Greetings from Mexico,
This past month, our church was blessed to host a church planting conference. In this update, I wanted to tell you about the great things that God did during this conference.
Our church planting weekend began on Friday evening as we had 12 of our church planers return from the field to share with our church congregation about the great things God has done!
Most of our local church planters shared, along with several who flew in for this special event. Each one gave a testimony along with some prayer requests, along with thanking our church for their support.
A special highlight for me was listening to a church planting panel made up solely of our church planters. I felt like a proud papa as I sat back in the audience and heard our church planters answer question after question from our church body with wisdom and clarity! The evening was well attended as many in our congregation personally support their friends that have been sent out to church plant.
While the Friday evening conference was open to our local church, all day Saturday we hosted a bilingual conference that was open to any and all pastors and leaders that were interested in learning about church planting. For the first time, this conference was held not in our church facility, but at one of our church plants located in a beautiful town called La Mision about 30 minutes south of us!
This two-year-old church plant, (Liberty Ranch Calvary Chapel) has not only flourished in their community, but they have already launched out and sent out their own church plant to a community located in the Southern Baja surf town of Todos Santos.
We were blessed as two of our ministry partners traveled down from the US, to be our featured speakers at the main conference. Pastor Bruce Zackary (Nexus Calvary in Camarillo) has been a long time friend and mentor to me. Bruce wrote the Calvary Church Planting Manual which is the text we use in our church planting course, and he partners in several of our church plants. Pastor Bruce gave us a powerful word and challenged us to be faithful to our calling.
Pastor Derek Neider is the pastor of Calvary Chapel in Las Vegas! Besides being a close personal friend, he is also a partner with us in several of our church plants. Pastor Derek shared a humorous yet Spirit-filled talk that left all of us blessed. Both of these Pastors have not only a deep love for Mexico but a passion for church planting and seeing the Kingdom of God grow through the entire world. We are honored to have them as speakers and ministry partners.
For those in attendance at the conference that felt called to plant, they left encouraged. For those not sure, they left praying for God’s perfect will for their life and family. We ended the conference by having those that felt called come forward, where our leadership laid on hands and prayed for God’s perfect will and timing.
The following week, our church began our new semester in our church planting class. With over 30 men and women enrolled this semester, (including several new couples) we are excited to see God’s church planting plans unfold through these faithful believers!
It is my hope and prayer that you are encouraged by this update. We are co-laborers in the ministry, and it is an honor and blessing for me that you have chosen to partner with us in this amazing work! Thank you!
Con mucho amor de Mexico, (with much love from Mexico)
Mike, Sarah, Grace, and Daniel
Prayer Requests!
- That God would speak to and call those in our new church planting course!
- That God would provide financially for our family and church in Rosarito!
Praise Reports!
- Praise the Lord for a blessed and fruitful church planting conference!
- Praise God for provision and for the progress on our church’s new patios and sanctuary expansion!