-- Interview with Pastor Joel David García Martinez

Pastor Joel was called to Kukra Hill while he was in his last year at the Baptist Theological Seminary in Managua.

After his first visit here, he prayed asking God for guidance in serving these people, and meeting their needs. God gave him a dream, "there were so many children here, and they did not  have a dream." This message would form the basis of his calling in Kukra Hill. As it turned out, the children also lacked access to education.

Upon arrival as he was getting acquainted with the people of Kukra Hill he asked the Minister of Education, what was needed in the community. The public school in Kukra Hill did not have enough classroom space for all the children in the community. He was told they needed a school. "In my heart I knew they needed a different school.  They needed a school where the Bible was presented first."

A land grant was signed by the Mayor of Kukra Hill and construction began February 16, 2008. Classes started one year to the day later on, Feb 16, 2009. The primary school started with grades 1, 2, and 3 and 56 children in attendance.  In 2010, the primary grades expanded to include grades 4, 5, and 6 with 100 children.  In 2011 the secondary school was added to include grade 7, with 156 children.  In 2012 and the secondary grades in full swing, student population has swelled to 203, an increase of over 400%.  

The school at Bethel Church is a Christian school. The presidential slogan for Nicaragua is, "Sandinista, Christianity, Solidarity."  Yet there is no official curriculum for Christianity from the Minister of Education so it is not taught in the public schools. To include Christianity in the course of study, each day starts with a 30-minute devotional taught by Pastor Joel.  Bethel school also teaches English at both the elementary and secondary levels, where in traditional public school English is only offered at the secondary level.

In the beginning when Pastor Joel asked the children what their dreams were, some would shrug and say they would work in the palm oil plant which is the one large industry in town.  Most would say they did not know.  Now as the school has grown, and the children are exposed to the gospel, along with their education, God is planting dreams in their hearts.  One of Pastor Joel's dreams is that with the knowledge of the Bible as part of their education, each student will tie their faith to their calling for a career.  Students are now beginning to answer the question in a different way. They say they want to go to university and become pastors, doctors, teachers, and missionaries.  Already the Bethel School in Kukra Hill has sent student missionaries to Rama, Nicaragua to help with the construction of the next school and church.  "Maybe we will send missionaries to the United States one day," says Joel with a wry smile. Amen!

The future for Bethel School

A University could also offer additional education for the teachers at Bethel School, allowing them to attend locally as part of critical continuing education.  There is the possibility of a partnership with Universadad Politecnica (UPOLI), Managua, to bring classes and professors to Kukra Hill to begin offering sessions which could lead to the start of the University.  Pastor Joel hopes to have the University started by 2016.

God's dream given to Pastor Joel has evolved to envision a University so that children have access to Christian education from primary school all the way through university.  "There are problems in the homes of some families, such as alcohol, drugs, sexual promiscuity and other things." Kukra Hill has the highest rate of teen pregnancy in Nicaragua. A Christian devotional each morning gives them something to help deal with these problems. Children influence their whole families with what they learn here and become the church.  "El corazón de la iglesia son los niños." (The heart of the church is the children.)

Pastor Joel also hears music when he thinks of the future and dreams of an orchestra tied to the university where students could learn classical music and have the opportunity to share the talents and gifts God gives them.

The school is the ministry of the church

The church demonstrates God’s love for His children by bringing His word as well as additional classrooms for the students of Kukra Hill. The after school program provides extra help for students in English, math and reading. The school reaches over 200 students sharing Gods love and His word. Discipleship classes are held to train the young Christians so they are prepared to answer Gods call when the time comes.

In order to continue to improve the school and the quality of the education as well as to introduce a university, there are several needs.  There is a need for additional classrooms, gymnasium, computer lab, parsonage, the completion of the fence surrounding the campus, and perhaps most importantly, a library, stocked with books and materials for research.  The heart of any school is its library. With today’s technology, digital libraries allow for Internet access to books, journals and periodicals which previously took up space on shelves.

All of the physical buildings to date and much of the training for the faculty of the school has come from the support of churches and individuals who believe in the work being done.  The ministry has been so blessed to have come so far in just four years.  In order to meet the vision God has for the ministry, church and school in Kukra Hill in next four years, additional help and support is needed.  

To sum up the school, Pastor Joel quotes "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline." Proverbs 1:7. Knowing about God is discipline. God is working here leading people to dedicate their life to God, which brings wisdom, but is also requires work.  

Please pray and ask God to send the Holy Spirit to you with instruction as to how you can help make this dream a reality.  God has planted dreams in the hearts of the children of Kukra Hill.  Allow Him to plant a dream in your heart to help provide a lifetime of Christian based education in the lives of these students so they can change their world in the name of Jesus Christ.

Interviewer: Linda Reifschneider, First Baptist Church, Riverside, CA