Desert Streams Ministries

Note: This update is also available as a printable PDF: Download

Dear Friends, Family, and Supporters,

As we move into spring, we are filled with gratitude for God’s faithfulness and for all of you who continue to support us through prayer and giving. We have much to share about what the Lord is doing here in Mexico!

Bible School Growth

We are excited to announce that our new semester began on February 12 with almost 250 students – our largest enrollment yet! This growth is both a blessing and a challenge, but God has provided a wonderful team of about 10 people who help facilitate the courses. We’re especially thankful for their dedication and service.

This semester brings two exciting new diploma options: a Diploma in Fundamental Theology and a Diploma in Basic Old Testament Studies. These programs are available to all our online students as well as those who attended the Advanced School of Ministry seminar, and is partially the reason for higher student enrollment. Students who complete these programs will receive their diplomas during a special graduation ceremony at the Advanced School of Ministry seminar in January 2026.

Our course offerings continue to expand each year, and we also continue to offer our “standard” classes in Old and New Testament studies, Homiletics, The Life of Christ, and many more. It’s amazing to see how the Lord is using this school to equip believers across Mexico and other countries for ministry in their local churches.

Advanced School of Ministry Conference

The annual Advanced School of Ministry seminar was held January 27-30 in Cuernavaca, with the theme “Foundations for the Future.” We were blessed to have Pastor Mark and DD Bryan, from Idaho, as our guest speakers. Their messages richly complemented our theme of “Foundations for the Future”, building strong Biblical foundations for the church, even as our world experiences rapid change. We were reminded that while methods may change, the foundation of God’s truth must remain constant.

Sara presented a powerful session called “Living Stones,” helping pastors and leaders identify and develop people in their local churches who can assist in various ministry areas. Anna did an excellent job interpreting for DD, who shared an impactful message focusing on Mary and Martha’s story. Anna also helped with online hosting, while I handled most of the seminar coordination and interpreted for Pastor Mark.

We’re thankful for the strong attendance, with over 600 people participating in person and another 130 joining online. The presence of the Lord was evident throughout the conference, and many pastors left encouraged and equipped for their ministries.

Local Church Update

The weekend before the seminar, we were blessed to have Mark and DD Bryan visit our church in Tulancingo. DD ministered at a special ladies’ breakfast on Saturday, and we had valuable time with both of them and our local leaders that evening. On Sunday morning, Pastor Mark shared a powerful message on the power of unity with our congregation.

Our church continues to progress, with several new families joining us. Both Sara and Anna are actively involved in various aspects of ministry, and we’re seeing the Lord work in many lives.

Visit to “La Hermosa” in Mexico City

Sara and I recently had the privilege of visiting “La Hermosa” church in Mexico City for their 86th anniversary celebration. This church is pastored by one of our Bible School students, and it was encouraging to see many young people actively participating in worship with tambourines, flags, and dance. I shared a message on renewal, focusing on Noah’s story, and afterward, we all enjoyed traditional “mole” together. It was a beautiful picture of the vitality of the Mexican church, even as several generations of believers joined together in unity!

Prayer Requests

Please join us in prayer for:

1. Increased finances for our Bible School as we continue to grow
2. Leaders and leadership development for our local church
3. Health and safety as we minister

Thanks again!

Once again, we want to express our heartfelt gratitude to all who support us through prayer and giving. Your partnership makes it possible for us to continue training leaders and building up the Body of Christ here in Mexico.

With love,

David and Sara Lont
with Anna

Note: A printable PDF version of this newsletter is available here.

Dear Friends and Supporters,

Happy New Year to all of you! May the Lord bless and prosper you as we begin 2025. Here’s a little update from us.

Church Christmas Celebration

In December, we had a simple Christmas celebration with our local church in Tulancingo, remembering the birth of Jesus Christ, our Savior. We worshiped and sang together, and then our team shared about Christ as the One who divides history. The birth of Jesus has divided the calendar used by most of the world today into B.C. and A.D. Jesus divided the Bible, as he came to bring the Old Testament to fulfillment and usher in the era of the New Testament. But perhaps the most important fact of all is that on the individual level, Jesus comes to divide our lives into two sections: “before Christ” and “after salvation”. Many in our congregation weren’t born into Christian families, but rather came to know Christ later in life. Just as the early Christians, we can see a marked difference in the life experiences before becoming disciples of Jesus and after.

After the service, we had a meal together and spent some time doing Christmas crafts and playing games. Fellowship was a big part of the lives of the first Christians in the book of Acts, and we believe it continues to play a crucial role in the local church today.

Family Time

The last couple of weeks of December were mostly for family time. Our son, David Jeremiah, came to visit us, as he has done each Christmas since he moved away to school. It’s been almost eight years already!

Also, Sara and I are now officially grandparents! Ella Lynn was born to Daniel and Elisa (in Vancouver, Washington) on November 20, 2024. We are so thankful for a healthy baby girl!

Bible School

We finished our fall semester in our Bible School at the beginning of the month of December. What a joy to see so many students receive the life-giving Word of God with a deeper understanding! Several commented on how they had begun to understand certain aspects of the Bible for the first time in their lives. Claudia, a sister who attends our church and recently started taking classes in the school, commented on how the Lord had used the course to help her understand many thing in the Old Testament for the first time, even after many years of being a Christian.

We have several students who are participating in the degree program with the Advanced School of Ministry and are making good progress toward their graduation, which is scheduled for January 2026. We plan on offering several different tracks or programs within our academic program and continue to work on several of the options.

Two new courses were available this past semester: Personal Prayer and Bible Study, and Evangelism. Both of these courses were very well received. We had especially great feedback on the course about prayer and Bible study. Anna taught this course and made it both very practical and personal. She really challenged the students to dive deeper into their relationship with God. There were many positive comments, confirming the spiritual growth this brought to our students.

We concluded with a special ministry time on Zoom with Mark Simpson. Thanks, Pastor Mark, for sharing with us about how to become useful in ministry. Your message was a true inspiration for all of us!

Advanced School of Ministry

In October, I began to rewrite the online registration system for the Advanced School of Ministry. I wrote the original software back in 2013 and then updated it in 2015. But another 9 years have gone by, so I decided it was time to do an entire rewrite. It now handles student registration by SMS and Email, automatic processing of payments by bank transfer, and provides a basic platform for transmitting the seminar live.

After this programming work, the teaching material started coming in, so I started on the seminar notebook in the month of November. This year’s student version is just under 150 pages, and I was finally able to send it for publishing on January 3, almost 2 full months after beginning this project. Although publishing a book each year is a lot of work and a big expense, it has long stood as one of the key goals of our annual conference. We want to put good teaching material into the hands of key pastors and leaders so that they can use it in their own local congregations.

Now, we are looking forward to the conference at the end of the month. There is still much work to do, but it will be a great joy to see the hundreds of pastors and leaders who gather each year in Cuernavaca for the seminar. We truly believe that the Advanced School of Ministry serves the purpose of building up pastors and leaders, who, in turn, build up local churches all over Mexico and beyond.

Thanks again for everything!

Once again, we are very thankful to those who pray for us and support us financially. Please continue to pray for the conference (January 27-30, 2025), for our church in Tulancingo, for our family, and for finances to expand the Bible School.

With love,

David and Sara Lont
with Anna