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Los Tuxtlas Mission

ELIUD ROMÁN JUÁREZ

Eliud Román Juárez

Los Tuxtlas Mission is located in the southern zone of the state of . It includes the counties of Lerdo, Angel R. Cevada, , San Andrés Tuxtla, , de Ocampo, Acyucan, Soconusco, , , Sayula de Alemán, , Rodriguez Clara, and Ciudad Isla. Los Tuxtlas Mission is bordered on the north by the Central Veracruz Mission, on the south by the South Veracruz Conference, on the west by the Isthmus Conference, and on the east by the Gulf of . It is composed of 11 counties and their economic development is based on commerce, cattle, agriculture, and fishing. Its culture is strengthened by technological universities—the University of the Gulf and others—and a great variety of middle and higher education institutions. As of June 2019, Los Tuxtlas Mission had 166 organized churches and 15,916 members in a population of 652,546.1 Its offices are located on Venustiano Carranza Avenue, in Catemaco City, Veracruz, Mexico. Los Tuxtlas Mission is part of the Inter-Oceanic Mexican Union Conference and is located within the territory of the Inter-American Division of Seventh-day Adventists. Origin of the Seventh-day Adventist Work in the Mission Territory Los Tuxtlas Mission has its origin in the growth of the different fields and the necessity of restructuring their territories. In 1987, the Isthmus Conference found itself with a vast territory which covered the state of Oaxaca and the southern part of the state of Veracruz. This made it necessary to have two headquarter sites for its leadership and administration. The main offices were located in the city of Oaxaca, and there was an alternate site in Catemaco City. In an effort to give more attention to the needs of the members, a meeting was held in January 1988 in the city of Oaxaca with the purpose of reorganizing the territory. From this readjustment of territory, the South Veracruz Conference and the Oaxaca Mission were born. The South Veracruz Conference established its headquarters in Catemaco City, and the Oaxaca Mission established its headquarters in Oaxaca City. The South Veracruz Conference grew and developed in southern Veracruz. Earlier, because of its growth, it ceded territory for the birth of other fields: the Olmeca Mission, the Isthmus Mission, and the Southeast Veracruz Mission. Finally, in 2016, the restructuring of territory allowed for the formation of Los Tuxtlas Mission.2 Formative Events that Led to Organization of the Mission Before the start of Los Tuxtlas Mission, evangelism in the previously mentioned counties was led by the South Veracruz Conference. With the desire for growth in fulfilling their mission, the administration of the South Veracruz Conference proposed to the administrators of the Inter-Oceanic Mexican Union Conference a restructuring of the territory and the creation of a new mission in order to promote more evangelism and better pastoral care. With this purpose in mind, a consensus meeting was held on October 20, 2014, in the city of Puebla.3 On November 27, 2014, a plenary session was held at the offices of the South Veracruz Conference in Catemaco, Veracruz. The members at the session authorized a recommendation to the constituency at the session which would restructure the territory and move the headquarters of the South Veracruz Conference to Minatitlán, Veracruz.4 The next year, on February 12, 2015, the administrative board of the South Veracruz Conference voted to propose to the constituency two possible names for the new mission: Gulf of Veracruz Mission or Los Tuxtlas Mission.5 The proposal was accepted at the constituency meeting of the South Veracruz Conference held at the Colmo de Aguilas Camp in Catemaco, Veracruz, on February 14, 2015. There were 208 delegates present from the 160 organized churches. The constituency voted to request the higher administrative organizations to create a new mission based on the restructuring of the territory of the South Veracruz Conference and to give it the name Los Tuxtlas Mission.6 On October 22, 2015, a teleconference was held where the administrators of the Inter-American Division, the Inter- Oceanic Mexican Union Conference, and the South Veracruz Conference reviewed the proposed territorial restructuring. On November 10 of that year, in the city of Oaxaca, the plenary session of the Inter-Oceanic Mexican Union Conference named the administrators for the new Los Tuxtlas Mission: Pastor Julián Gómez Morales as president, and accountant Antonio Rosas Manríquez as secretary-treasurer.7 On January 20, 2016, the administrators of the Inter-Oceanic Mexican Union Conference, the South Veracruz Conference, and Los Tuxtlas Mission met in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, to divide assets. The constituency meeting to authorize the restructure of territory of the South Veracruz Conference and the birth of Los Tuxtlas Mission took place on March 14, 2016, in Colina de las Aguilas in Catemaco, Veracruz.8 In a solemn session at the end of the meetings, Pastor Israel Leito, president of the Inter-American Division, made the official declaration of the start of Los Tuxtlas Mission. The new Los Tuxtlas Mission was formed by 17 districts with a membership of 16,915 members, organized into three zones: Acaycan, Isla, and the Tuxtlas. The pastoral team was formed by two administrators, three department heads, 17 district pastors, one associate director of publications, and one chaplain. The formation and development of Los Tuxtlas Mission was done with the purpose of proclaiming the eternal gospel to all persons within its territory in the context of the Three Angels’ Messages. The Los Tuxtlas Mission works with the motto: Lord, Transform Me to Serve, and the mission: To Glorify God. The purpose of the mission is leading people to accept Jesus as their personal Savior and to bring them into the church so that they can be ready for the Second Coming of Christ. Los Tuxtlas Mission added 1,599 members to its roster in the first two years (2016-2017) of its existence and organized the new district of Tepancán in the City of San Andrés. List of Presidents Julián Gómez Morales (2015-present).

SOURCES “Los Tuxtlas Mission.” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (2020). Accessed July 14, 2020. https://www.adventistyearbook.org/entity?EntityID=53413. South Veracruz Conference minutes, 2014. Conference secretariat archives, Minatitlan, Veracruz, Mexico. South Veracruz Conference minutes, 2015. Conference secretariat archives, Minatitlan, Veracruz, Mexico. Inter-Oceanic Mexican Union Conference Board minutes, 2015. Union secretariat archives, Puebla, Puebla, Mexico. Inter-Oceanic Mexican Union Conference division of assets board minutes, January 20, 2016. Union secretariat archives, Puebla, Puebla, Mexico.

NOTES 1. “Los Tuxtlas Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (2020), accessed July 14, 2020, https://www.adventistyearbook.org/entity?EntityID=53413 .? 2. José Luis Ramírez, former secretary of the South Veracruz Conference, WhatsApp message to Eliud Román Juárez, March 3, 2017.? 3. Ibid.? 4. South Veracruz Conference, 2014, 4986, conference secretariat archives.? 5. South Veracruz Conference, 2015, 5009, conference secretariat archives.? 6. South Veracruz Conference, 2015, 5001, conference secretariat archives.? 7. Inter-Oceanic Mexican Union Conference board, 2015, 6212, union secretariat archives.? 8. Inter-Oceanic Mexican Union Conference, South Veracruz Conference, and Los Tuxtlas Mission division of assets board, January 20, 2016, 1, union secretariat archives.?

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