God to Nicaragua! The school for pastors completed a wonderful session. The last part of the week was also spent interviewing families applying for the Educate a Child program. This culminated with a party for the children. Thursday the group returned to the trash dump with a stem full of bananas for each of the 25 or so families who live at the dump. Plans for further ministry to that group, which sociologists call the poorest of the poor, are being developed. During the course of the week about 2700 Bibles were given away. Unlike some Bible give-aways here in the US, every receipient wanted one badly. It is obvious they will really use them. Details can be found at July2011TeamUpdate.doc. A video is being made about this trip and is available.

During the mission trip UCM Co-Founder, Mrs. Nancy Webb wrote on July 13, 2011, "We are all pretty exhausted at this point but doing well. The team has been going non-stop in all directions. We went to the city dump and found about 25 families living at the dump which is outside of town. When the city dump trucks drive up, people jump on the back of the trucks and search for anything they can use to survive, eat or sell. They all live under terrible conditions... Children are running around everywhere in every type of waste material you can imagine as far as you can see. Vultures and flies are everywhere and the smell is awful. We are going back in the morning to minister to these people and take food. Please pray for them."

During the mission trip UCM Director Rev. David Webb wrote, "We arrived at our hotel Friday night, July 8, 2011, around 9 pm. No problems at all with flights, connections or luggage. Today has been extremely busy. We spent most of the day in the barrio (slum section of town). It was an eye opener for some of our team. The children were with us every step of the way. We visited some of the homes of the Educate a Child children. We made balloon animals for the children and held a Vacation Bible School. We were in homes where there was no food in the houses. So, we bought 100 lb. bags of rice, beans and flour, and prepared food packets to give to the families. I am too tired to go into details but just know we have a great team and we are all well. It feels good to be used up at the end of the day and knowing God has used you. We spent the morning at the local university sharing with two classes. Our national director teaches classes in the school on Saturday. He is teaching English as a second language and he is using the Bible for their textbook. We had several students who really are anxious to learn more about Jesus who were requesting Bibles for their families. We are supplying them in Spanish, but will need to send down some bilingual Bibles if we can raise the funds. This is such a great opportunity to share Jesus in this setting with some of the fortunate ones who are in college. They can have such an impact in their society. We will be in three different churches tomorrow and fitting kids with uniforms tomorrow afternoon."

The February 4 through 12, 2011, mission trip is complete. Rev. David Webb emailed from Nicaragua, "Things are going so well here but we are really fighting for time to do everything that needs to be done. We added some children [into our programs] today from a community that is one of the most dangerous sections in town. They are so poor but when they saw us come to their home after meeting them Sunday they all ran to us hugging us and almost knocked us down... All the children's heads in that communtiy were covered in lice, so we bought medicine... The pastor's school has over 400 pastors in this class. It is going wonderful. Very orderly... After we fed the pastors at lunch we had just enough plates to take to the prison. Each prisoner got a very nice plate of food. Many accepted Christ." Download and read or print our summary about this exciting adventure.

The UCM School of Pastoral Leadership has grown from an enrollment of 28 pastors in June, 2008, to 382 pastors in June, 2010. We completely booked every hotel in Jinotega! Yearly totals for 2010 indicate we provided 866 nights of lodging and 3244 meals to enable poor pastors to attend classes.

A total of 318 study Bibles, Bible dictionaries or commentaries were provided to the pastors in June for a yearly total exceeding 500. To help church families who can not afford a Bible, over 2800 were distributed to churches whose pastors have completed at least 8 classes. Nearly 3000 Bibles for families will be needed for the classes beginning in February.

Requests for other teaching locations are constantly being received. We are formulating plans to conduct classes in other areas of the country in 2011.

Rev. Martin Irias became the National Director of United Christian Missions. This new position coordinates the different mission efforts of UCM. After studying at Fruitland Bible Institute, he is back in his home country, Nicaragua. Is position involves overseeing the growing evangelism and discipleship opportunities, the UCM School of Pastoral Leadership, the Educate a Child program, the prison ministry, and the nursing home ministry.

The Educate a Child Program continues to grow beyond the 2010 goal of 100 sponsored children. UCM purchases uniforms, shoes, and other items in bulk quantities, which must be stored. During the June mission trip a new location was rented which tripled the previous location.

A party was held for 60 of the newer children in the Educate a Child program. The children received evangelism bracelets and spiritual training at the first of the party. Children who never ate ice cream or had the opportunity to try to break open a piñata were all smiles. Each child carried back to their homes packets of badly needed food that the team had assembled. The food and party was provided by the generosity of a UCM donor.

Other opportunities included a Vacation Bible School that was taught mornings and afternoons in two different churches and a conference for women in another church for the ladies of the area.

Adam C. Fisher becomes UCM's Secretary/Treasurer. He also assists the ministry in addressing the technology needs of UCM and improved ways of marketing the ministry.

UCM has become United Christian Missions, Inc. This is a big step in the continued growth of United Christian Missions that will help our organization to continue to minister in Nicaragua and expand into other countries in the future.

It is common for small non-profit organizations to begin under the sponsorship of another organization. We are extremely thankful that Hands On Missions, Inc., helped us from the beginning to the point we are now.

Rejoice with us in this good news, and may we continue to grow under God's direction to reach people and minister to their critical needs for our Lord!

