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Metropolitan Mexican Conference

ENOC RAMÍREZ

Enoc Ramírez López, M.Th. (Montemorelos University, Nuevo Leon, ) has served as pastor for the Metropolitan Mexican Conference and is currently department director for youth and family ministries, chaplaincy, and communication. Is married to Linda Yanet De Jesús Cárdenas and has two sons.

Metropolitan Mexican Conference is a part of Central Mexican Union Mission in the Inter-American Division of Seventh-day Adventists. Territory and Statistics Metropolitan Mexican Conference’s territory comprises 11 administrative units () of Mexico and more than 25 in the state of Mexico. As of 2020 the conference had 80 churches and 37,451 members in a population of 13,328,168. Its office is located at Calle Uxmal 365, , Alcaldía Benito Juárez, , Mexico.1 As of 2019 Metropolitan Mexican Conference had 16 organized companies, 16 subsidiaries, and 24 pastoral , led by 17 ordained and 11 licensed ministers. The conference is a part of the Central Mexican Union Mission of the Inter-American Division. Institutions Colegio Miguel Ángel Asturias, located at Calle Uxmal 367, Colonia Narvarte, Alcaldía Benito Juárez, Mexico City, offers pre-K, elementary, and middle school education and is operated by a staff of 31, which includes 21 teachers. Instituto Ángel del Campo is located at Calle Chihuahua 44, Colonia San Sebastián Tecoloxtitlán, Alcaldía , Mexico City. It offers elementary, middle, and high school education with a staff of 30. Xalostoc Campgrounds is located in Xalostoc, Morelos. Its construction was started in October 2003, and the camp was inaugurated with a baptism in January 2004. The camp is jointly administered with Azteca Mexican Conference. It has an outdoor auditorium with a capacity of 2,500, a multi-use building with bunk beds for 185, a hotel with eight air-conditioned rooms, an Olympic-sized swimming pool, nine modules of restrooms and showers, and a kitchen equipped with refrigerators and industrial stoves, within ten hectares (24.7 acres) of developed areas and camping areas. Origin of Church in Conference Territory The first representative of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Mexico was a self-supporting missionary named Salvador Marchisio, an Italian immigrant to the United States. Without knowing Spanish, he traveled to Mexico City in 1891, planning to evangelize English-speaking families in the city. He sold 2,500 copies of The Great Controversy. After some time, Marchisio returned to the United States to take a practical nursing course. He then returned to Mexico with his wife and continued his missionary labors with Spanish literature and Spanish Bible studies.2 In the fall of 1891 Pastor L. C. Chadwick, the second missionary to explore Mexico, visited the country’s principal and . He stayed several days in Mexico City, observing and learning about conditions of the country.3 In 1899 a group of missionaries departed from Guadalajara to Mexico City with the purpose of spreading the gospel under the direction of Pastor George W. Caviness and his family. The team also included Salvador Marchisio and his wife, as well as Mr. and Mrs. Cooper.4 When they brought the gospel to Mexico City, groups were established and organized to extend the work throughout Mexico City and the entire country. Mexico City was the second city after Guadalajara where the gospel was preached in an organized way, even though the gospel had already traveled through this city via different media. One of these forms was through the La Verdad printing press located at Agricultura 75, Colonia Escandón, where the Adventist Church is currently located. 5 Pastor Caviness had been responsible for publishing the magazine, El Amigo de la Verdad (The Friend of Truth), in Guadalajara and brought it to Mexico as the first Spanish magazine published in Mexico with the sole purpose of spreading the gospel. In 1901 Pastor Caviness changed the name of this magazine to El Mensajero de la Verdad ( The Messenger of Truth). This magazine’s circulation increased greatly thanks to colporteur work. One colporteur, A. G. Bodwell, reported selling 450 copies in the center of Mexico City one Sunday, 800 copies on another occasion, and as many as 1,051 copies another Sunday.6 The work of these colporteurs was a key factor in spreading the gospel message in Mexico. Formative Events that Led to Organization of Conference In 1903 the General Conference organized the Mexican Mission and named George M. Brown as president, George W. Caviness as treasurer, and Alfred Cooper as secretary. The office was located at Avenida 22, No. 1599, Tacubaya, Federal .7 From the beginning, the pioneers who arrived in Mexico to found the Mexican Mission decided to establish a printing press with hopes of publishing magazines and books to help spread the gospel. They were profoundly convinced of the importance of editorial work. On the other hand, Mexican laws required the printing and distribution of literature to be founded under a legal organization. Therefore, the printing press named Compañía de Publicaciones La Verdad was founded.8 Between 1910 and 1917 the publishing house, Colegio Adventista Instituto Comercial Prosperidad, and almost all Adventist members were overwhelmed by the Mexican Revolution. There was a time in the darkest hour of the revolution when all the missionaries left Mexico on the advice of their government, except for Pastor Caviness and his wife. Between 1917 and 1920, to keep the mission alive, this pastor served as president, secretary, and treasurer of Mexican Mission.9 At the beginning Mexican Mission was administered directly by the General Conference. In 1918, the North Latin- American Union Conference was organized, and the Mexican Mission was attached to it along with the missions of Cuba, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Puerto Rico, El Salvador, and Venezuela.10 The next stage of organization was the Mexican and Central American Missions, whose