First Year: Progress

Enviados is the name of our ministry. Enviados means “those sent”. We recognize that God has sent us to different places, always with the purpose of serving a local church, and the Spanish speaking church at large. Enviados Ministries provides articles, books, conferences, leadership training, mediation, and counseling among other resources within Spanish speaking church contexts.

Monthly Giving

We are supported, and backed up by Hispanic Leadership Initiative. Hence, we use the same platform they use: Keela! You may securely give through that platform—be aware that the platform charges a 2.2% + $0.30 rate per transaction.

PayPal is a great alternative for recurring donations. In addition, each bank has its own policies and procedures for setting up recurring gifts. We would be glad to help you sorting these through!

Annual & Single Gifts

If you’re considering annual gifts or single gifts, we strongly encourage you to send a check to HLI for the Paredes Amador Family. Direct transfer and cash donation are also available. 

We’ve now also included Zelle, Venmo, and PayPal!

All these may have a donation receipt for tax purposes from HLI!

Monthly giving is the approved amount for the cost of living in Cambridge. This includes housing, groceries, internet, etc.

Special needs are things that we need to either pay upfront (like healthcare and tuition), or other needs that do not necessarily imply a monthly amount—like ministry and homeschooling.

There are three main ways to give, and it will all depend on what’s easiest for you.

1. Set up a monthly Bank Transference with your own Bank App or Website. This, of course, varies from bank to bank, but has the advantage that it is often free to set up. 

2. You could write a monthly check and send it to the name of Alberto Paredes at HLI (The Hispanic Leadership Initiative–our sending agency) to PO Box 42933, Charlotte, NC 28215. Similarly, you can Zelle it (dr.paredes.alberto@gmail.com), Venmo it, or transfer it to Paypal through monthly transactions. 

3. Keela is our online giving platform. Its benefit is that it is very easy to set up and it would get your monthly payments automatically for as long as you wish. The downside is that Keela charges a 2.2%+$0.30 transaction fee.

Hence, it depends on what you want to do. Some like to maximize their gift, and prefer the first option. Others prefer to commit to a monthly exercise of actively sitting and making the transaction while praying for us. For them option 2 would be best. Some others would be more comfortable with the ease and safety of using an online platform, that’s option 3. 

Whatever you choose, we would love to help you through the next steps—we want to make everything as easy and comfortable for you as possible. 

This is a tough question! Monthly supporters are vital—these gifts are what will keep us going in a day-to-day basis.

However, we also need people who are committed to giving at large, or to specific needs like Laura’s Biblical Studies degree, the kiddos’ education, or the actual ministry…oh yes! I almost forgot…Cambridge Tuition is a big one too!

Special needs will vary through the four years of study. Moving Expenses are only needed in the first and last year, and the Healthcare insurance of all of us needs to be paid even before the visa is issued! Cambridge Tuition is paid at the beginning of each year, and Laura’s Biblical Studies Degree is paid by the end of each semester. Homeschooling and ministry expenses are a bit more flexible.

If you wish to direct your gift towards a special project, that’ll be great! If you prefer us to allocate your gift towards the next more pressing need, we’ll be happy to do so.

*Please, be aware that if the Lord provides enough for a specific need, we will use your gift towards the next most pressing area unless you expressly request otherwise.

UPDATE: Keela platform problems have been solved. (August 1st, 2023)

Previously: (July 30th, 2023 or prior)

Sadly, due to a recent software update, Keela has been having some issues receiving gifts from some partners. We’ve communicated with them to solve this issue as quickly as possible.

This has been their response so far:

[Hi Alberto,
 
Our Product Team released last week a number of security enhancements to our Keela Forms and one of those enhancements is reCAPTCHA.
 
ReCAPTCHA V3 looks at your recent online behaviour to determine if you’re a real human or a bot/script. This means that if the browser you are using has no recent activity, reCAPTCHA might mistake you for a bot.
 
The good news is that it’s not permanent. Most times a false positive can be fixed by just trying again later, after using the browser for a while.
 
If you come across a false positive, these might be the causes:
 

• Freshly wiped browser – if you’ve wiped your browser history, reCAPTCHA might not recognize you as a human for a short while. Just resume using your browser and retry after the browser is also used for other regular activities (checking email, browsing social, reading, etc).
• New/different browser – if you are using a browser you don’t regularly use, reCAPTCHA will almost always flag you. Use your regular browser or try again later after using the new browser for a while.
• Incognito mode – may trigger a false positive
• New device (PC/Tablet/Phone) – if your device is brand new and has no usage history, you might get flagged. Try from an established device or try again after a few hours of regularly using the new device.
• Unusual/Public Network – if you’re on a different network, often a public network, your activity might be flagged. You can try again after using your device for a while, or try from a connection you use more regularly.]

If you’re considering a monthly gift, setting up a recurring bank transfer or using PayPal are the best options. Plus, a bank transfer will not charge any extra rate!

Yes. The Hispanic Leadership Initiative, will issue a receipt for those who partner with us financially. The receipt will be sent by the end of the year. If you need your receipt before that, we may gladly send it to you upon request.

Yes. The Hispanic Leadership Initiative, as our sending agency, has reviewed and authorized our budget and has the prerogative of following up financially at any point of the next four years.

This is an excellent question—and one of my favorites to answer. My research project is entitled: “Medical Language in the Greek Pentateuch.” On the surface, it seems like an overly specific and a rather obscure topic. It is difficult to imagine that something like this could serve the church in any way. However, the topic was chosen cautiously and with precisely that specific objective in mind. Let me explain.

First of all, it is necessary to establish what is the general objective of studying a PhD. For some, the PhD is a vehicle to earn another degree. For others, a way to become an expert in a (very) specific area. But there is a third way of looking at the degree. The PhD is an educational process that helps you learn at higher levels without depending on lectures or teachers. The philosophy doctorate through research, in other words, is a path through which the student begins acquiring tools that will serve them for life. These tools are both general and specific.

In general terms, a doctoral student learns to research topics of interest in depth. He learns to analyze arguments and to dialogue critically but respectfully with other people with whom he may disagree. These tools are significant for ministry. They not only will help the student resolve problems and controversies that the church may face in the future, but to do so with respect, rigor, and humility. On the other hand, the long and challenging path to the doctorate generates character and virtue. In other words, it helps in the sanctification and maturity of those who walk through it. The doctorate requires perseverance, humility, discipline, self-control, faith, etc. Although the doctorate per se will not bring this out in the heart of the student; many times it is the circumstance that the Spirit uses for a believer to grow into the image of Christ.

Specifically, the nature of my project allows me to delve into several subjects closely related to the Bible and Theology: Greek, Hebrew, Biblical Translation, Textual Criticism, Early Christianity, History of the Intertestamental Period, Topics of Faith and Science, Old Testament, Theology Proper, Covenant Theology, Biblical Anthropology, Use of the Old Testament in the New, Exegesis, Canon, Papyrology and Codicology, and more. These are all themes with which biblical Christianity is closely related. Diving into these topics will give me better tools to not only serve at a local church level, but to train others who desire to do the same for the glory of God.