Pete and Sonya Wright visited us from West Park Baptist Church in Knoxville, TN. Pete and Sonya are long-time friends, and had previously been missionaries in Chile. West Park is one of our key partners in ministry. We are very thankful for their involvement. Our church presented them with a small plaque in recognition of their partnership in 10 years of ministry with us in Iglesia Bíblica Bautista de Manta.

Libertad wanted to make public testimony of her faith in Christ as her Savior. She is a changed person, a disciple of Jesus Christ! We thank God for her and many others who show Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection by baptism.

Prayer Report October 2014

October 2014

Here are seven encouraging items from our ministry:

1) Joy and I received permanent residency visas. This will save us time and money since we won’t have to renew missionary visas annually, plus it make our presence in Ecuador less dependent on bureaucratic whims from year to year.

2) We taught a couple of exciting Bible study series as part of the Thursday night Leadership Training courses at the church in Manta. Both the men’s and the women’s groups were very faithful in attendance and in getting homework done each week. Some have even taken the course material to teach others what they learned.

3) One of the men who was baptized in April came to follow Jesus through the testimony and influence of his young daughter and his wife. Now he is sharing his faith in Christ with others at work, in their neighborhood, and among their relatives. He consistently brings people to church, usually filling his pick-up truck, some have become believers, and he is teaching them discipleship lessons.

4) Three young women were baptized in August. It is very encouraging to see new believers following Jesus and being identified as His disciples. One of those baptized is a teenager from the Montañita Verde Children’s Home.

5) The church has been growing in giving and generosity. One project has been the support of orphaned and needy children in Uganda in partnership with a church in Virginia and another in Kampala. The people of our church in Manta have given three and four times as much as our original commitment each month. Tithes and other offerings have increased along with that special project.

6) Volunteers have been working on the church building. The pastoral office area is nearly done. Volunteers have prepared walls and painted Sunday School classrooms. They have also been working on a second nursery area. Recently the men have been learning to make windows. There are lots of windows needed around the building so this will be a big help.

7) One Saturday afternoon we held a teacher-training seminar for the children’s ministry workers. Over 20 people came including four new volunteers. Plans are underway to reorganize and expand to be able to minister more effectively to the growing number of children.

Thank you for encouraging us. We hope that you’re encouraged too!

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Baptism and Men's Fellowship

While we are in the States the ministry of Iglesia Bíblica Bautista de Manta is going strong under the leadership of Pastor Darwin Moreira and the great team of servant-leaders that God has put in place. One way we measure the health of the church body is in discipleship of new believers. Jefferson and his family came to the church a few months ago and soon became believers in Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Others in the church have encouraged them to learn to walk with Jesus as disciples and have led them in a period of Bible study to get started well in their Christian life. In this picture, the family was ready for baptism by Pastor Darwin.
Another core value of the church is fellowship. Here a group of the men are getting together on Sunday afternoon for some sports at the local beach. The church is a family that encourages one another.

Baptisms

Sunday we had the privilege of baptizing five believers. Two are young teens, one young lady is the daughter of a dedicated young couple, and the other two are a young couple, recently married, who each came to know Jesus during the past month. It always brings joy to our hearts to see new believers following Christ and fruit of the ministries of the church. Completing the Great Commission involves evangelism, baptism, and teaching. Thank you for praying for us as we serve Christ in Ecuador.

First Baptisms at the Church Building

The building isn't finished, and the baptistery isn't finished, but today (February 27, 2011) we held our first baptismal service at the church's own building. Seventeen people were baptized in obedience to Jesus' command and following his example. It was a great group: Whole families, Sunday School kids, new believers, men, women, teens! What an exciting time for our church!
I'm sure there are times that I will miss having baptisms at the beach, and maybe we can still do that once in a while, but it was cool to have over 100 present to support and witness the testimony of these new disciples.