collective territory included British Honduras, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Mexico, and the western part of Nicaragua.11 On October 25, 1923, the Inter-American Division voted to reorganize the Mexican and Central American Missions and named it the Aztec Union Mission, which included British Honduras and the republics of Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. It had 21 organized churches and 1,014 members. Its headquarters was located on 4a Calle Querétaro No. 74, , Mexico City. Its superintendent was D. A. Parsons.12 On May 21, 1924, the Aztec Union Mission held its first meeting in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, and voted to organize five missions. One of those was Central Mexican Mission, whose territory comprised the northern half of Veracruz, Hidalgo, Guerrero, Puebla, Morelos, Querétaro, and the .13 The Inter-American Division later voted to change the name of Aztec Union Mission to Mexican Union Mission.14 The vote included an adjustment of territory in which Mexican Union Mission covered the entire country of Mexico. The rest of Aztec Union Mission’s original territory was organized under the newly created Central American Union Mission.15 Mexican Union Mission was organized with 29 churches and 656 members. Its office was located at Jalapa Street No. 210, Col. Roma, México, Federal District. It was organized with six missions, one of which was Central Mexican Mission. Central Mexican Mission’s territory included the northern half of Veracruz and the states of Hidalgo, Guerrero, Puebla, Morelos, Querétaro, and the Federal District.16 In 1931 a territorial adjustment was made, and the states of Tlaxcala, Guanajuato, and Michoacán were added to the Central Mexican Mission.17 The leaders of the six missions of Mexican Union Mission were foreign missionaries until February 23, 1935, when Pastor Emiliano Ponce was appointed president of Central Mexican Mission.18 He was the first Mexican administrator of a mission. By 1948 Central Mexican Mission had seven churches, 2,304 members, and 4,500,000 inhabitants in a territory that included the Federal District and the states of Mexico, Michoacán, Querétaro, Guanajuato, and Hidalgo.19 In 1951 an evangelistic program was implemented. It emphasized meetings in the churches, including those in Tacubaya, , Monumento, Moctezuma, Narvarte, and Portales. It also emphasized the construction of new church buildings. In 1951 the Narvarte church was built; as soon as it was finished, an evangelistic campaign was carried out from September 15 to December 15.20 The membership continued to slowly increase until 1964-1965, when Carlos Edy Aeschlimann Hernández, a South American evangelist, led a city-wide program of evangelism. As a result, Central Mexican Mission’s membership grew to 2,268 in 13 churches. Now, in addition to the Federal District, Central Mexican Mission’s territory included the states of Guanajuato, Hidalgo, Mexico, Querétaro, Michoacán, Jalisco, Colima, and Nayarit. Its headquarters was still located at Agricultura No. 79, Mexico 18, Federal District, Mexico.21 From June 8 to 15, 1969, Pastor Robert H. Pierson, president of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, and C. L. Powers, Inter-American Division president, visited Central Mexican Mission. This visit encouraged, motivated, and challenged the workers of the mission and generated a great mobilization of members that was even noticed by some politicians and the country’s media.22 By 1970 Central Mexican Mission had 3,415 members in 19 churches. Its territory included the Federal District and the states of Guanajuato, Hidalgo, Michoacán, Jalisco, and Colima.23 In 1971, given the urgent need for an evangelistic center in Mexico City, a plot of land was acquired on the street of Sadi Carnot No. 12. The IASD Central CDMX (Iglesia Adventista del Séptimo Día Central Ciudad de México) was erected and dedicated on March 3, 1973.24 By 1974 Central Mexican Mission had ceased to be a consumer of material and human resources and was producing resources for the missions. In recognition of this fact its status was changed, and it became the first organized conference of the Mexican Union Conference. At that time, it had 30 churches and 6,240 members. Its president was Pastor Jorge Campos with Manuel Varela Salas as secretary-treasurer. Its territory included the Federal District and the states of Mexico and Morelos.25 By 1985 Mexican Union Conference had advanced in membership, finances, and human resources. It had 552 churches and 191,613 members in a population of 79,649,138.26 Its institutions were well established. To better serve its members’ needs, the field was divided into two unions, South Mexican Union Conference and North Mexican Union Conference. North Mexican Union Conference was established in Montemorelos, Nuevo León, Mexico. Its territory covered 19 of Mexico’s states and its Federal District. It had 189 churches and 46,811 members in a population of 56,690,500. Its president was Pastor Neftalí Quintero. It comprised Central Mexican Conference, North Mexican Conference, Northwest Mexican Conference, and West Mexican Mission.27 Central Mexican Conference continued its development over the next 15 years. By 2001 it had 102 churches and 36,768 members.28 Faced with such growth, a reorganization and readjustment of the conference territory was once again in order. With the purpose of promoting the creation of a new union in Mexico’s center, in 2001 Central Mexican Conference was renamed Metropolitan Mexican Conference, its current name. On August 25, 2005, Metropolitan Mexican Conference was again divided, and the following year part of its territory officially became Azteca Mexican Mission with Pastor Omar Carballo as president. Meanwhile, Pastor José Luis Bouchot became president of the Metropolitan Mexican Mission. The work continued growing, sometimes with major challenges, but always going forward. Metropolitan Mexican Conference Seeks to Fulfill its Mission by:

