February 24, 2003
Young Conroe pastor sees opportunities
where others see only trouble and crime
___By John Hall
___Texas Baptist Communications
___CONROE--Eliakim Urbina can't get in to a PG-13 movie without showing his identification, but he's blazing a trail in Conroe, leaving transformed people and communities wherever he goes.
___Urbina, 24, looks so young he once was asked for his identification at a movie theater while his youth group passed through without question.
___He knows looks can be deceiving in other ways, as well. As founding pastor of El Pueblo Mission, he is revolutionizing a Conroe neighborhood where no one wanted to live. Where gang warfare ruled, Urbina saw a chance to bring God's peace.
___He started the mission with three people--him, his wife and his child.
___Aided by an outgoing personality and what he believes to be God's guidance, Urbina built relationships with people throughout the neighborhood--including gang members--by talking with everyone he met along his daily routine.
___Soon, gang members entered the faith and the mission, an outreach of First Hispanic Church in Conroe. A gang leader converted to Christianity during a November crusade at the Christian outpost.
___"We started in a house, and God started bringing people to Christ," Urbina said through a translator.
___The mission outgrew three buildings in 18 months and now averages 85 people at Sunday services.
___The Honduran-born pastor credits the power of God and prayer with the explosive growth. "God does so many things about me and around me that sometimes I am the last to know," he said.
___As local interest in the mission increased, interest in gangs decreased, forcing them to move elsewhere. Businessmen have joined the mission and are investing economically into the area as well.
___"God has blessed tremendously," Urbina said. "I've seen changes in the people and the community."
___Urbina now is organizing discipleship methods for his expanding congregation, which is looking forward to constituting as a church in the near future.
___At the same time, Urbina is furthering his ministry education through the certificate in ministry and Christian leadership program offered by Howard Payne University and made possible by the cooperation of the school, the Baptist General Convention of Texas and Tryon-Evergreen Baptist Association.
___In the first semester, the Spanish-language classes have attracted 30 people.
___The new center allows Urbina to continue his education without giving up his pastorate. The credits he earns also may be applied toward an associate's or bachelor's degree from Howard Payne.
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