Umbertide

Umbertide (prounouned "oom-ber-tee-day")is located in the province of Perugia in northwestern Umbria. It is 19 miles north of Perugia and 12 miles South of Città di Castello. There are approximately 15,856 inhabitants according to the 2005 statistical report.

The Region of Umbria also known as “The green heart of Italy”. Umbertide is one of the larger towns of northern Umbria; in the area, it is second in importance only to Città di Castello and basically flat, which is relatively unusual for the region. It is an important regional industrial center producing machine tools, farm machinery, textiles, packaging material, and ceramics.

HISTORY of the CITY of UMBERTIDE
Evidence of the first settlements are Etruscan, based on bronze artifacts found nearby, and date back to the 6th century BC. Umbertide or the surrounding area was inhabited in pre-Roman and Roman times. The earliest reliable documents on the town date from 1189, when Umbertide was subject to the jurisdiction of Perugia. Its original name was Fratta. It remained under the Perugia’s control until the 16th century, when it became a part of the Papal States. It continued to be under Papal domination until the Kingdom of Italy was established in 1860. It received its present name in 1863 in honor of then Crown Prince Umberto.

LANDMARKS/SITES
It is located in the Upper Tiber Valley in northern Umbria, in a green valley lying below Mt. Acuto made very fertile by the Tiber River.
Although there are remains of the medieval walls, and a few medieval houses, the Rocca, or citadel, is a superb medieval fortress which is located in the historic center of the city. It has always been the symbol of the town. The Rocca has been entirely renovated, and is now the home of the Contemporary Art Center. Many of Umbertide's best monuments are of later periods.

THE PAST SPIRITUAL CLIMATE IN UMBERTIDE
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the city has been a citadel of spiritual darkness for centuries. History reveals that there have been both religious and political influences that have hindered or obstructed the proclamation of the Gospel. Catholicism has been a dominating force in the lives of the people. The patron saint is the Madonna or Mary.

The Umbertide Ministry Initiative

WHAT WE HOPE TO ACCOMPLISH
There are two families serving with TEAM in the church planting work in Umbertide: The Aguirres and the Kröckertskothens. Our goal is to establish a church in Umbertide in partnership with the Brethren Assembly of Città di Castello.

WHAT WE ARE DOING
We are currently in the process of establishing a church in partnership with the Brethren assembly of Città di Castello which is 15 miles to the north. While the Castello church is our ministry partner, we also enjoy close fellowship with Perugia assembly and other nearby Brethren assemblies in the regions of Tuscany and the Marches.

WHY WE ARE WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE ITALIAN BRETHREN ASSEMBLIES
There are several thousand cities and towns in Italy without any Gospel witness. It is our personal conviction that God wants to reach all of Italy with the Gospel and that He wants to do it not just through teams of foreign missionaries working alone but through missionaries working in partnership with existing Italian churches. We feel strongly that, where the circumstances permit, missionaries should work in partnership with existing national churches to establish new churches as in the case with Umbertide.

OUR MUTUAL GOALS WITH THE CASTELLO CHURCH
For many years the Castello church had been praying for Umbertide, nurturing the believers that live there and were actively involved in efforts to evangelize the city. In 1995, the church approached the Aguirres and asked them to consider moving to the city to spearhead a new church planting effort in Umbertide. George & Kim, who had completed a two year internship in Citta`di Castello and were just back from their first home service, had been actively seeking God’s direction for a future place of service. They sensed God’s clear leading through the leaders of the Castello church and after further prayer and consulting with supporting churches, accepted the new assignment.

OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CASTELLO CHURCH
The work has been a collaborative effort from its inception. The Castello church has overseen the work providing guidance, encouragement, participated in evangelistic outreaches, and continued to pray for and take part in the ministry activities of the emerging church work. We have seen that their continued involvement in the work has not only helped us move towards our mutual goal of seeing a church established in Umbertide, but has also given opportunity for the discipling and training of young believers. The relationship with the Castello church has been instrumental in providing communion with believers from the local area right from the beginning as well as providing the emerging church in Umbertide with a sense of belonging to a greater reality beyond that which is visible on a local level.

RECENT IMPORTANT MILESTONES IN UMBERTIDE
In November of 2005, a strategically located meeting hall was inaugurated in Umbertide. This ushered in a new phase in the process of establishing a church plant in the city. The meeting hall gives visibility in the city and it allows us to meet regularly throughout the week for Bible studies, prayer, and Sunday worship. It also provides a neutral setting for those who are interested in learning more about who we are, and what we believe. The Castello church family has continued their participation even throughout this new phase of the work. They have given counsel, been present for meetings in the facility, shared in the ministry and helped with financial needs related to the opening of the meeting hall.

PRESENT MINISTRIES
With the opening of the meeting hall, we have been busy with the weekly activities mentioned above. In addition to this, we are continuing to seek new opportunities to share the Gospel with those we meet. Some of this takes place as we meet people informally in stores, on walks, at the weekly market, at sports events, at school, visiting neighbors or people in the hospital and getting together with people for meals. Other meetings are more intentional such as the children’s Bible English club, evangelistic music concerts in parks & public auditoriums, children’s park ministry outreach, literature distributions, and learning disability therapy sessions. Each one contributes towards our goal of bringing people together to hear the Gospel and respond to it. Individual discipleship Bible studies are in progress for a couple of the people who attending the weekly meetings held in the rented hall.

GOALS FOR THE FUTURE
Our desire and priority is to see as many people as is possible, in Umbertide, come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. As this takes place we would also like to see each one become a vibrant member of the emerging local church. and that the Umbertide church would thrive and as this is starting to take place, the church would begin other church plants following the pattern of collaborating with Italian believers. The next city which has been targeted in conjunction with the church of Citta' di Castello is the Gubbio about 30 minutes from Umbertide, with a population of 32,000 and no Gospel witness.