Panama, May 16-22
Children's Ministry Conference Panama City, Bethany Foursquare Church
INCM International Ministry organized a leadership team to conduct training sessions in Panama City. For this project, Kurt Jarvis, INCM volunteer Coordinator of International Ministry recruited Marion Grant from Canada, Jim Walter from New Jersey (drama specialist) and Judy Jarvis.
The May leadership conference brought together over 350 leaders total during a four day training program, leaders participating from one to four days in the training sessions. This conference was organized by Bonita and Gino Sanchez, missionary-pastors to Panama. Gino serves as the church Associate Pastor and Bonita as the Children’s’ Pastor and the church Christian Education Director. The base church, Bethany Foursquare Gospel Church, is a congregation of almost 1500.
This annual leadership conference has been organized for six years and has included One Way Street in several past years.
This 2007 conference came on the heels of the Franklin Graham Crusade which drew 30,000-35,000 children on the special children’s rally day of the crusade and 
from that group of children around 7,000 faith decisions in Christ were made by children. Bonita and Gino had asked the INCM team to place emphasis on workshop sessions that would provide the Panamanian leaders with tools to disciple the children who had begun their journey as new believers in Jesus. In addition, the team was requested to provide sessions with a focus on skills that children could do for Christian service and outreach.
The INCM team developed two track training with a complete 10 session track on drama for children’s ministry and a second track on discipling children in their faith. In that track sessions were taught on prayer, teaching children the basics of Bible knowledge and Bible skills, Bible learning games, drama as Christian service and other sessions to help children grow in their knowledge of Christ.
The conference included four INCM teaching team members and four Panamanian team leaders recruited by Bonita and Gino. Kurt and Jim taught the drama track while Judy and Marion taught the children’s faith discipling track.
At the final children’s rally on Sunday afternoon, over 300 children and adults attended. The closing rally included several presentations by Panamanian leaders with techniques learned during the conference and several children’s choreography teams from other churches in Panama City along with program presentations by Marion grant.
On Monday following the conference and the children’s rally, the
team had an opportunity to visit a rain forest tribe of about 30 Panamanian Indians who maintain their cultural primitive lifestyle yet utilize modern technology for communications and learning.
In spite of a day to day life based mostly on agriculture, fishing and India handcrafts for tribal income, the children attend government schools and the tribal children, youth and adults also, through and experimental gift this year of a solar panel generated computer system, are provided with educational classes that include English as well as Spanish language sessions.
It is a most unusual situation with a people group that lives in dwellings built in trees, yet is able to utilize technology that enables them to have and maintain a connection with the contemporary world and tap into the resources for education and health care.
Felipe, the tribal chief, told the team his testimony of coming to know Christ as Savior and his leadership with the tribe in encouraging them in their individual faith development.
This conference project was a highlight for INCM in providing needed training in an international setting that desperately seeks the foundations and training materials available through INCM.
Kurt Jarvis
INCM Coordinator of International Ministry