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Cuba/Florida Covenant - Being and Doing

Spiritual Formation and Disciplines
The greatest contribution that the Cubans are making to the Florida churches is their powerful testimony to God’s faithfulness, acquired from living through great adversity. Cubans testify that when they have been stripped of almost everything, they discover how great God is. Their byword for seeking heavenly guidance is to “fast and pray.” All churches in Cuba celebrate “vigilias” or “watch night” services when the faithful remain in the church in prayer, in song, and meditation until there is a consensus that God has spoken and given direction.

Bible Study and Theology of Mission
Study the following texts:
Matthew 28:18-19, Making disciples
Mark 16:15, Proclaiming the good news
Luke 24:47, Preaching repentance and forgiveness
John 20:21, Sent to serve
Resources:
Two Congregational Transformation Bible Studies are available to motivate churches with the kind of enthusiasm of the Spirit as inspired by the Cuban Church. They can be downloaded from www.flumc.org. Then, click “Congregational Transformation” from the menu on the right of the page, and after the new page opens, click the banner icon, “Go! Be the Church!” and another banner icon, “A Bible Study on the Eight Characteristics of a Healthy Church.”

Hospitality and Partnerships
The Cuba/Florida Covenant declares: “To bring the vision into reality we covenant together to hold the following values as the basis for all of our common ministry: God’s love (John 3:16); Prayer (James 5:16); Spiritual Development (Colossians. 1:9); Mutuality (Romans 14:19); Respect (1 Thessalonians 5:11-12); Collaboration (1 Corinthians. 3:9)”

Action
The heart of the action of the Covenant is the partnerships between local congregations in Cuba and Florida. Over 160 Florida churches have a partnership with 137 churches in Cuba. With the change from 14 to nine districts in Florida, the current partnerships continue, with opportunities for more churches to partner under the new distribution below.

Florida Districts Cuba Districts
North West The Central and Cienfuegos Districts
North Central The Central and Cienfuegos Districts
North East The Havana District
Gulf Central The Matanzas District
East Central The Holguin-Tunas & Isle of Youth Districts
Atlantic Central The Holguin-Tunas & Isle of Youth Districts
South Central The Sierra Maestra-Santiago & Guantanamo Districts
South West The Holguin Norte & Agramontino Districts
South East The Holguin Norte & Pinar del Rio Districts

Florida Districts send an average of 30 caravans per year. A Caravan consists of four to six lay and clergy persons. Their mission is to visit and share with their partner churches. Testimonies abound of lives transformed and motivated to implement transformational ministries in their local churches in Florida.

Actions from the Covenant that build relationships between the Cuba and Florida churches:
1. To pray for one another and develop a common study of Scriptures
2. To engage in the interchange of people as work teams, preachers, laity, caravans, study teams, professors, teachers, and choirs
3. To respond to the priorities of the Methodist Church in Cuba
4. To build relationships between districts and churches in the Florida Conference and the Methodist Church in Cuba for mutual support and encouragement
5. To support the Advance Specials of the Methodist Church in Cuba