Our Covenant Missionaries
Globally, this church has faithfully participated in the Covenant Relationship for a Better World program since its inception. A "share" is defined as $3 per member of the congregation up to 333 members, at which time a share is $2500. Currently, First Church is in a Covenant Relationship with four missionary teams:
David and Lori Persons
Rev. Saul Montiel
Romy del Rosario
Rev. Svetlana Tsoy
David and Lori Persons
David and Lori Persons have been United Methodist missionaries in the Congo since 1979. David is Dean of the Mulungwishi Theological Seminary at the University of Katanga and Lori is Director of the Women’s School which provides training for the wives of the seminary students.
Their life is a series of challenges, recently including concerns over ownership of land they use, adequate electricity and health concerns.
There are 40-45 students in the Seminary; most are married with children. People who have their undergraduate degree and have worked in the field can be chosen to come back for a master’s degree. The Seminary admission is very competitive and students need full financial support of about $2,500/family/year. The government does not support the program’s finances at all. Many of the professors are no longer overseas missionaries, but come from the Congo. This means that there is less financial support from Advance Special (United Methodist Church) giving.
The Women’s School runs a preschool and nutrition program for 80 children while the 40 women learn English, religion, budgeting, cooking, nutrition, and sewing. They also run a medical clinic.
The Persons continue to be very concerned about the devastation in Africa. Over 1000 people die every day in the Congo — a total of over four million — due to tribal wars. They write, that the “Congo is still very unstable and the chaotic economic situation continues to affect all aspects of people’s lives.”
Rev. Saul Montiel
Rev. Saul Montiel is serving "in our own backyard," so to speak -- working with the Methodist Border Mission Network, an organization composed of Methodist churches on both sides of the border and is interested in issues of human rights, migration, detention and broken families, and police violence.
Rev. Montiel is a clergy member of the Desert Southwest Annual Conference, having served as a church pastor for 11 years. He holds several academic degrees including a Bachelor of Theology from the Latin American Theological Seminary, a Bachelor of Arts from Vanguard University, Costa Mesa, CA, a Master of Arts in Education from Arizona State University; and a Master of Divinity from the Claremont School of Theology in Claremont, CA.
Rev. Montiel's office is located at the District Office on our campus in the United Methodist Center -- where he checks in when he is not working in the field.
Saul is married and has four children.
Romy del Rosario
Rev. Dr. Romeo L. del Rosario is serving as Country Director for the United Methodist Mission in Cambodia. As Country Director, Romy serves as administrator and supervisor of mission programs and projects with a team of workers that includes Cambodians and eleven UMC missionaries from different parts of the world.
Since 1998 the Methodist Church in Singapore, the Korean Methodist, The United Methodist Church in France, Switzerland and the United States, and the World Federation of Chinese Methodist Churches have been cooperating and coordinating their missional efforts toward one Methodist Mission in Cambodia and hopefully, one Methodist Church in Cambodia by 2016.
At present Cambodian Christians are engaged in evangelization ministries; programs with women, youth and children; Christian education and discipleship; community health and food production; leadership training and community organizing; and church construction.
For all of its rich heritage, culture and people, poverty and hunger are still prevalent in the countryside, villages and cities of Cambodia. Most Cambodian families were touched by the genocide that was perpetrated by Pol Pot’s regime in the 1970’s. The Killing Fields are a constant reminder of the terror that robbed Cambodia of its middle-aged population and its intellectual, artistic and spiritual leadership.
Immediately prior to his assignment to Cambodia, Romy was the Officer-in-Charge of Union Theological Seminary in the Philippines. He also taught courses addressing Christianity and Culture. Read the latest update from Romy here...
Rev. Svetlana Tsoy and our mission in Vladivostok
Rev. Svetlana Tsoy, District Superintendent of the Siberia Far East District in the Russia United Methodist Church is our most recent Covenant Relation Missionary.
Our initial support for a Bible Group in Vladivostok continues toward the hope of one day having a Russia United Methodist Church in that Sister City of San Diego. Mission teams from the San Diego area, including members of our congregation, have built relationships and shared in humanitarian work in Vladivostok over the past decade.
Rev. Tsoy shares this vision and outlined concrete plans for increasing the number of people who want to know more about Jesus Christ and our denomination.
By combining our support with other churches in the California-Pacific Annual Conference, significant ministries can be developed by Rev. Tsoy and the pastors in her district, which encompasses more territory than our country.
Yet, with the limited number of pastors and resources to date, there are only four RUMC's in this district. This simply means there are great opportunities ahead, and our church joins Rev. Tsoy in this effort to develop several other RUMC's over the next few years.
