SCOPE

                              Heart to Honduras has been the ministry's Sister Church Program. Since its
                              conception, Heart to Honduras has purposed to work through churches in rural
                              Honduras to the material and developmental needs of their communities. The
                              ministry has done this through monthly pastor support, church improvement
                              projects, provision of materials, holding periodic pastoral meetings, seminars
and campaigns, sponsoring children’s and youth activities, and seeking to equip the churches to meet the
physical needs in their villages.

The Sister Church Program, officially named SCOPE (Sister Church Outreach Plan for Equality) equips
Heart to Honduras and its supporters to express this tactic of working through cooperation with Honduran
churches as never before. Through this program, North American churches can establish sister church
relationships with village churches in Honduras, discovering in the process the mutual encouragement that
Paul wrote of in Romans 1:10 –12:

One of the things I always pray for is the opportunity, God willing, to come at last to see you. For I long to
visit you so I can share a spiritual blessing with you that will help you grow strong in the Lord. I’m eager to
encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours. In this way, each of us will be a
blessing to the other. (NLT)

SCOPE is based on the following convictions:

1. There needs to be more material equality within the Body of Christ. Those who have more should share
with those who have less. Obviously believers in the United States generally have much more in a material
sense than their brothers and sisters in Honduras. Honduran believers work for $3.00 a day, often have no
food for their families during the dry season; live in homes with a dirt floors and leaky roofs; and have no
access to convenient and adequate medical resources. Meanwhile most North American believers have
regular incomes, savings accounts, checking accounts and retirement accounts; never have to worry about
having enough to eat; live in comfortable homes with windows and non-leaking roofs; and have medical
insurance and hospitals nearby. SCOPE is one means through which Heart to Honduras seeks to enable
more affluent believers to share their resources and blessings with families and villages who have less.

2. At the same time, those who have observed this ministry in Honduras know that while churches with more
financial resources can share those resources with their needier Honduran sister churches, the Honduran
churches also play an important part. Of course the Honduran churches experience new hope and their lives
are forever changed. But the North American believers also experience something, an unexpected gift, and
their lives are changed, too, as they encounter the rich faith and abundant joy of their brothers and sisters
with few financial resources. So both congregations are blessed.

This mutual encouragement is the key in strengthening both the Honduran and North American churches.

SCOPE, then, aims to:

1. develop ongoing fellowship between North American and Honduran churches;
2. meet the needs and opportunities of the Honduran churches with increased effectiveness;
3. challenge North American churches to move beyond token missions involvement;
4. work toward "equality of resources" as taught in II Corinthians 8:9-13; and
5. encourage practice of the true unity of believers in Christ which bridges all human and cultural barriers.

Since SCOPE was introduced in the year 2000, a growing number of North American churches have
expressed interest in becoming involved. Click here to learn about one example of a sister church
relationship that has emerged between Crossings Community Church in Oklahoma City and a young
congregation in the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa.

Churches assisted by Heart to Honduras are linked together through the ministry's Association of Pastors,
a group of Honduran pastors and congregations who have agreed to lay aside their denominational
differences and work together for the advancement of God's kingdom in Honduras. Until several years ago,
the Association represented only churches from various established Central American denominations. But
with the growth of Heart to Honduras' ministry, and specifically with the advent of churches begun or
fostered by the ministry or graduates of its School of Discipleship, a new group of Association churches
has arisen that is not tied to any existing denomination. These churches have gathered under a new
umbrella organization known as Brazos Abiertos, or "Open Arms."

There are currently twelve "Open Arms" churches represented within Heart to Honduras' Association of
Pastors. Of these, seven have already partnered with North American congregations as part of SCOPE.
Heart to Honduras is seeking partners for the other five. See below to learn how your church can get
involved.

Click here to find out more about Brazos Abiertos.
Response of Honduran Pastors to SCOPE

Honduran pastors and churches have responded enthusiastically to SCOPE. Heart to Honduras President
Gordon Garrett and the ministry’s Honduran staff presented the plan to the Honduran pastors in summer
2000. After hearing about the program, one pastor stood and shared that he had been to the US and
confirmed the North American church’s desperate need for deeper faith, joy and passion. He strongly
affirmed the vision of SCOPE. The pastor from San Antonio shared how their relationship with their sister
church in the States had blessed his congregation. He prays often for that church.

A female pastor said she believes the vision for SCOPE came from God. She said she believes the plan is
developing in God’s timing, and will unify Christ’s body and reconcile more people to God. The pastor from
remote Chigüitillo affirmed that the vision for the program is from above, and that God is opening a door for
the people of Honduras. The pastor from nearby La Joya expressed confidence that the program will help
the churches associated together through Heart to Honduras.

SCOPE has brought the Honduran pastors to a higher level of commitment and unity and has put new
energy into them. Other pastors and churches who have heard of the program have expressed an interest in
becoming involved with Heart to Honduras. The leadership of the pastors associated together through
Heart to Honduras have endorsed the plan and have worked out necessary details. SCOPE is underway!

More about SCOPE:

SCOPE Philosophy

SCOPE Coordinator

How your church can become involved in a sister church relationship

Participating Churches in Brazos Abiertos