Dear Pastor, Congregation and Friends,
I memorized Ephesians 4:11-14 a long time ago because those verses help me remember my primary responsibility as a missionary. Verses eleven and twelve mention that God has given gifted people to the church (pastors and teachers) for a specific purpose: “…the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” My job is to disciple and train believers to maturity so that they can experience the joy and the privilege of serving Christ. Recently my parents have gone on a short furlough and have left me with the full responsibility of both churches. Instead of this being a stressful time for me I have enjoyed seeing how God is using the believers in Parla to do the work of the ministry. I live fifty minutes away and I go to Parla only to preach on Wednesday and Sunday. They are taking care of the day-to-day work. I have never seen the church so excited. They are experiencing first-hand the joy of serving Christ. They are sharing the gospel. They are inviting friends to church. I spend my time helping the leaders of the various ministries in Parla to serve more effectively. By the way, they are doing a great job!
We started the year in the best possible way. Carmen, a lady that has been attending our church since May 2013 announced after the Wednesday service (January 1) that she had decided to accept Christ as her personal Savior! God used a faithful lady in the church to impact her life. Soon she will begin discipling her. It’s wonderful to see disciples making disciples. I’m currently studying the Bible every week with two men. On Mondays I meet up with Javier in Colmenar and on Wednesdays I go to Parla and spend time with Antonio. Please pray for their salvation. God used people from both churches to influence these men.
We had a special Vision service in both churches and we discussed plans for the new year. Here are a few goals:
- Place a gospel tract/invitation in every mailbox in Parla and Colmenar.
- Organize three special evangelistic services in both churches (Easter, Friend Day, Christmas).
- Organize two evangelistic men’s and women’s meetings in both churches.
- Organize an evangelistic campaign in October for both churches.
- Start English classes in Colmenar to make contacts.
- Distribute 15,000 gospel DVD’s in Colmenar.
