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South Conference

FREDY EUFRONIO ORTEGA REYES

Fredy Eufronio Ortega Reyes is currently the secretary of the South Chiapas Conference. He has a bachelor of arts degree from Linda Vista University in Chiapas. He has served the church for 16 years as district pastor and departmental director. He is married to Ingrid Dilen Gómez Isoba and has three children. The South Chiapas Conference is situated in the region of with its headquarters in , Chiapas. It includes the following municipalities in Chiapas: Acacoyagua, , Amatenango de la Frontera, , Bella Vista, , El Porvenir, Escuintla, , Huixtla, , , , , , , and Villa Comaltitlán.1 Soconusco is an historic region for the state of Chiapas. It is found in the southern part of the state on the border with . Because of its geographical location, it has been very important to the communication and economy of the central highlands of Mexico and Central America. After the split of the union between the Central American provinces and Mexico, the Soconusco region was disputed by Mexico and Guatemala until definite borders were set between the two countries and the Soconusco province was incorporated into Chiapas. Currently, Soconusco is one of the 14 economic regions of Chiapas.2 The Soconusco region lies on the border area between Mexico and Guatemala. The region was conquered by Nahua groups. During the colonial era, it was part of the General Captaincy of Guatemala. Once independent from Spain, it was annexed by the First Empire of Mexico and then later divided between the Mexican state of Chiapas and the Republic of Guatemala. The South Chiapas Conference is made up of 163 churches and 33,971 members.3 They are cared for by ten ordained and 18 licensed ministers. Its headquarters is located on Avenida Rayón Norte #74, barrio Esquipulas, Huixtla, Chiapas, México. The South Chiapas Conference is part of the Chiapas Mexican Union Conference and is located in the territory of the Inter-American Division of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. Institutions Centro Educativo José Bates is located at Avenida González Ortega #306, barrio Esquipulas, Huixtla, Chiapas. It started as a primary school on July 23, 2010, but grew with time. It started offering three grades of preschool on October 29, 2010. Six grades of elementary level and three grades of secondary level were added on March 2, 2012; and the preparatory level was opened on March 1, 2012. The staff consists of 25 teachers and 11 administrators and service personnel. Colegio Salvador Marchisio was started as a primary school only. It is located at 1era Avenida Norte #305, barrio Emiliano Zapata, Motozintla, Chiapas. It offers three preschool grades, which were started on June 3, 2013; six elementary grades, which were started on October 25, 2010; and the secondary level, which was begun on July 2, 2014. The staff consists of 13 teachers and five administrators and service personnel. Colegio Helen Keller officially began in September 1994 with only the elementary level. It is located on the Carretera a Sabinada s/n, Frontera Comalapa, Chiapas. It offers three preschool grades, six elementary grades, and the complete secondary and preparatory levels. The staff is composed of 18 teachers and seven administration and service personnel. Origins of the Church in the Territory According to oral tradition, recounted by José Camacho, the beginnings of the church in this territory date to1953. Fabiano Trujillo and Josué Cabrera showed up in a town, which was then called Cantón Valdiviana; they were planning to sell books. The book they were selling was titled El Mundo del Futuro. Even though he could not read, José Camacho’s father bought that book thinking that his brother, who was just beginning to learn to read, would be able to read it. About four or five months after that, a rumor began to circulate that that book was not good. A neighbor told José Camacho’s mother that they should not read it because it was a diabolical book. She listened to the advice of her friend, and the Camacho family set aside the book and forgot it. However, when about six months later, the book salesmen visited the family and asked them to hold a week of Bible lessons about creation, the father agreed.4

I remember that the number of people who came from all around the ranch reached up to about 70. It was amazing that those young people would come in spite of the fact that in June it rained almost every night. From the ranch to La Unión, a nearby ranch, was a ten-kilometer walk, and you had to cross muddy areas where, for as many as two kilometers, the water could reach up to your waist. After many adventures and a great deal of effort on the part of those young people, a Sabbath School was organized, and after several baptisms, an Adventist church was established on my ranch.5