January is Nearly Gone

We're well into 2011 and there are a number of reasons to praise God as our ministry in Manta, Ecuador moves ahead. First, we are excited about the theme for this year: Build Your House on the Rock! In our preaching and teaching we will be emphasizing the wonderful words and works of our Lord Jesus, seeking to make practical application to life, and living in obedience as disciples of Christ. We are praying for revival in our church, and for God to call servants into his harvest field. Secondly, we are so thankful that God is providing for the construction of the church building to continue. We expect to have a roof on the auditorium soon! I can't wait to post pictures!
Thirdly, we are going to get more of our church involved in ministry. Please pray for a good response to opportunities in visitation, welcome, evangelism, and discipleship ministries of the church. As the building progresses we will have more opportunities for people to teach and assist in Sunday School classes as well. This should be a great year!

Evangelism Class

Training people to do personal evangelism and discipleship is a big part of our overall discipleship and leadership training strategy. Lately we have been teaching a simple method for personal evangelism to a group of interested church members. They are memorizing scriptures, practicing a presentation of the Gospel, and are praying for God to present them with opportunities to share their faith with others.

Theme for 2010

"The whole Bible. The whole church. The whole year." That's our theme for 2010. We have started a new Bible reading program to motivate the church to read the Bible daily. Besides a calendar of readings for the year, we are providing a weekly devotional guide to help everyone understand what they are reading. Some will read the entire Bible this year, others the New Testament, and a few will read through the Gospels for the very first time. We are excited about what 2010 holds in store. Pray for us as we follow through and reach our goals.

Baptisms

What a great day! We had 135 in church and then a big crowd went to the beach for baptisms. Nine believers made the first step of discipleship, following the example of the Lord Jesus. This is always very exciting for me personally and for our church family generally. The group included a young married couple, four people from one family, a couple of boys, two teenaged girls, and two men for whom we have been praying for quite some time. Each one gave a clear statement of faith in Christ and shared a few words of testimony, encouragement to others, or gratitude to the Lord and those who have helped them come this far.

Bible Institute Students

Here you see most of the people from the church who recently completed subjects in our Bible institute ministry. All of these folks take active roles in our church. Baby Aaron was present for the latest subject and took the final exam. This Thursday we expect to add several new students to this group.


Miriam, Darwin and Jessica each received a beautiful Study Bible in recognition of their completing 12 subjects. They are the first to finish the Level One courses. They will be continuing to study in areas specific to the ministries they are involved in or will be stretching into!

A Cold October Day

Weather and temperature are relative, right? Right! William and Mariselly (a married couple), and Denny (on the right) were baptized on Sunday after church. They and about 20 of our congregation braved the cold October wind (at least it seemed cold to all of us) and gathered on the beach. Baptisms are always exciting for our church. We sing a little, ask the new disciples to give a word of testimony, and pray as a group. Since we don't have a church building with a baptistery, we celebrate these public professions of faith in a public place. The sunbathers, strollers, and swimmers don't usually seem to mind our presence, and sometimes stop to watch or even ask questions. This time we weren't there very long. Once some of us were wet and standing out of the water we hurried to our homes to warm up!

Baptism at the Beach

On Sunday, August 3, 2008, eight people were baptized in the "cold-ish" waters of the Pacific Ocean at Murciélago Beach. The five young people to the right in the photo have been a part of the church youth ministry for several months. They gave testimony of the decisions they have made to follow Christ at youth camp and because of the work of their mentors at church. The couple to the left have been coming to the church for five months. They were separated when they began to follow the Lord and have since seen their marriage restored. They also gave testimony to the patient teaching they have received from those in the congregation who have come alongside them on the road of discipleship. The lady in the green shirt is Mom to two of the teens. We pray that her husband will soon take the step of believer's baptism as well. We are very grateful for this evidence of good ministry being done during our four months in the States.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch ...

We were absent from the church in Manta for two Sundays, but everyone pitched in so that regular services continued as usual. We are happy to have many people who are willing to do their part and are consistently involved in the ministry. Sunday School, village ministry, youth meeting, adult Bible studies, and Sunday services were all taken care of. I am truly grateful for the privilege we have of working alongside fine Ecuadorian Christians who are willing to use their gifts in service. We are all imperfect but redeemed; and we were unworthy and unusable, but we are now of great worth and very useful. There is a neat illustration of this in the little New Testament letter to Philemon where Paul describes the servant Onesimus, whose name means useful: "He was useless to you, but now he is useful both to you and to me."

