Members of the Presbiterio Fronterizo Noroccidental at the bi-annual meeting in March, 2009, held at the Seminario Teologico Presbiteriano en Baja California in Mexicali, B.C.
(Click the picture for a higher resolution picture and identification of some of the members.)

Six Churches: The Presbytery is made up of six "organized" (chartered) churches: the Buen Pastor, Dios Habla Hoy Churches of Tijuana, San Marcos & Cristo Viene of Mexicali, Nueva Jerusalen of Ensenada, and just chartered in 2008, Jesucristo El Buen Pastor of San José de Cabo (at the southern tip of the Baja Peninsula, some 1,000 miles south of Tijuana).

Four Congregations: With at least 25 communicant members, but not the 50 required to be a chartered church along with three elders elect, the following congregations are part of the Presbytery: Dios Con Nosotros in Otay, Tijuana, Nueva Vida in El Pipila, Tijuana, Bethel in Tecate, and Dios Soverano (Sovereign God) in Mexicali.

Seven Missions: A new church development beginning as a gathering of Christians is called a mission. The following missions are part of the Presbytery: Tijuana: Monte Horeb in Obrera, Pacifico in Pacifico, both under the vigilance of the Buen Pastor Church, Las Terazas in the neighborhood of the same name is a mission of the Dios Con Nosotros Church; and Monte Sinai of Col. Tres de Octubre and Monte Sion of Col. Villa Urrutia are under the Presbytery. Cristo El Camino in Canyon Buena Vista 15 miles south of Ensenada is under the Nueva Jerusalen Church. Mana of Col. Azteca in Mexicali is under the supervision of the Cristo Viene Church.

Geographic Area: The Presbytery covers primarily the State of Baja California with five chartered churches (two in Tijuana, two in Mexicali, and one in Ensenada), four "congregations" (with a minimum of 25 members and a steering committee) two in Tijuana and one each in Tecate and San Jose de Cabo, and eight "missions" which include the new church developments in Playas de Tijuana and San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora started just last year.

Membership: Voting members of the Presbytery at its founding (or separation from Chijuajua & Sonora) in 2003, include nine ordained pastors, an elder commissioner from each of the five chartered churches, and elders who are elected officers of the Presbytery (one in 2003).  There are four foreign missionaries who are "fraternal members" of the Presbytery.  They do not vote but have voice and serve on Presbytery committees or "ministries", even as chair persons.  There are four obreros or "church workers" who are pastoring churches and missions, plus Efrain Romero who is Pueblos Hermanos' Mission Team Coordinator for Baja California (and Minister of Music at the Nueva Vida Congregation in El Pipila).  one of which is a seminary student in Mexicali.  There are two misioneras or woman missioners or church workers" who serve in a church and a new church development.  There are also a couple of seminary students who have come under the care of the Presbytery.

Seminaries - Tijuana: The Presbytery has a non-residential seminary in Tijuana, started by the Pueblos Hermanos bi-national team in the mid-90's as an extension seminary.  It had its first three graduates in June, 2002 and presently has a total of 12 students taking classes three nights a week in the Dios Habla Hoy Church facilities .  Courses taught by experienced pastors and missionaries last between a month and 8 weeks.  Last year the Presbytery joined forces for the work of the seminary with the other Presbyterian denomination in Tijuana (the Reformed Presbytian Church of Mexico, formally the Independent PC of Mexico, smaller nationally, it has roughly the same number of churches and members as the National Presbyterian Church of Mexico in Tijuana).

Seminaries - Mexicali: A residential seminary was started in Mexicali by the Rev. Pablo Lim, missionary of the Korean Presbyterian Church in America. It has a large campus, located across from the Cristo Viene Church in San Fernando, Mexicali, and presently has about 45 students in three and four year programs.  Students are given full scholarship to study there, performing various kinds of work to keep the seminary operating.  Most courses are one week intensive, taught by visiting professors and experienced pastors and missionaries. (Pueblos Hermanos missionaries Rev. Enrique Romero teaches evangelism, Rev. Bill Soldwisch teaches Old Testament Hebrew and Exegesis; Susan Soldwisch with her masters in Marriage, Family and Child Counseling, teaches pastoral counseling.)  Most of the students are from Chiapas and the southern cone of Mexico and will return there to carry out their ministries. 

The Presbytery has two graduates working well as pastors (Beimar and Laura Santizo were at Cristo Viene Church in Mexicali for seven years before moving in 2009 to Dios Es Amor Mission in La Planicie, Tijuana;  and Felipe Hernandez and wife Laura at Nueva Vida Congregation in El Pipila, Tijuana, after three years at the Mana Mission in Mexicali), as well as Misioneras Susana Hernandez who has worked with various churches in the Presbytery and presently helps at Bethel Congregation in Tecate.

The Presbytery's first real home grown student at the seminary is Osmar Damian, now in his second year (Sept. 2009). He came to receive his call to the ministry under the pastoral leadership of PH Co-coordinator Rev. Enrique Romero when he pastored the Dios Es Amor Mission of La Planicie, Tijuana for two years.

The officers of the first Baja California Presbiterio Fronterizo Noroccidental take their oath of office from the Rev. Baltazar Gonzalez of Cd. Juarez.

Baja California Presbytery organized: the long sought goal of a geographically manageable presbytery was realized last year as the Baja California churches were organized into their own presbytery, though keeping the old name Presbiterio Fronterizo Noroccidental. PH Co-coordinator Enrique Romero was elected Stated Clerk.  Rev. Luis Lugo, pastor of Dios Habla Hoy PC is President, Pueblos Hermanos Board of Directors President Rev. Job Alameda, Treasurer.  Elder Ruben Tec, another Board member of Pueblos Hermanos, is Assistant Treasurer.  Rev. Cesar Vazquez who planted two churches in Mexicali and is now working on his third in  San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora, is Vice President.

History: Vast Area for First Presbytery:  The first Presbyterian church in Baja California, El Buen Pastor PC of Tijuana, was started 35 years ago by what was then the Presbiterio Noroeste (the Northwest Presbytery), which covered one fourth of the geographic area of Mexico with its thirteen churches, and Baja California leaders of the new church developments of the mid-1980's would travel two and a half days to get to the three-day meetings in the Torreon area of Coahuila (called La Laguna)..

Border Presbytery Organized in 1992:  With the growth of Presbyterian Border Ministry missions into chartered church from Ciudad Juarez (across from El Paso, TX) to Tijuana, Mexicali and Ensenada, the minimum five churches necessary to form a new presbytery was met to create the Northwest Border Presbytery including the states of Coahuila, Sonora and Baja California.  Now the presbytery could be driven across in just over a day instead of three days.  It was still a great expense of time and resources to meet and carry on the business of the presbytery with