Category: Ministry

On December 21, we had a Christmas dinner with our church. This year, we were able to borrow a party hall for the event. We moved the entire church platform, sound system and instruments to the location of the dinner, about 10 minutes from our church.

The dinner was organized kind of like a pot-luck. Every table had a representative who was in charge of decoration a coordinating who would bring which dishes. That way everyone was able to participate, doing their own small part. Several families did a fantastic job decorating their tables. Over 300 people were present for the dinner.

We had a time of worship and singing of both Christmas songs and worship songs. After the time of worship, our girl’s choreography group presented a special number. They did a beautiful job!

During the Fall months, we have been having a weekly Bible study with our core leadership group each Tuesday night.  Our goal has been to seek the Lord, to establish Biblical leadership values in the hearts of our leaders, and to study the Scriptures which relate to church government.

Each week, we have had a meeting in our cabin to pray, read our study material and enjoy an informal dinner together.  It has been a time of growth in both relationships among our leadership members and in the Word of God.

During our time together, we have discovered many Biblical principles which we have then applied in our Sunday services and in the life of the church in general.  Our study of the area of church membership was especially edifying, both for us, as leadership, and for the church.  Many of the points that the Holy Spirit emphasized to us were later shared in messages to the congregation during Sunday morning services.

Besides these studies in our cabin on Tuesdays, we have also spent time weekly with all of our cell group leaders each Monday night.  During these meetings, we pray for each leader and I often share a teaching that has something to do with leadership or Christian doctrine in general.

Pastor Oscar, from the town of Cerro Colorado, and his wife have attended many of these leadership meetings with us, and it has definitely been a time of growth and spiritual edification.

Since it was on a Sunday this year, we had a special service and lunch together to celebrate. We tried our best to unite the groups of both of our Sunday morning services into a single group. We put a projector and sound system outside in our parking lot, under a tent, and those that didn’t fit inside the building sat outside. When the service was over, we all had lunch and a few games together.

It was good for the church to get together, not just to worship, but also to eat together. Remember, this was a vital part of the life of the church in the book of Acts.

Acts 2:46: And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart…

Last weekend we had a great trip with several people from our church to Tutotepec.

Tutotepec is a very small village in the mountains of the state of Hidalgo here in central Mexico. Sara and I had been there several months ago and saw the need of bringing the Gospel to this area and showing the people in the village the love of Christ.

On Friday afternoon our team went walking around the village inviting the people to come and see a movie in the evening. We had a good turnout for the viewing of the Courageous movie, which was shown in the backyard of the family which invited us. After the movie, I shared a little about the importance of being a good father, and being ready for eternity. Several of the people attending showed interest in knowing more about the Gospel. Our team shared tamales and coffee with everyone after the event and enjoyed talking to many people and getting to know them a little.

On Saturday, some of the ladies gave free hair cuts to those in the village who wanted this service. Some of the women hadn’t had their hair trimmed in years! At the same time, others went around the village giving away toys to the children and blessing families with a kilogram of free rice. Still others went to paint a house and do other “handy-man” jobs at some of the houses. Sara and I had the opportunity to counsel a few people as well. Our idea was to bless the people and show them the love of God, and not just preach to them.

We had a great time and see that the Lord is opening doors to minister to the people of this small mountain village. We hope to return with another evangelistic event in the coming months.

Following the service, we all had lunch together at the church.  Some of the ladies cooked some meat and cactus plants, and we all enjoyed a delicious meal.

When lunch was over, we drove another hour or so down toward Meztitlán and then up a narrow dirt road high above the river to the community of Itztayatla.  Pastor Oscar, who also works as an electrician, met some of the men from this small community as he was working on a construction project with them.  He shared Christ with them, and now the entire family serves the Lord.  He does a service way up in the community every Sunday evening.

