Lima, Peru is a great challenge for urban missions with its population of 8 million. Experienced in starting churches "from scratch," Rich and Jo Ann formed a team of Peruvians in 1997 to begin a church in Monterrico, a middle-class section of Lima. First services were held on Palm Sunday of 1998.

The Monterrico church has grown rapidly with attendance now well over 100. Baptisms occur frequently as new believers testify to their faith.

The Monterrico congregation is fully focused on outreach:

• Their first formal act as a congregation was to approve support of a Peruvian missionary to Japan.

• Weekly outings to Manchay, a slum area, find members serving breakfast to the poor and teaching children, by using puppets and flannelgraph. Plans are to build a medical post, youth center, and church in this area.

• One man who worked at a horse-racing track became a believer and started a Bible study attended by 20 of his co-workers; eventually they asked for a special service at the church to accommodate their working schdules.

• A church outreach in summer 2000 found 20 members in a town in the Andes mountains, where they handed out literature and told people about Jesus.

With an outward focus like this, it's no wonder that the church needed to locate a bigger meeting place (when the church started, the members had been meeting in a renovated house but was outgrowing it). A very generous "miracle" gift allowed them to purchase what had been a school. The space was way more than the church needed, so a seminary that had been operating in cramped quarters in other churches moved into one of the two buildings. And the vision was born to use the additional "free" space for a school.

The school's first class begins March 11, 2002; it will be a pre-kindergarten class. As the school grows, more classes will be added. The school, as it develops, will focus on English immersion through Grade 2 at which point the students will be taught in Spanish; students will also continue to receive English instruction. Karen Asselin is helping plan and implement the programming and curriculum, as well as teach.

Monterrico Church Facilities These pictures below look like a school — because that is what it used to be, before the Monterrico church bought it. However, it is now used for three functions: church, seminary classes, and school classes.
Inside property entrance.		Exterior of classrooms.
A typical classroom. The school's first classroom will be for pre-schoolers, who won't have big desks.		Soccer field. The pre-schoolers won't use the soccer field, but as the school grows, the older students will use it.
Los Robles Amphitheatre. The Monterrico church meets in both of the two auditoriums/amphitheatres on the property. As the church grows, they will probably need to build a larger auditorium.

Prayer points:

• Continued growth of the Monterrico church and outreach into the community.
• The new school.
• Wisdom in counseling new believers and in leadership training.
• Development of ministry in Manchay, that people would come to personal relationship with Christ.

Thumbnail (click to view larger image)	Photo description	Thumbnail (click to view larger image)	Photo description
	First women baptized. What a temptation it is to tell you about each one of these precious souls that Christ has saved! We don't know how Cesar got into the picture.		Marita, a young professional, gives her life to the Lord in water baptism.
	Pastor Beto, his wife Gina, Gina's mother, and new baby.		Pastor Salvador (standing) with his wife Maria and family.
	Armando and Lila Velasquez sign the church covenant of membership on Palm Sunday of 1998.		First communion as a church. Rich Davis officiates using a communion set purchased for the Monterrico church by Trinity Church of Sunnyvale. Standing at left side of photo is Pastor Salvador; at far right is Pastor Beto.