Leading pastors and members alike to be moved by the Holy Spirit toward the fulfillment of the mission.

Preparing and training church leaders and members to face the challenges that await us before Jesus’s second coming.

Redoubling efforts with evangelistic plans to reach secularized society in big cities with the gospel.

Motivating the largest possible number of laypeople to be involved and devote part of their time to the fulfillment of the mission.

Establishing new districts that can give the best attention to the members and at the same time reach areas where there is still no Adventist presence.

Disseminating consolidation and outreach programs and activities through electronic media.

Giving attention to children, youth, and members by training and including them in sharing their faith with their friends and neighbors.

List of Presidents Abner de los Santos Mena (2001-2002); Raúl Escalante Casanova (2002-2005); José Luis Bouchot Jiménez (2005- 2006); Armando Hernández Olán (interim, 2006-2007); Isidro López Yañez (2007-2015); Edgar Benítez Gutiérrez (2015-present).

SOURCES Cortés Antonio, Félix, and Velino Salazar Escarpulli. Esforzados y Valientes. Montemorelos, Nuevo León, México: Editorial Perspectiva y Análisis, 2015. Inter-American Division Committee minutes. October 23, 1923. Book 1. Accessed February 17, 2019. Secretariat archives, Miami, Florida. Salazar Escarpulli, Velino. Cien años de Adventismo en México. Montemorelos, Nuevo León, México: Centro de Producción Unión Mexicana del Norte, 1997. Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook. https://www.adventistyearbook.org/.

NOTES 1. “Metropolitan Mexican Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook, accessed July 29, 2019, https://www.adventistyearbook.org/entity?EntityID=20202.? 2. Velino Salazar Escarpulli, Cien años de Adventismo en México (Montemorelos, Nuevo León, México: Centro de Producción Unión Mexicana del Norte, 1997), 19.? 3. Ibid., 20.? 4. Ibid., 17, 36.? 5. Ibid., 37.? 6. Ibid., 41.? 7. “Mexican Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 1904), 75.? 8. Félix Cortés Antonio and Velino Salazar Escarpulli, Esforzados y Valientes (Montemorelos, Nuevo León, México: Editorial Perspectiva y Análisis, 2015), 44.? 9. “Mexican Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1918), 183.? 10. “North Latin-American Union Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1919), 187.? 11. “Mexican and Central American Missions,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Takoma Park, Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1921), 145.? 12. “Aztec Union Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Takoma Park, Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1924), 181. ? 13. “Central Mexican Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Takoma Park, Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1925), 195.? 14. Inter-American Division Committee, October 23, 1923, book 1, accessed February 17, 2019, secretariat archives.? 15. “Central American Union Mission” and “Mexican Union Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Takoma Park, Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1927), 226, 231.? 16. “Mexican Union Mission” and “Central Mexican Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Takoma Park, Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1927), 231.? 17. “Central Mexican Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1932), 184.? 18. Salazar Escarpulli, 93.? 19. “Central Mexican Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1949), 140.? 20. Salazar Escarpulli, 134-138.? 21. “Central Mexican Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1965-1966), 159.? 22. Salazar Escarpulli, 179.? 23. “Central Mexican Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1970), 174.? 24. Salazar Escarpulli, 188.? 25. “Central Mexican Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1976), 218.? 26. “Mexican Union Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Hagerstown, Maryland: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1985), 190.? 27. “North Mexican Union Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Hagerstown, Maryland: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1986), 171.? 28. “Central Mexican Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Hagerstown, Maryland: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 2001), 154.?

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