Dear Pastor, Congregation and Friends,
Six years ago today we arrived in Spain as church-planting missionaries, with lots of excitement and hope. We had no idea what God would accomplish six years later through our lives and ministry, but we did know what God wanted us to do. We knew then, what we now know: our mission is to make disciples of Christ and gather those disciples into local churches with a desire to reproduce more disciples and churches. The results are up to God and when he gives gospel fruit all the glory belongs to him! Since November 2010 we have seen God—through the proclamation of the gospel and with the power of the Holy Spirit—give new life to spiritually dead people, raise up two new churches in the province of Madrid, and save, call, and equip two men for pastoral ministry. May God and God alone be glorified!
We are thankful for what God has done, but we are asking him to do more through us. For several years, we have been praying about an area in Madrid called ‘Sanchinarro/Las Tablas’. As far as we know, there are no gospel-preaching churches in this district of more than 200,000 inhabitants. I recently met a couple of missionaries that are living in that area and planning to start a church there. We hope to be a blessing to them and help in any way we can. We want to see many churches planted in Spain and want to be involved in these church-planting efforts either directly or indirectly. One of the ways that we hope to help existing churches and new churches in Spain is through evangelistic projects. We are currently involved in two: Radio Venyve (Come and See Radio) and an evangelistic website called venyve.net (comeandsee.net). We are collaborating with several like-minded churches and missionaries to see these projects come to fruition.
As exciting as these projects are, they cannot take the place of the local church. We believe that healthy local churches led by biblically qualified men are the key to reaching Spain. That is why we ask that you pray for the Parla Baptist Church. This church desperately needs a new place to meet. They are looking for a building that will allow them to grow and have a permanent presence in the community. That is why they are hoping to purchase a piece of property. One of the greatest benefits of them owning their own building will be that they will have the funds to fully support a pastor.
As I reflect on our time in Spain, I’m thankful for the men the Lord has given me the responsibility to lead and train. One of these men is Flavius Tabardau. The beginning of November I had the privilege of performing his wedding. What made this wedding so special was that he married my sister, Deborah. I am thrilled that God brought them together and I know God is going to use them greatly. Thank you so much for your prayers and faithful support. God Bless.
