2019 CIECAD Congress: Rise Up, Be Strong, Be Brave!
By Rod and Sherry Boyd

Panama had the privilege of hosting the 2019 CIECAD Christian School Congress last month, Sept. 26-28. There was a record attendance of 573 teachers, school directors, administrative personnel, pastors and national school and church leaders from Central American ChildHope Schools that include the countries of Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. The 2019 Congress is the third organized by the CIECAD Commission, comprised of the national directors and ChildHope missionary coordinators for Central America. Previous congresses were held in El Salvador in 2010 (404 in attendance) and in Nicaragua in 2017 (503).

The Congress theme was RISE UP, BE STRONG, BE BRAVE, combining the principles learned from the David and Joshua stories from the Old Testament. Leading up to the Congress, our Central American leadership team recognized the serious threat to traditional structures like family, church and school that the postmodern and progressive anti-biblical agenda promote. The church and school must rise up and face the giant. God is looking for strong and brave Davids and Joshuas to stand up to the assaults of the enemy!

Our national leaders and international speakers shared in seven general sessions to inspire our front line soldiers to stay the course. Experienced teachers, directors and pastors from the different Central American countries taught 30 practical workshops during four workshop periods. From beginning to end, the Lord was present to inspire, challenge and encourage those who are teaching 40,000 children and youth who attend ChildHope schools throughout Central America.

The Congress concluded with gala dinner. Johnny Saucedo Jr. and the rest of the worship team from the Jehovah Jireh Church, all graduates of the Jehovah Jireh Good Shepherd School, led worship during the Congress. The closing service was powerful! It was a reminder that God is raising up a new generation of leaders like David and Joshua.

We’re grateful to the CIECAD Commission for their hard work, and especially to Pedro Vanela, Panama’s National School Director, and his local committee for his leadership among our schools and team preparing for the event. Of the 573 total attendance, 337 attended from Panama! We’re thankful for Melissa Pimentel, a gift from God who works on our team in Panama, who led the local team in organizing important logistics to help Panama be good hosts for all who attended. We’re thankful to ChildHope for designating funds from the Margaret Smith Training Fund to subsidize registration costs. We’re thankful for the ChildHope missionary country coordinators for encouraging and helping their delegations with travel and housing. Mostly, we’re grateful to the Lord for the army of Davids and Joshuas who minister to children and youth throughout Central America. And thank you for praying for our teachers and leaders that God would help them to STAND UP, BE STRONG and BE BRAVE.