There was no church in Huixtla at that time. Sometime later a few people began to meet in the home of Brother Inés Verdugo. He donated land where they began to build a church. At that time, the large church where all the meetings were held was in Xochitepec, and the other was in Huehuetán Estación. Later the message reached Villa Colmatitlán, Acapetahua, Mapastepec, and all the places clear over to Tonalá. That is how the work of God was established in those places.6 Formative Events In 1944 the Chiapas Mission was organized with 25 churches and 1,422 members. Its territory was the state of Chiapas. Pastor Vicente Rodriguez was named president, and Pastor Francisco Reyes was secretary-treasurer.7 The year 1948 brought change and progress to the Mexican Union Mission. There was a territorial adjustment to the missions, and new territories were added.8 On January 22, 1948, the states of Chiapas and Oaxaca were organized into a territory now called the South Mexican Mission (Corporación del Sur). It had 33 churches and 2,215 members. The new headquarters was at 1era Avenida Norte No. 58-A, Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas.9 The Mexican Union Mission authorized the South Mexican Mission to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the arrival of the Adventist message in the south part of Mexico. For this reason, on September 22, 1949, the union enthusiastically approved a plan to celebrate this golden anniversary in a big way.10 In 1950 the governing board of the union agreed to purchase land for a church and headquarters for the South Mexican Mission because, until then, they had been renting facilities. Sections six and seven of the golden anniversary plan mention construction of the first church-owned building in Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas, which would also be the site of the headquarters of the South Mexican Mission. The property was purchased for 30,000 MXN, money that was donated by the Inter-American Division. The location is 7a Poniente No. 18, between Avenida Central and 1a Sur, where now the Tuxtla Gutierrez Central Church is located. The second and third floors of the church were the offices of the South Mexican Mission and then the South Mexican Conference for 25 years, from 1950 until 1975.11 At the plenary session of the Mexican Union held in Mexico City, the date and place were set for the organization of the Soconusco Mission. It was voted to make , Chiapas, the headquarters, and the date for the meeting to inaugurate the mission was set for January 1983.12 On January 6, in the city of Tapachula, Chiapas, delegates from the regions of La Costa, Sierra del Sur, and part of the Altos de Chiapas came together to hold the organizing session for the Soconusco Mission. Leading out in the session were the administrators of the union inspired by the advice of the president of the division, Pastor George W. Brown. The territory consisted of the south and east parts of the state of Chiapas. It began with 36 churches and 18,762 members. On March 17, 1997, the governing board of the Soconusco Mission requested a change of status for this mission to become a conference.13 Sixteen years after its beginning as a mission, and after sustained growth, on June 6, 1999, the mission changed its status to a conference.14 It was organized with 105 churches and 54,862 members. Pastor Tomás Isaías Espinoza Hernández was named president; Pastor Dimas López, secretary; and Orlando Jiménez H., treasurer. The Soconusco Conference celebrated its Quadrennial Session on June 27, 2011, with 253 delegates who represented 76 percent of the membership.12 At that session a vote was taken in which some of its territory was ceded to the new South Chiapas Mission, which had 23 districts, 415 churches, and 32,575 members.15 On June 27, 2011, the new South Chiapas Mission of the Soconusco Conference was voted. Its first president was Pastor Hipólito Gómez Cruz, and the secretary-treasurer was Victor R. Cabrera Morales.16 In 2017, due to growth in all aspects of the mission, and because of the maturity of the membership, the delegates at the constituency meeting of the South Chiapas Mission held at the José Bates Educational Institution in Huixtla, Chiapas, on March 26, took a vote to send a request to the governing board of the Inter-American Division asking for a change of status from mission to conference for the South Chiapas Mission.17 On June 26, 2018, a constituency meeting was again held at the José Bates Educational Institution in Huixtla. There were 63 general delegates, 132 regular delegates, 13 delegates from the conference church, and three special invitees, making a total of 208 delegates who unanimously approved the change of status from South Chiapas Mission to South Chiapas Conference. The first president of the South Chiapas Conference was Pastor Miguel Angel Mendoza Santos.18 Fulfilling the Mission

Make sure that all pastors and church members experience revival and reformation in order to receive the latter rain, which will give the power and capability to finish the preaching of the gospel.

