Albuquerque, NM
Missional Leader: Nate Bush
Nate is the lead pastor at New City Christian Church. The church celebrated its third birthday on April 1,
2013. Nate and his family moved to Albuquerque about four years ago when they felt God calling them
to plant a church in this city. They have dug their roots deep to get to know and love the people in their
community. Nate is very intentional about connecting with and working alongside other ministries in
Albuquerque.
One such connection is with East Central Ministries (ECM), founded over 10 years ago by John Bolton.
ECM is located in the International District, formally known as the War Zone because of the crime,
drugs, and prostitution that highly populate this area. John and ECM bring light to this dark place by
focusing on Christian community development. Some of their initiatives include an olla factory, a
medical clinic, and an urban farm with chickens, greenhouses, and honey bees.
Kingdom Work & Cultural Foci:
We will partner alongside New City and ECM with any special projects ranging from home repair, to
sports camps, to taking care of gardening and compost in ECM’s urban farm. Through spending time
with Nate and John, their love for people will rub off on you and challenge you to have that same love
for the people of your city or hometown.
Albuquerque is often a city that is off the radar. However, there are a lot of people and communities
that are intentionally loving the city and its people. You will be brought alongside to hear stories and
see how people love their city.
Identification:
Make sure you have some form of ID. A driver’s license is fine.
Immunizations:
Mandatory—Up to date Tetanus
Weather:
During the spring the weather will be dry and mild. Albuquerque is in a desert, which means the sun
warms the days, but when it goes down in the evening it can get chilly. Albuquerque sits at over 5,000 ft
elevation so the air is pretty thin. The city is at the base of the Sandia Mountains, which crest at over
10,500 ft. elevation. During the spring, it’s possible for the mountains to still have snow at the top.
Check weather.com before your trip for the most accurate forecast.
Accommodations:
You will most likely stay in a church building. Since New City meets in a school library for their Sunday
services, they do not have a building that could accommodate us throughout the week. However, other
churches are willing to open their doors for groups that come to serve their city.
Meals:
Everyone will pitch in to help and prepare the food.
Many of the meals will be purchased out as we engage the city and learn about how different the
culture is there compared to other places. Everything we do is intentional, even where we eat!
Ground Transportation:
You will be responsible for getting to the assigned sites in the vehicles that you come in.
Medical attention:
In the event of illness or emergency, there are medical clinics and hospitals close by to where we will be
at all times.
Itinerary:
Our mission is to seek Jesus more intimately and learn from others how to love well. We will serve New
City, ECM, Nate, and John in whatever way we can to bless them and encourage them. There may also
be opportunities to serve on one of the many Indian reservations located on the outskirts of
Albuquerque. More than anything else, we will learn the essence of ‘being rather than doing’.
You will be exposed to the church and culture in Albuquerque, drive to the peak of the Sandia
Mountains to hike and pray over the city, spend a day in Santa Fe or take an all-day hiking trip, spend
time with our hosts, and receive training in cultural intelligence.
More specific day to day details will be available prior to the experience.