Mexico ministry update
Last week Lisa, Lindsay, and I had the opportunity to return to Mexico City with the youth group from Salem Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, NC. This is our church here in North Carolina and a number of the teenagers were students in Lisa’s Spanish classes at Salem Baptist Christian School. Let me say first of all that these young people did an excellent job of ministry through singing, giving public testimony of their relationship with Christ, witnessing, and providing skits for DVBS - all of this in Spanish! It was exciting to see God work in their lives. Of even greater encouragement to us was the opportunity to visit and encourage our brothers and sisters at the Iglesia Bautista de Fe in Nicolás Romero and to interact with our missionary coworkers.
While the construction of the building is not yet completed, the church is already meeting inside. Although there are still no windows in the building I was able to preach the morning service in the new auditorium with solid walls, a roof, an elevated platform, and tile floors. Now, this may not be a big deal to many who know no other scenario, but after 10 years of preaching out under the open air, this was a huge privilege for which we are extremely grateful. God continues to provide what is needed for the construction as the church, through much sacrifice, slowly erects its building piece by piece. It is exciting to see how God is using the new building to give positive testimony to the grace of God and to demonstrate the faithfulness of his people within the Nicolás Romero community. New families frequently visit the services, some out of curiosity and others as a direct result of the church’s public testimony. Please pray with us that God would provide the remaining funds and that construction of this phase of the building will be completed soon.
The church continues to grow and prosper under the leadership of Pastor Juan Matías. Several new believers have come to Christ in the past few months and the church has expanded its ministry to include a Bible Institute. This is not to say that the church has not experienced challenges. Several cases of church discipline over issues of immorality have caused internal conflicts, but Pastor Juan and the other leaders of the church are responding with love, patience, and, most importantly, a determination to follow the instructions in God’s Word. Please pray that God would continue to build His church in Mexico City and use these believers to declare the truth of the Gospel of Christ.
New medium for prayer letter
I am repeating this section from the last letter so as to give everyone another chance to respond. Due to advances in technology and the ever increasing cost of traditional delivery we are proposing a change in our delivery format. While we will continue to provide a “hard copy” sent through the US postal service for all who would request it, starting with this prayer letter (June 2008) our preferred means of delivery will be a digital (PDF) copy via email. It is here that we need your help. If you have not yet responded we are asking that each church and/or individual supporter contact us at brburk@yahoo.com either expressing your desire to receive the prayer letter via traditional means or providing us with your preferred email address for email delivery. Thanks for your help in this area!
Praises & Prayer
1. We have had a good response to the introduction of the Theological Curriculum. Copies of professor’s and/or student’s notes of the Hermeneutics course have already been sent to the Dominican Republic, Chile, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Ecuador, Guatemala, Spain, as well as Hispanic ministries here in the United States. That is a pretty good start! Please pray with us that God would use these materials for the effective training of Hispanic men for pastoral ministry.
2. Our trip to Mexico City provided several opportunities to minister. I was able to preach in our church, Iglesia Bautista de Fe, with good results. We also helped missionary David Hyde and the new church, Iglesia Bautista Nueva Esperanza, which is located in a northern suburb of the city, with their three-day DVBS. There were over seventy-five children and adults in attendance each of the first two days and over one hundred on the last. Most of these were unbelievers with whom we were able to share the gospel for the very first time. Please pray that God would use our time and the missionaries’ continual ministry to draw many to Christ. Two interesting stories come to mind:
On the first night a gentleman brought his daughter to the DVBS service and while not willing to enter he did stand outside and listen as I taught the story of the Parable of the Lost Sheep from Luke 15. He was captivated by the biblical story listening intently as we emphasized the truth that each person is just as lost as that sheep and that Christ the Good Shepherd is seeking to save that which was lost. After the service the missionary approached him and asked what he thought. His response was, “I have never heard that before. I’ll be back tomorrow evening to hear more.” Sadly he did not return the next night, but please pray for his salvation.
On the second evening a mother was sitting in the service about half-way back, literally on the edge of her seat during the entire lesson. On this evening I taught that Christ is the Bread of Life relating the biblical account of the feeding of the five thousand to our need for that bread which provides complete and permanent sustenance. As we gave the invitation this lady jumped to her feet and responded immediately. While she was not yet ready to make a decision pastor Juan Matias was able to deal with her for over 30 minutes carefully opening the Scriptures to more clearly explain the Gospel. She has asked the missionary to begin Bible studies in her home with the entire family!
3. Our partnership with Piedmont Baptist College in the development of the Hispanic M.A.B.S. is in full swing. The Spanish web site is up and running. (It can be found at http://www.pbc.edu/grad/spanish/ if you are interested.) Fifteen students are needed by September 1 to begin the program. At last count there were twelve already enrolled. Although we have already elaborated upon the necessity of this program in previous letters, let me remind you of the tremendous need for doctrinally sound Hispanic theological leaders and professors. As the national church continues to grow exponentially the demand for pastors and teachers grows as well. This increases the demand for Bible colleges and seminaries throughout Latin America. It is our prayer that God would raise up a host of national leaders to minister in this way. Would you pray with us for this new ministry? Please pray for Gary Sammons, our EBI liaison who is administering the program. Also please pray each student enrolled (present enrolled students hail from the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Venezuela, and Honduras). Please pray that God would supply them with the needed finances and strength to handle the additional responsibility.
4. The Old Testament Survey I course for the Theological Curriculum has been translated and is now in the format stage - that means that it is almost finished! Please pray with us for its completion. Also pray for the other courses under development: Bible Doctrines I, III, IV, Family, Evangelism and Discipleship, A Christian View of Science.
5. Finally, please pray for staffing needs at EBI. While the task before us is huge, as in many ministries, the laborers are few. We need help in just about every area including: theological writing, Spanish editing, graphic design, production, distribution, and representation. We especially ask your prayers for a new director. Marv Stephens, who has successfully directed EBI for some ten years, has announced his intent to retire. Please pray with us that God would provide the needed personnel.