The success and growth of UCM has prompted the addition of two volunteer staff members. Rev. Luis Rivas, a native of Venezuela and pastor of Nueva Esperanza church in Raleigh, NC, has been named as Director of UCM's School of Pastoral Leadership. He will continue his work in Raleigh and plan, coordinate, and teach when the School of Pastoral Leadership is in session in Nicaragua. He has been one of primary teachers at the School of Pastoral Leadership since its beginning.

Glenn J. Starling of Fuquay Varina, NC, has been named Director of Communications for UCM. He will have responsibility for publications and publicity, the web site, and public relations. He has served two Baptist State Conventions in media ministry and several churches as Minister of Education. He currently works for Central Carolina Community College teaching immigrants English, and volunteers in Crossroads Church in Lillington, NC, and the Little River Bapitst Associaton in their ministries with internationals.

The dedication of Elizabeth Baptist Church in Wiwili occurred on December 5, 2009. Donors to UCM provided building materials with the Nicaraguan church providing the labor.

In September, 2009, David and Nancy Webb, founders of UCM, returned to Nicaragua to begin an Educate a Child Ministry in an area of several hundred hillside homes constructed of black plastic. Sponsored children from these poorest of the poor communities receive school uniforms and supplies that allow them to enroll in public schools. UCM also makes it possible for the children to receive at least one good meal a week as they attend their mandatory, weekly, two hour spiritual training class.

June 2009 Mission Trip Highlights -- The prayer of every mission trip sponsored by UCM is "Lord help us join you in the places you would have us be, doing the things you would have us do, in the ways you would have us do them." At the wrap-up team meeting the feeling was simply, "Wow, how did we do all we did?" The answer was clear to us all: "We didn't; God did!"

Here's a part of what was accomplished on this trip:

• UCM's School of Pastoral Leadership added 37 new pastors with the enrollment climbing to 124 pastors.
• At the school over 750 meals were served and 160 nights of lodging were provided.
• Study Bibles, Bible dictionaries and commentaries were provided for the 100 pastors who pre-registered. Our promise to provide Bibles and study helps for the other pastors will be met as additional funding is received from our donors.
• New churches and new work areas for the Educate A Child program were identified and visited. An all-day Pastor and Teacher Training Seminar was held.
• Immagine a nursing home with almost no food, no medicine, and no blood pressure gauge. The team entertained the residents with a puppet show and provided needed food, medicines, and a washing machine.
• Seven inmates accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior at the Jinotega Prison during a service led by the team. Bibles were distributed, also.
• Vacation Bible Schools were held in two churches, one of which wasn't large enough to contain the crowds of children who came. The puppets were a huge hit!
• The team members spoke in various churches, appeared on radio and TV stations, met with the mayor, and spoke and prayed with the Jinotega baseball team.
• And much more...

For more detail, download the full report at June 2009 Team Report.

June 2009 Mission Trip Is Underway. Team members Lauren Darst, Laura Greenway, Adam Fisher, Kimberly McDaniel, Luis and Marlene Rivas, Shawn and Rebecca Sisk, and David and Nancy Webb will partner with Nicaraguan Christians in ministry. Team members will be sharing and preaching in three different churches.

Rev. Rivas and Rev. Webb will lead classes in the UCM School of Pastoral Leadership. Enrollment has tripled in just six months and is now limited to one hundred pastors until additional funds are received. Each pastor provides his own transportation to the school, but UCM provides meals, lodging, textbooks, study Bibles, Bible dictionaries, commentaries and other school expenses.

The team will lead two Vacation Bible Schools, a class for girls, and a study for the wives of pastors. Under the Educate a Child ministry goal, UCM will sponsor several new children. The UCM team will provide food for the needy in an orphanage and a nursing home. The team will also check on the progress of a new church building being constructed with UCM funds. Please pray for the team and the people who are ministered to through UCM.

The February, 2009, School of Pastoral Leadership was a resounding success. Eighty-seven pastors received certificates for completing two courses, over three times the enrollment of the June, 2008, class. Every pastor who completes the courses receives a Study Bible unless he already has one from attending the previous classes last June. Returning students receive an Illustrated Bible Dictionary. Due to the extreme poverty, almost all the pastors make a huge sacrifice to attend. Two pastors travel by canoe for two days then by land for two days just to attend the conference.

Mission Trip Scheduled for June 19-27, 2009. Many opportunities for service are available. The accommodations include your own private bath, hotel meals and very comfortable lodging. The exact goals of the trip will be identified once the actual team is assembled, utilizing the spiritual gifts of the team members. If interested, contact UCM for more details.

A New Field Office opened in downtown Jinotega in February, 2009. Church-Pastor Coordinator, Ignacio Ruiz, and Office Manager/Educate a Child Coordinator, Thelfra Picado, now have a central location from which to work. A caring supporter of UCM made the office that is now open in Jinotega possible.

Four new churches fulfilled the criteria for Educate a Child sponsorships in February, 2009. Training sessions were conducted with pastors from five churches.

Funding for a new church building was received from UCM donors. UCM will provide the funds for the building materials and the mother church and mission church members will provide the labor. Construction is expected to begin in April, 2009.

Training of teachers who teach children in churches is now available. Manolo and Tanya Lozado joined UCM to help train teachers in the churches on how to teach children of different ages. Rev. Lozado communicates his deep passion for pastors and churches to disciple children. Tanya is a well-respected teacher who has conducted teacher training in many settings in different Spanish speaking countries.