11 Mar Masaya Conference Center Nearing Completion

Jeff Dice (right), a member of the Global Ministries staff who spends part of each year in Nicaragua, stopped at the national office in Huntington and talked about progress on the new conference center in Masaya.

“We have progressed quite a bit. When we first floated the idea, it was mainly because after having been there numerous times and seeing how much money we invested in using other people’s buildings, I thought it would be good to invest in our own building. Along with that, we want the conference to become self-supporting. If someday the US becomes less involved than it is today, the church in Nicaragua could still flourish.”

Masaya is a city of over 140,000. Other groups in the city would no doubt be interested in renting the building for meetings and other events. The conference could then use the income for church planting and conference ministries.

“It’s a two-story building,” Jeff explains. “When completed, it will have two dormitory style rooms which can sleep 12 in each one, 24 total. Then there are three hotel-style rooms with their own bathrooms. Two of them are basically doubles, and the third is a larger room which a family could stay in. Downstairs is a dining room and meeting room.”

How will the conference use the center? The conference, of course, will use the center for training purposes (like seminars for ministers and laypersons). But it will also provide a safe place for foreigners to stay, when they come for ministry opportunities. Jeff mentions three types of groups.

1. Mission groups. Two major logical needs confront every group that comes to Nicaragua to minister—where to stay, and what to eat. The center answers both questions.

2. Retired people. “Nicaragua is a wonderful place to spend the winter months,” Jeff says. “If people want to combine the desire to be warm and the desire for ministry, we have a ready-made place for them to stay.”

3. College students. The center would be ideal for college students who want to spend a semester or summer in a cross-cultural experience.

The three hotel-style rooms are completed. Additional work remains to finish the dormitories. All the rough plumbing and electrical work is done, but work remains with tiling, toilets, and sinks. They also want to build a couple of balconies—not necessities, but nice to have.

A youth group from Brown Corners will work on the center this summer, and will stay in the hotel-style rooms.

“Latin America is a great place to visit,” Jeff says. “If you’re a friendly person, they are a friendly people. My experience in Nicaragua is vast acceptance of the aid foreign people are trying to give.”

If you or your church are interested in serving in Nicaragua, you may contact Jeff Dice at:

Office phone: (989) 386-2702
Email: thedices@hotmail.com