Back in his native Honduras for the 30th anniversary of Amor Viviente in 2004, Antonio Ulloa, center with headphones, does simultaneous translation from Spanish into English for other international guests. Photo: Dale Gehman

SALUNGA, Pa. – It wasn’t the “American Dream” that brought Antonio Ulloa from Honduras to the U.S. in 1992, but an overwhelming sense of the call of God. He was deeply involved in the leadership training ministries of Amor Viviente, a fast-growing church started by missionaries serving with Eastern Mennonite Missions (EMM) in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

Ulloa says, “During the first decade after I became a Christian in 1973, I was totally ‘ignorant’ of the state of the church in North America. I never gave it a thought. It was not a part of my life.”

Then in the fall of 1983, Amor Viviente leaders invited James Sauder, an EMM missionary in Honduras, to speak at their fall leadership training event. For some unknown reason, in the middle of one of his sessions, Sauder digressed, and took 15 minutes to describe the current condition and struggles of the North American church.

Ulloa didn’t hear anything else Sauder had to say. “Those words from James radically changed my interest in the American churches. After hearing what he said I went to the woods where I spent time praying, listening, and crying. God placed an overwhelming burden for the North American Mennonite churches on my heart. I knew without a doubt that God was calling me as a missionary to the U.S.”

The next year Ulloa, his wife Patty, and their one-year old son, arrived in the U.S. They spent three years studying at Eastern Mennonite Seminary, then returned to Honduras for another four and a half years.

Nine years after that initial call, the Ulloa family, now with a second son, arrived as missionaries to North America and began an EMM church planting assignment in Allentown, Pa. Then in 1998 after a few years of work at Sight & Sound Theaters and the Spanish American Civic Association, Ulloa came on EMM staff as a church consultant.

Explaining the culture shock they went through Ulloa said, “In Honduras my wife and I had the privilege of being part of an incredible revival movement. We experienced the good news of Jesus in very deep and personal ways, but most North American Mennonite churches were not in a state of revival.” Ulloa discovered to his surprise that for many North Americans, the Christian walk had become mostly church work and church activity, rather than “an experience of overwhelming life and good news flowing down from above.”

“I believe that vibrant faith is something God wants all churches in the world to have,” he said. “But as I work for this in the U.S., sometimes people feel I am insinuating that they are not ‘good enough.’ They find my comments ‘judgmental.’ They feel ‘okay’ because, after all, they were the ones who sent missionaries to my country so I could have Christ just like they do.”

Shortly after beginning work at EMM, Ulloa discovered Natural Church Development (NCD), written by German theologian and church consultant Christian Schwartz. Suddenly he realized he had found his primary missionary tool for working with North American Mennonite churches.

“NCD allows me to explain to churches – in a concrete visual way – what I have in my heart,” Ulloa said. “Schwarz describes a church in ‘revival.’ He has become my voice, my ‘Aaron.’”

Of course, Ulloa explains, NCD is more than words. It’s an ideal process for churches to get to “revival” if they want to. It’s not a panacea. It’s not the miracle tonic that cures all church problems. It’s just a tool to help churches be honest with themselves, take the time to discover their major barriers to growth and life, then plan, work, and pray to change for the sake of the kingdom and those who do not yet know Jesus.

In a typical NCD consultation Ulloa leads an interested church through a survey of eight quality characteristics (empowering leadership, holistic small groups, gift-based ministry, passionate spirituality, inspiring worship services, effective structures, need-oriented evangelism, loving relationships), then helps with follow-up analysis, action planning, and implementation.

A second survey is used to check progress and kicks off another cycle of work. Congregations move at their own pace, but it takes most churches two years to go through one cycle.

“I am available anytime churches need me,” Ulloa said. “I try to be present in as many NCD meetings as possible. I am there to guide, to encourage, to challenge, to push, and in some cases even to prophesy. I’ve been called a challenger, a helper, and a cheer leader, but my favorite name is friend.”

While it’s hard to measure success in this kind of consulting work, Ulloa said that all but two of the participating churches that have taken two or more surveys and “did something” about their situation in between those surveys, have shown good improvement in their health. Some of the churches, like Village Chapel in New Holland, Pa., Community Mennonite Fellowship in Milton, Pa., and Downing Hills Christian Fellowship in Downingtown, Pa., have experienced dramatic changes from survey to survey.

“It is fun to see church leaders and congregations rejoice when they receive good news about their churches as a result of their hard labor,” Ulloa said. “It makes my day!”

In addition to consulting primarily with churches of Lancaster Mennonite Conference (LMC), Ulloa assisted EMM worker André Provost, who became an international NCD consultant in Thailand.

“The nice thing about NCD and the worldwide network of resources is that there’s something for everyone. Lukewarm churches can get stronger. Vibrant churches can get more vibrant. NCD helps churches move forward on a continuous basis,” he said.

“When I see churches getting excited about analyzing their internal life and ministries and doing things to better themselves, I get energized. This refuels my mission, vision, and calling. These hardworking churches and their leaders are my heroes!” Ulloa said.

The “NCD tool” has proved to be an effective tool for the revitalization of North American Mennonite churches, but it is only one of several tools/resources being made available through EMM and LMC. Along with his consultation work in NCD, Ulloa serves on an LMC-EMM team of consultants using various tools for resourcing church revitalization. Call Antonio Ulloa at EMM, 717 898-2251, or Alonna Gautsche Sprunger at LMC, 717 293-5246, to schedule consultation for church revitalization.

-Jewel Showalter

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