Andaluz Ministry Center

Excavation of the AMC project site

2009-10-30T03:47:00.000-07:00

One of the initial challenges of the AMC project site was the need to excavate a LOT of dirt and rock. The location of the project site is on the side of a small hill. The image above gives a sense of how much excavation has been necessary. Initial estimates for the cost of the excavation and hauling the dirt away were well above $1,000,000 dollars!

Well, the excavation has been completed, the dirt has been hauled away and all for a total cost of $0 - totally free!!

This is what happened...about the time the excavation was due to begin one of the members of the AMC committee had a friend who knew some people who worked for a company that had been hired to work on the new runway for the Malaga International Airport. This company needed rock to fill in part of the new runway site. The friend was able to put the two projects in contact and the result was that the company working on the airport offered to excavate and haul ALL of the rock and dirt from the AMC project site at no cost!! It was a win win situation for both projects.

In final estimate for how much all this excavation and hauling would have cost is $1,200,000. as in...1.2 million dollars (800,000 Eur0s)!!! Another incredible example of the Lord´s provision for this project.

Property Concession Officially Signed

2009-10-27T05:50:00.000-07:00

(The AMC stearing commitee with members of the Malaga city council)

On October 19th the Málaga city government signed the official concession contract for the AMC property. After several years of proposals, reports, inspections, letters and evaluations as part of the process of applying for the concession the big day finally came for the official signing ceremony. The AMC governing committee and the municipal authorities went before a Notary Public to formalize the definitive legal concession of the land that the Andaluz Ministry Center will be built on.

This has been years in the works and the might hand of God´s provision has been more than evident all along the way. This new step is no exception. Normally the city government would have charged a fee of approx. $10,000 for the concession legal and processing fees. For this project they only charged $70 (58 Euros)!!! Another miraculous provision from the Lord!

(the signing of the concession)

Links to related news articles...

http://www.ferede.org/

http://www.sentircristiano.com/

AMC Food drive for those in need

2009-05-30T09:45:00.000-07:00

A campaign to collect 2000 kg. of food to be donated to the needy neighborhoods around the AMC project site. Local Christian families are being called upon to bring their donations to the project site at 7pm on July 11th.

Offerings and Donatioins of the Churches of Málaga

2009-05-28T03:06:00.000-07:00

Summary of offerings and donations by the churches and local Christians in Málaga

local christians who have made special donations...
María del Carmen Daza
Rosario Gonzále
Pepi Moreno Lobato
Antonio Jiménez del Paso
Antoñita González
María Sánchez Oliva
Daniel Fernández Moreno
Alfonso Medina
Adelaida Montiel
Sara

Málaga area churchs...
Centro Cristiano Roca Viva
Iglesia de Marbella
Iglesia Nueva Vida
Iglesia de Granada
Iglesia de Torremolinos
Iglesia Hospital Civil
Iglesia Manantial de Vida
Iglesia Cita con la Vida
Iglesia de Fuengirola
Iglesia Elim
Centro Betel
Iglesia El Cónsul
Iglesia Sión
Iglesia Vida Abundante
Centro Cristiano Kairos
Iglesia de Torre del Mar
Centro Bíblico La Puerta
Iglesia Manantial de Agua Viva
Iglesia del Monte

For a total of 14,286 Euros ($20,000 in US dollars)

Many of these offerings have been raised by the use of piggy-back style cans that read "Con Un Euro Yo Construyo" (With One Euro I Also Build). Many of the churches in Málaga are using these cans as a way for their members to give weekely offerings towards the AMC project. In addition some churches take up periodic offerings to compliment what is raised through the cans.

To date the local Christians in Málaga have been moving forward on their own and with great faith. More help is needed!

You can partner with the Andaluz Ministry Center by sending your donation to:

IberoAmerican Ministries
P.O. Box 1493
Monroe, WA 98272

All checks should be made out to IberoAmerican Ministries, specifying "AMC Malaga Spain" in the memo line.

A call to Prayer

2009-02-17T06:39:00.001-08:00

(Above) A group of Evangelical leaders praying on a small hill that overlooks the AMC project site and the city of Málaga.

The Evangelical pastors in the city of Málaga are calling all the believers in the city to a special meeting of prayer and intersession on Friday, March 6th at the AMC project site.

The purpose of the meeting is to pray for the advance of the project and to intercede for the expansion of the gospel in the city of Málaga. The goal is make Matthew 18:18-19 a reality. "We want to have faith in the Word of God, because faith is believing what you cannot see, believing the unbelievable and hoping for the impossible".

A Bold Vision of Churches United Together

2008-12-22T04:03:00.000-08:00

The caption of this picture reads "A place of encounter for unity". The Andaluz Ministry Center project is not the product of one pastor´s vision. It is not the product of one churches vision or even one denomination´s vision.

The idea of building a well equipped ministry center came about as the result of pastors from different churches and different denominational backgrounds coming together and dreaming big. This dream on the part of a few pastors has become an ambitious vision that has been adopted by all of the Evangelical churches of Málaga. It is a faith adventure that dares to believe that God can and will bless when His people band together in unity.

Humanly speaking the Andaluz Ministry Center project is virtually impossible. The project is far greater than the combined resources of the churches who have banned together and who believe it is possible. Most of these churches have hardly enough resources to pay one full time pastor let alone dedicate resources to what is for them a mega project. If this project suceeds it will be an incredible testimony of God´s provision.

The unity that this project has produced has not gone unoticed. The local govenment of the city of Málaga who has never before paid any attention at all to the evangelical church has been so impressed by the faith and vision of these churches that it has provided a large four acre plot of land on which the center can be built. The market value for this plot of land would have been 7 million US dollars! (calculation based on 290 Euros per square meter x 16,000 meters x 1.51 dollars to the Euro exchange rate in the Spring of 2008).