Continue to challenge, instruct, and equip the leaders and church members to a total involvement in the completion of the mission.

Enter the approximately one-third of the conference territory that has not yet been reached. The coastal region of the state of Chiapas is the most difficult to reach because of the religious traditions that are deeply rooted in the population. Evangelistic efforts are being focused on this region.

Establish medical brigades in places where there is not yet an Adventist presence, with the purpose of opening doors to the hearts of the people to the message. Propose that every youth club in the 28 districts of this territory enter a new field, so that, by the end of 2020, there will be 28 new places with Adventist influence.

Impactful Events The geographic location of the South Chiapas Conference makes it very vulnerable to earthquakes, as its territory is within the Pacific Ring of Fire. For example, on September 7, 2017, there was an earthquake that measured 8.2 on the Richter scale, the strongest in the last 100 years. It affected two areas of the territory (the regions of the coast and of Motozintla), where 30 churches and hundreds of families suffered damage. To meet this crisis, we had to join forces. ADRA, the conference, and volunteers went out to distribute thousands of necessary supplies and sheets of metal for reconstruction. In addition, the conference assigned a percentage of its budget to help in the construction and reconstruction of churches. Nevertheless, in the midst of the crisis, the promise of God continues to be sure; we do not have to fear for the future because our needs and even our lives are in the powerful hands of God. For this reason, the church in South Chiapas continues strong in the faith.19 List of Presidents Hipólito Gómez Cruz (2011-2014); Jaime Medrano Nieto (2015-2017); Roberto Morales Mendoza (2017-2018); Miguel Angel Mendoza Santos (2018-present).

SOURCES Cortés A., Felix and Salazar E., Velino. Esforzados y Valientes. Montemorelos, N. L., Mexico: Editorial Perspectiva y Análisis, 2015. Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook. Various years. https://www.adventistyearbook.org/. Salazar E., Velino. Cien Años de Adventismo en México. Montemorelos, N. L., México: Centro de Producción, Unión Mexicana del Norte, 1997.

NOTES 1. Seventh-day Adventist Online Yearbook, “South Chiapas Conference,” accessed July12, 2019, https://www.adventistyearbook.org.? 2. “Soconusco, Chiapas,” Wikipedia, accessed July 12, 2019, https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soconusco_(Chiapas).? 3. Seventh-day Adventist Online Yearbook, “South Chiapas Conference,” accessed July 12, 2019, https://www.adventistyearbook.org.? 4. José Camacho Hidalgo, interviewed by the author, Ranchería Bethel, July 5, 2019.? 5. Ibid.? 6. Ibid.? 7. Velino Salazar E., Cien Años de Adventismo en México (Montemorelos, N. L., Mexico: Centro de Producción, Unión Mexicana del Norte, 1997), 114.? 8. Ibid., 80.? 9. “South Mexican Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D. C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1916), 141.? 10. Velino Salazar E., Cien Años de Adventismo en México (Montemorelos, N. L., Mexico: Centro de Producción, Unión Mexicana del Norte, 1997), 125.? 11. Ibid.? 12. Ibid., 212.? 13. Soconusco Mission Yearly Meeting Minutes, 1997, Book of Minutes 1440, vote 3119, Secretariat of the Soconusco Mission.? 14. Soconusco Mission Yearly Meeting Minutes, 1999, Book of Minutes 1792, Secretariat of the Soconusco Mission.? 15. Decision of the Fourth Quadrennial Session of the Soconusco Mission, vote 531, June 27, 2011.? 16. Ibid., vote 6.? 17. South Mexican Union Yearly Meetings, 2011, Book of Minutes 1207, Secretariat of the South Mexican Union.? 18. Decision of the South Chiapas Mission Constituency Meeting, March 26, 2017.? 19. Fredy Ortega Reyes, personal knowledge from working in the South Chiapas Conference?

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