Presbyterian Border Ministry

History & Organization

Presbyterian Border Ministry (PBM) began in 1984 as a joint venture of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the Iglesia Nacional Presbiteriana de Mexico (INPM), the National Presbyterian Church of Mexico. Presently, it provides support for six bi-national ministry sites along the 2,000-mile U.S./Mexico border.

The first Presbyterian missionaries from the U.S. to Mexico began their work in the 1870s, starting with the United Presbyterians and shortly thereafter the PCUS. Within a few years, dozens of U.S. mission workers were serving in various parts of Mexico. In 1914, after decades of establishing mission churches and schools, the Presbyterians joined seven other Protestant denominations at a mission conference in Cincinnati, Ohio. The outcome of this meeting was the so-called “Plan of Cincinnati,” under which each denomination would carry on its work in assigned areas. In general terms, the Presbyterians came away with some of the most heavily-populated regions including southwestern, central and southeastern states. Not surprisingly, as they weren’t properly represented in the development of the Plan, many Mexican church members felt betrayed, alienated and resentful.

One of the first actions taken by the newly-established General Assembly of the INPM in 1948 was to terminate the Cincinnati plan, which the Mexican church considered obsolete. But to this day, the INPM is heavily concentrated in the regions where the Presbyterians from the U.S. were assigned under the Plan of Cincinnati.

Another milestone in the history of the bi-national relationship occurred in 1972. In that year, during the “Centennial Celebration,” the National Presbyterian Church of Mexico assumed full responsibility for directing and supporting its own institutions and work. By this time, two hospitals had been established by U.S. Presbyterian missionaries - one in Morelia, Michoacan (1923) and another in Ometepec, Guerrero (1958). From their work in hospitals, schools, churches and other assignments, U.S. mission personnel were withdrawn from Mexico in a mutually agreed-upon moratorium that would last until 1979. Rev. Saul Tijerina, one of the founders of PBM, was part of a Mexican delegation that attended the joint General Assemblies of the Northern and Southern churches in Kansas City that year, presenting a proposal for a new relationship.

The main outcome of this new relationship between the two denominations was the creation of the International Joint Mission Commission, which was intended to be a coordinating body for new mission partnerships. The bylaws of this new Commission reflected cutting-edge missiology that is still relevant today: all decisions were to be made mutually by both national denominations, and neither church would make unilateral decisions about cooperative mission in the Mexico or the United States. The INPM had identified evangelism on the U.S./Mexico border as its priority, proposing the planting of mission churches in the rapidly-growing cities on both sides of the border, as well as in Mexican state capitals and in tourist destinations. The pre-moratorium mission structures of the U.S. Presbyterians were noticeably absent from the plans of the INPM.

By the time the new relationship began, the U.S./Mexico border was becoming a region in crisis. Millions of Mexicans were moving to their country’s northern border because of the deterioration of the agricultural industry in southern Mexico and the availability of steady jobs and relatively higher wages in newly-established factories. On Sept. 1, 1965, Mexico President Diaz Ordaz initiated the Border Industrialization Program, patterned after a manufacturing model pioneered in Portugal. It called for “twin plants” on both sides of the border, with each assembly plant (maquiladora) to be treated as an individual foreign processing zone. This allowed the plants to import, duty-free into Mexico all production-related machinery, equipment and materials. The program was a response to a 1964 action by the U.S. Congress that gave a preferential tariff to U.S.-made components that were sent to another country and assembled into finished products, then subsequently “exported” to the United States. Once sent back to the U.S., the products would be assessed export duties only on the value of the imported product, minus the value of the U.S.-made components. When the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) went into effect almost ten years later, in 1994, requirements on the amount of finished product that must be exported out of Mexico were removed, so more of the finished goods remained in Mexico to be purchased by consumers.

Recognizing the growing crisis on the border, Rev. Saul Tijerina outlined a new holistic approach to mission. “The National Presbyterian Church of Mexico dreams of having a very real presence on the border, with established and self-sustaining churches. It would like to see those established churches on the border, in partnership with the U.S. Presbyterian church, respond to the pain the border causes, the damage it does to family, the vices it promotes: unemployment, illness, the exploitation of women in the twin plants, and lack of concern for the family’s well-being. The constantly-changing border population and the pain and sorrow of its people are, and will continue to be, a priority concern for the church - as they are to God and rightly so." Rev. Tijerina’s call to a holistic gospel, with community service grounded in Christian love, resonated with many Mexican church leaders but some preferred for the new bi-national partnership to focus entirely on evangelism and church-planting.

Presbyterian Border Ministry was established in 1984 with local ministry sites gradually extending along the entire border from Tijuana to Reynosa, McAllen to San Diego. Today, there are six local ministry sites of PBM:

Pueblos Hermanos (San Diego, California/Tijuana, Baja California)
Companeros en Mision (Nogales, Arizona/Nogales, Sonora)
Frontera de Cristo (Douglas, Arizona/Agua Prieta, Sonora)
Pasos de Fe (El Paso, Texas/Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua)
Proyecto Amistad (Laredo, TX/Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas)
Puentes de Cristo (Mc Allen, TX/Reynosa, Tamaulipas)

Although there are multiple sites, the name Presbyterian Border Ministry is singular, reflecting a singular purpose of doing God’s mission. With approval from the INPM in 2004, many of the sites began to expand their ministry beyond the immediate border region. These local ministries are staffed by U.S. and Mexican Presbyterian ministers, laypersons, doctors, nurses, and volunteers. The PBM Council, a bi-national board of directors comprised of presbytery, synod and national church representatives from both countries, provides support, oversight and funds development services to all six sites. Each of the six ministry sites is directed by a local board of directors composed of members representing border presbyteries in each country. Although each local ministry is unique, there is a common focus on evangelism and new church development, preventive health, nutrition, and vocational education. PBM strives to build faith, understanding and relationships on both sides of the border. In its 25-year history, thousands of U.S. citizens have come to the border to experience and participate in God’s mission first-hand. And increasingly, delegations of Mexican Presbyterians are traveling north to visit their Christian brothers and sisters in the United States.

PBM is a validated ministry of the PC(USA) and is a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable mission organization, incorporated and registered in the state of Texas.

About PBM

History & Organization