God has been so good. After planting 7 churches in Culiacan and seeing that each one has been growing and moving forward, this past January we sent our first church plant out of our state, Calvary Conexión México in the state of Tlaxcala, very close to the Mexico City.
This church is being planted by Pastor Bryan de la Cruz and his family. They are doing a great job and they have already started gathering on Sunday and are reaching out to people from the local community.
In February, I had the opportunity to visit them to encourage them and teach the word of God. I always find beginnings exciting. I enjoy seeing how the Lord is building his church through a group of believers committed to the vision of planting churches that reach communities and make disciples in all nations.
Calvary Conexión México has the vision of becoming a sending hub for church planters, first in central Mexico and then throughout Latin America and the world. Please, pray for them.
I want to take this opportunity to tell you a little about a family of church planters who have a great testimony. They are the team of our church plant number 7, Calvary Patria, here in Culiacan, Mexico.
Pastor Juan Carlos and his wife Silvia arrived at Calvary Culiacan North 6 years ago. At that time they were not believers and their marriage was destroyed. They asked for marriage counseling and the Lord restored their marriage in a surprising way. Months later their children also began to congregate in our church and the whole family attended church planting school. During this time, we discovered the great talent for preaching that God had given to Juan Carlos, Silvia, and her daughter Alejandra. They quickly grew spiritually and became the best preachers of our church.
In November of last year, we sent them to plant Calvary Patria in the building where they have a family business and God has blessed them greatly. A few months after they started, they already have a group of 50 constant adults and they continue to grow; glory to God!
At the beginning of February, I had the opportunity to attend the Calvary pastors’ conference in central Mexico. It was a great blessing to have fellowship with great friends and encourage each other.
I also want to share that at the end of February we attended the church planting conference at Calvary Maranatha Mazatlán. I had the honor of teaching the word along with other pastors like Pastor Mike Vincent. It was a great blessing for me and for the more than 50 people of the churches of Culiacan that accompanied us.
This year we have a great challenge ahead of us; the Lord has given us the vision of continuing to expand his kingdom by planting churches in Culiacan, in Mexico, and beyond. In May, I will be traveling to Jordan with Pastor Trent Douglass and a group of pastors on a vision trip so that in the future we can train and send church planters from Mexico to the Middle East! It is a great vision that requires much prayer and support. For this reason I share this with you, to invite you to join in this great mission that will be a great blessing.
Finally, I want to thank you for all your support in prayer, finances, and visits. We are a team that works together for the Lord.
Thank you for continuing to pray for our family, for the church planters, and for the new church plants this year.
Blessings