A joint ministry of the Presbyterian Church ( USA ) and the National Presbyterian Church of México
Amistad seeks to encourage, equip, and support the Presbyterian Churches of Mexico (INPM) and the United States (PCUSA), facilitating their joint ministry as witnesses and instruments of the Kingdom of God .

 Based out of Nuevo Laredo, México and Laredo, Texas , Proyecto Amistad was established in 1985 by the Presbyterian Border Ministry, in Eagle Pass, TX and Piedras Negras, Mexico. The first worship service in Piedras Negras was held on Pentecost Sunday of that year. Soon thereafter, property was purchased, a sanctuary and annex were built, and the Amistad Missionary Center began providing educational & medical services to the community in addition to its public worship.

The church and social ministry program grew together under the direction of a pastor and a binational board of directors. However, in 1995 the congregation became administratively independent of Proyecto Amistad, although it continued to receive pastoral salary support from the ministry through the end of 2000. The Uno en el Espíritu (One in the Spirit) Presbyterian Church is now led by a three-member session and the Rev. Carlos Peña. In addition to its regular worship activities, the congregation offers computer and music classes to youth in the community.

In January 1998, Amistad teamed with Noreste Presbytery (NPCM) to open a new church in Ciudad Acuña, one hour northwest of Piedras Negras. The mission, Fuente de Vida (Fountain of Life), is now a 25 member congregation, led by a four-member executive committee and its pastor, Rev. Felipe Tovar. The congregation is actively involved in its community, offering a daily radio program, Bible studies in homes throughout the community, children’s evangelistic events, tutoring, and computer and internet access for students doing class work. The congregation also provides moral, spiritual, and financial support for the terminally ill and those seeking release from drug and alcohol abuse.

In October 2003, Amistad again partnered with Noreste Presbytery to establish another Presbyterian Church in southern Piedras Negras. In January 2005, that mission was fused with another Presbyterian new church development in the city. The Abishalom Mission now has approximately 20 active participants and is led in ministry by Missionary América Hernández de Peña. As a new church development, the congregation focuses its ministry on discipleship.

Between 1985 and 2001, Proyecto Amistad offered medical and educational programs to the community of Piedras Negras at Amistad Presbyterian Center, located across the street from the Uno en el Espíritu Presbyterian Church. But, with changes in the community and the growth of the local church, the ministry decided to focus instead on encouraging and supporting the Presbyterian Churches of Piedras Negras and Acuña as they minister to their communities. Amistad provides grants to the congregations in support of their evangelistic, compassion ministry, and construction programs and offers scholarships to seminary students and pastors continuing their education.

Now, the ministry’s primary purpose is to facilitate mutually edifying partnerships (fellowship and joint ministries) between US and Mexican congregations, to serve as a liaison or ligament between the two denominations, that they might experience and live out in very concrete ways, their unity as the body of Christ across cultural, linguistic, geographic, and socio-economic barriers. Amistad's facilitation services include mission trips in the US and Mexico (pre-trip orientation and on-the-ground presence and support), translation and delivery of communications, and general partnership oversight and consultation.

In 2004, God began expanding Amistad’s territory. In that year, the ministry began facilitating missionary encounters (mission trips) for US and Mexican Congregations throughout Noreste Presbytery. In 2005, it expanded its grant program to cover the entire presbytery and developed partnerships with three other presbyteries of the NPCM which minister primarily in the north and central-east quadrant of Mexico (including communities in the states of Coahuila, Tamaulipas, Nuevo León , San Luis Potosi , Hidalgo , Aguascalientes , Nayarit, and Jalisco). In 2006, the ministry will facilitate missionary encounters for churches in that region seeking partnerships with US congregations and provide grants to support congregational evangelistic and compassion ministry programs. Amistad’s proposed 2006 budget is $114,850.00.

At the end of 2006, as a part of a general restructuring of the partnership between the PCUSA and the National Presbyterian Church of Mexico, Proyecto Amistad merged with sister Presbyterian Border Ministry, Laredos Unidos. The new ministry continues to facilitate partnerships between PCUSA congregations and churches within the bounds of Noreste Presbytery. Partnerships in other Mexican presbyteries will be coordinated by other border ministries or PCUSA missionaries in the interior of the country. The new ministry adopted the Proyecto Amistad name, but is now based out of Laredo TX and Nuevo Laredo , Mexico .

“From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work .” Ephesians 4:16

Click here for Proyecto Amistad's Mission Statement.

Click here for Proyecto Amistad's 2008 mission team manual.

Contact Us:
Chris McReynolds, US Coordinator
PO Box 6777
Laredo, TX 78042
Phone: 830.719.5812
Email: proyectoamistad@gmail.com

Roberto Medina, Mexican Coordinator


ECO#863716