Believer's Baptism

The lady in pink is named Olfa. Here she is with her daughter and granddaughter. Olfa became a believer through a mass evangelism campaign sometime in the past, but she was not directed to a church that would teach her the Bible in a practical way so that she could grow as a Christ-follower. She got sucked into a crazy, money-grabbing religious cult that is very prevalent in South America. The first time she went to one of their services, they dunked her and started siphoning off her funds. After a few months of that her family encouraged her to seek out a real church. She came into contact with us through a local Christian radio station. They asked me to give her a visit. That was several months ago. Several weeks ago she mentioned that she would like to be baptized on purpose. This past Sunday, Olfa gave testimony of her faith in Christ. She understood why she was being baptized and gave a beautiful statement in words and actions of the joy of her new spiritual journey with the Lord.

On Sunday I started a new series of messages on intellectual and philosophical objections to Christianity. I am enjoying the preparation time studying apologetics. I hope that it is a blessing to the congregation and visitors as well. Please be praying with me about the series.

Backwards or Forwards or Both

Young people's Bible study has seemed like a weak point in our current ministry. Recently we re-started it with a different emphasis and with the assistance of a young married couple in the church. I am really pleased with the changes made and with the results so far. The meetings emphasize daily devotions, church attendance, prayer, and scripture memorization. Since there isn't loud music, sports, constant outings, and "anything-but-Bible-study!"; it isn't all that appealing to a lot of kids. At my age, and with a thousand responsibilities, I can't deal with the entertainment aspects of youth ministry. Yet, we are seeing the kids who do attend consistently really blossom. Some of them are helping or teaching in the children's ministries on Sunday. Others have become regular attenders of the Sunday morning Bible studies and worship hour. More are reading the Bible on a daily basis. During the Saturday afternoon meetings we try to answer the questions they have that arise from the reading during the week and we talk to them about making application of the Scriptures. We want to allow God to influence their lives at home, school, work, and among peers.
A couple of weeks ago, I noticed that a couple of younger teens who come to church on Sunday AM with their parents hadn't come to the Saturday meetings. I suggested that they try it out. They didn't come the first time so I encouraged them again. They seemed very shy about it, and I remembered how hard it is for kids their age to break into a new peer group--the fear factor. I smiled and asked them to try it, "Please." Last Saturday they came. They quietly participated in the opening game time, smiling, saying a few words, and starting to come out of their shells. We all shared and learned their names. The challenge lately has been to learn the names of the books of the Bible in order. I joked with one of the regulars about whether or not she could say them backwards yet. Everyone laughed. On Sunday the new kids were at small group Bible Study and worship. "How'd you like it yesterday?" "It was good. We want to go all the time now." Big smiles from really shy kids. Yesterday I got a text message on my cellphone. "Pastor, it's me, J... I know all the books now. Backwards and forwards. I'll be saying them on Saturday.'' Awesome. I can deal with that.

Why'd He Do That?

As the father of a five-year-old boy, I've gotten used to fielding questions all that time, anywhere, and about anything? Teddy takes nothing for granted. Why did you do that? What is that? What does it do. Try watching a TV show or a movie with him: Who's he? Is he a good guy or a bad guy? What's going to happen next? When we read him Bible stories he questions as well. He wants to know if the characters and events made God happy or sad, and if the outcome was good or bad. Sometimes he questions God's reasoning, and he is skeptical of symbolism. His concrete mind isn't always ready to accept abstract concepts and metaphors. He has perfected his own sort of diagram to illustrate "the vine and branches" with all the pruning and fruit-bearing. Sometimes his relentless questioning is too much for Dad, but most of the time I am grateful for his lively and flexible intelligence. He is developing the ability to think and reason.