After praise and worship, I shared a message about God being the Great I Am, as He revealed Himself to Moses.  As we concluded the service,  I had the privilege of leading a young man in prayer to receive Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.  What a blessing it was to see another soul come into the Kingdom of God.  The tears in the man’s eyes and the hugs of the other men around him were testimony of  the sincerity with which he prayed and evidence of the working of the Holy Spirit within his heart.  It seems that the others had been praying for him for some time already, and all rejoiced in the fact that he had finally given his heart to the Lord.

We had supper with the group in Iztayatla before beginning our descent from the mountain and the drive back home.  It had been a blessed day.

Sara and I were both invited to be the guest speakers at a youth conference in the city of Puebla, in central Mexico.  The title of the conference was “Biblical Ironmen”, and we applied many aspects of the Ironman Triathlon to the Christian’s life.

1Co. 9:26-27 : 26 Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27 No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize (NIV)

Here are a few pictures of the conference. 1) I am teaching about the diet of the Biblical Ironman.
2) Biblical Ironmen Conference, Puebla 3) Sara, teaching a session on “Training to be a Biblical Ironman” 4) Some of the kids at the conference

On June 30, Sara headed to Tula to preach a couple of sessions at a Women’s Conference. Tula is a city just over an hour from where we live. She ministered twice on Saturday to the ladies at the conference. Alejandra, a young single girl from our church, went with her on Saturday morning. I stayed home with the children.

On Sunday morning, Sara and I went back to Tula again to preach at the Sunday morning services. We dropped David and Daniel off at our church first, at about 7:30 AM, since they both had activities to do there. We took only Anna with us.

We had two great services, and the people were receptive of the Word of God.

We came back just in time for Sara to vote, since it was a presidential election day in Mexico. The boys were waiting for us back at home when we arrived.

We had a great surprise at our church for the fathers on Father’s Day. Their children led the Praise and Worship! For over a half hour the children’s worship team led the entire church in song, playing instruments, singing and doing choreography.

Have a look at the video!

Children Leading Worship

Leon and Audrey arrived from Michigan on Thursday, May 24. I went to the airport with Ernesto, a brother from our church. Anna, our daughter, also went along. We brought them here to our house, as Leon and Audrey stayed at our visitor’s cabin. After resting on Thursday night, we took them to the village called Real del Monte (where Sara was born), on Friday, where we had lunch and walked through the downtown area, looking at the shops.

On Friday night, Leon began his series of messages on Biblical healing in our church in Tulancingo. The service was well attended, as he shared his first two messages on this subject. We were able to pray for several sick people who were present at the meeting. Audrey De Haan shared a message with the ladies at a breakfast meeting on Saturday morning. What a great breakfast! The church was full of ladies, many who had never been to our church before. Several received Christ Jesus as their Lord and Savior, and many others received prayer. Leon gave his last two messages on healing on Saturday night, which was also well attended. Several people gave their lives to Christ at the end of the series on Saturday night. All of his messages were very biblically based and doctrinally balanced. Leon enjoyed his tongue tacos (one of his favorite mexican foods) for supper after the meeting before heading back to the cabin to rest for the night.

We had a great time with Leon and Audrey, and their visit was a tremendous blessing for our family and church. Praise God for their lives and ministry!We said our goodbyes very early, as Leon and Audrey left for the airport at 5:00 am on Monday morning to take their plane back to Michigan. Brother Ernesto and his wife drove them to the Mexico City airport, and then came back to our house afterward for breakfast.

This past Friday, Sara and a few of our Children’s Church leaders went to Tula to teach a seminar on Children’s Ministry. Our son, Daniel, and our children’s praise band, together with part of the choreography ministry (including Anna) went along, as well. I drove some of the kids there and came back Friday night with them. They did a great job leading praise and worship for the opening night of the event. Sara and the rest of the ladies spent the night there and taught several sessions on Saturday during the day. They were a real blessing for the church, and the group that attended received great teaching and inspiration to serve in this important area of ministry.