Dear prayer partners,
During the month of September, we took the opportunity to visit a few churches here in the city, getting to know other American missionaries and Mexican pastors. We’re very thankful that many of these churches are excited about the new church in Lomas Verdes. We also had the opportunity to celebrate Mexico’s Independence Day with the people of Lighthouse Baptist Church. During the last week of September, our John and Romans arrived in the city from the U.S. We are very thankful to everyone who helped us move the boxes from a church on the other side of the city to our storage room here in Lomas Verdes.
We started our distribution Saturdays on October 17. Each Saturday, we’ve had different churches here in the city send groups to help us pass out John and Romans booklets and invitations to the new church. In addition to those who came from churches here in the city, we also had different groups come from the States to help distribute the John and Romans. First, a young man who has a burden for helping missionaries came down for a week. He was truly a blessing, willingly spending hours walking the streets and handing out flyers. The following week, Josh’s brother, his wife, and her sister came down for two weeks, leading up to the opening service. We’re so very thankful for everyone who has helped over the past month to prepare for the church plant.
Our sending church was able to send a group down on November 2 to help us finish distributing the last of the 20,000 John and Romans booklets. They also stayed for our first church service on November 8. Their willingness to spend hours distributing John and Romans and invitations to the grand opening service, helping us stuff visitor bags, and taking care of all the little projects that go into starting a church was truly a blessing.
Iglesia Bautista Vida Abundante (Abundant Life Baptist Church) held its first church service on November 8. We had about 90 people in attendance, including approximately 15–20 people from the community who came as a result of the invitations. It was a wonderful first service, and we were able to see God at work throughout the service. During the salvation message, one person trusted Christ as their Savior. Please continue to pray for this new church as it grows and reaches its community with the gospel.
Praise
- The first service of Iglesia Bautista Vida Abundante
- The one person who trusted Christ as Savior
- Everyone who helped distribute John and Romans
Prayer
- Growth of the new church
- Wisdom as we spiritually teach and disciple the people
Josh & Katye