As a church-planting missionary who has spent many years helping to guide followers of Jesus, I continue to appreciate the wonder and excitement of those who seek and find, ask and receive, knock and discover an open door. In our discipleship ministry we can almost always identify those who are truly studying the lessons, reading the Bible, and trying to make sense of it. They seek the underlying truths and the practical applications. They ask questions. Their spiritual minds are developing like Teddy's is in the cognitive realm. Others read the Bible and prepare their lessons in a superficial way. They never ask questions and never seem all that interested in allowing Jesus and his Words to shape the course of their life. It's that first bunch who keep me going forward. I thank God for them.

A Place for the Family

Joy and I just started discipleship classes with Javier and Cecilia. They made a number of comments about how they are growing in Christ and how much they enjoy the church. They are attending Bible studies, Sunday services, small group meetings and even help in an outreach ministry. They both give testimony of a living faith in Christ, and how much their lives have changed for the better since they began to follow Jesus. Among other things, they talk about the church's ministry to their daughter Christina. She sings the songs learned in Sunday School and even repeats the Bible verses she is learning there. Mom and Dad have bought her a Children's Bible, and she insists that one of them read her a story from it each evening before bed. These are the building blocks of the church God is constructing in Manta.

Summer Slump

It's easy for me to forget to blog when I'm busy doing the business of ministry yet it doesn't seem like anything exciting is happening. In truth, there are lots of exciting, even miraculous things happening every day. The beauty of the Christian life is seeing God's involvement in the daily grind through the eye of faith. God is at work in the young man who wants to turn his life around and attends church and his discipleship meeting faithfully for five weeks. He is at work in the hearts of those who look for ways to share with those who are in greater need than they are. He is faithful to supply enough hours in the day and enough days in the week to accomplish every task, plus give us a little more strength so we can share a smile and a few minutes with an unexpected visitor. His hand is not still. He is busily engaged in the details.
Everything moves forward. We are growing closer to the deadline for the purchase of property for the Manta church. We are still about $8,000 short of the goal, but a bit more comes in each week. Seven of our supporting churches and three individuals or families have made contributions to our project fund. We are very thankful for their involvement.
At the beginning of August there will be a new rotation of Sunday School teachers. Joy has made plans for a small expansion of the teaching team. We are praying that all of the workers in this ministry will be faithful to such a big commitment.

Father's Day

We had a busy and exciting weekend. Saturday we celebrated our first wedding in Manta. A couple of young adults, Luis and Melanea, tied the knot. Luis is a relatively new Christian who came to Christ through the testimony of Melanea's family and our church. He has been baptized and met with me weekly for a while to learn the basics of Christian discipleship. Melanea has been a believer since childhood and grew up in church in another city. She has been a faithful part of our church, along with her mother and sister. Luis and Melanea spent a number of hours with Joy and me in recent months preparing for marriage. May God bless them with a happy, long-lasting union.
Also on Saturday, the Travesía ministry had a fruitful afternoon. They always have a good attendance of children, but the number of adults attending has steadily increased as well. The leaders are very excited because they are beginning to see evidence of understanding and belief among those who listen to the Bible studies. On Saturday, seven adults opened their hearts to God in prayer for salvation! Please pray for the men and women who minister in Travesía as they confront the challenge of teaching the Bible to these adults who, for the most part, do not read. Pray with us about an adult literacy program for this community.
On Sunday our church attendance was a bit lower than usual. On Father's Day in Manta, kids go to the beach with dad, and mom stays home to cook an extra-special dinner. However, we had 12 dads present for the morning service. That's twice as many as last year.
After church we met with around 25 people from the church at the property we are in the midst of purchasing. Most of them had not seen the property. They were very happy to consider the possibilities of such a fine location. We spent a short time there in prayer, asking God to make his plans and projects a reality through our lives.
Be praying this week for a group of servants from Blue Ridge Baptist Temple in Kansas City, MO who will be ministering with us in Manta. They will be here from Wednesday to Monday.

Marco's Baptism

Here's a picture from the baptisms. Marco is a retired officer from the Ecuadorian air force. I have been meeting with him each week for discipleship lessons.