How to make a donation to the AMC project

2008-12-19T04:59:00.000-08:00

In Spain donations for the AMC project can be sent to the "Asociación Evangélica Roca Viva". In the United States donations can be sent to "IberoAmerican Ministires (IAM)" which has adopted the AMC as one of its strategic projects.

You can partner with the Andaluz Ministry Center by sending your donation to:

IberoAmerican Ministries
P.O. Box 1493
Monroe, WA 98272

All checks should be made out to IberoAmerican Ministries, specifying "AMC Malaga Spain" in the memo line.

AMC video (Spanish w/English subtitles)

2008-12-16T04:56:00.000-08:00

This is a video that was prepared last year for the promotion of the Andaluz Ministry Center. The audio is in Spanish with subtitles in English. The video introduces several Evangelical pastors from different churches in Malaga as well as a few city officials. You can also get a bit of an idea of where the center is going to be built.

A Neighborhood in need of Transformation

2008-12-11T06:14:00.000-08:00

The Andaluz Ministry Center is being built in the city of Málaga right on the edge of the the neighborhoods called "La Palma" and "La Palmilla" which you can see in the image above. These two "barrios" which often are just called by the combined name Palma-Palmilla have been designated by the city of Málaga as "in need of social transformation". This area is a low income neighborhood that is mainly inhabited by low income minorities and immigrant groups.
The newer part of the neighborhood is comprized of mutistory concrete buildings that were built with low income families in mind. These 12-15 story blocks of apartments created a densly populated neighborhood that suffers from a high crime rate, drug trafficing, high unemployment and poor social stability.

This area will the the Andaluz Ministry Center´s primary zone of influence in terms of social outreach. The center will house a Community Center for Immigrants, a youth center for neighborhood youth, daycare for working single mothers and immigrants, day facility for the elderly in addition to an assortment of classrooms where all sorts of seminars, classes and events can be held.

One of the primary goals of the Andaluz Ministry Center is to be a tool of social transformation by bring the love of Christ into a needy community and neighborhood.

The city of Málaga

2008-11-25T09:27:00.000-08:00

Málaga is located in the south of Spain and comprises part of the southern border of the European Union. It is the sixth largest city in Spain by population and the second largest in Andalucía. The city of Málaga is also a strategic communication and transportation hub between Europe and North Africa. The population of the city of Málaga is 561,250 and that of the province of Málaga is more than 1,000,000.

In recent years Málaga has seen a dramatic increase in immigration from Eastern Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa, with those coming from Morocco making up the largest immigrant subgroup.

The history of the protestant church in Málaga is relatively short dating back less than two centuries. Currently there are 133 churches in the province of Málaga with a total of 7,024 members (less than 1% of the total population).

Protestant Christianity in Spain has endured through centuries of intolerance and persecution. With the beginning of democracy in Spain in 1975 the situation for the evangelical church began to improve but even in recent years the church has had to carry out a prolonged struggle to be recognized by city and provincial authorities as a relevant and legitimate part of the social and religious fabric of the region. The evangelical church has in fact made valuable contributions in areas such as working with drug and alcohol addicts, reaching out to and incorporating immigrants, working with troubled youth and helping to bridge the gap between different ethnic communities such as the Gypsies.

At long last the struggle for recognition is beginning to bear fruit. Recently the Málaga city government conceded a piece of real estate to the “Asociación Cristiana Evangélica Roca Viva” (Living Rock Christian Association) which is representing a consortium of Evangelical churches. The plot of land is 16,000 square meters (4 acres) in size and has been given to the Evangelical churches for the construction of the “Centro de Encuentro Andaluz” - CEA - (in English “Andaluz Ministry Center” - AMC). Currently all of the Evangelical churches of Málaga are participating in this initiative.

In Spanish the AMC is called the "Centro de Encuentro Andaluz" (CEA). If you can read Spanish visit the Spanish CEA website.

Fundraising Concert with Marcos Vidal

2008-11-25T09:11:00.001-08:00

The Andaluz Ministry Center ("Centro de Encuentro Andaluz" in Spanish) team organized a concert on June 30th to raise funds for the AMC project. The group "Andalus Gospel", the singer-songwritter Marcos Vidal and the flamenco artist "El Potito" perfomed for the concert. The concert was well attended and each of the two sessions were sold out at the Torremolinos Convention Center.

At the conclusion of the concert the president of the Evangelical Pastors association and member of the organizing committee, Miguel Rueda, addressed the audience and expressed the great enthusiasm and excitement at seeing the AMC project becoming a reality. He also mentioned the plan to have an Evengelical school incorporated in the AMC facilities in the third phase of the project.

click here for more images of the concert

The Mayor of Malaga meets with Evangelical leaders

2008-10-07T20:30:00.000-07:00

On May 19th, 2008 the Mayor of Málaga, Don Francisco de la Torre, payed a visit to the Evangelical Church of “La Regente” for the inauguration of the “Andaluz Ministry Center” project. He was received by pastors Miguel Rueda, Vicente Crespo, Francisco Gómez, Cristóbal Contreras y Danilo Torres, who presented the architectual drawings of the future facilities of the AMC.

The Málaga city government has conceeded a 16,000 square meter plot of land for the constuction of the Social, cultural and religious center that will serve the greater Málaga area and be a point of reference not only for Andalucia but for all of Spain as well.

The Mayor was acompanied by members of the local government and city oficials, Julio Andrade, director of public relations and citizenship participation; Marivi Romero, Representative for the Public Wealfare; Angeles Castro, Angel Martin Carpena y Patricia, whose is responsible for youth programs etc. Also present was Raúl López Maldonado, who works with assistance to the physically challenged.

Video

2008-10-07T20:11:00.000-07:00