Church Partners

From Kevin Maner, leader of the Generations missions care team for Colombia after their call with our friends in Santa Marta:

"1. Pastor Edison shared that his father in law had had surgery on his leg 4 days prior to correct an issue that he was having with atherosclerosis. It was a pretty complicated surgery and Meredid and Johana have been taking care of him post surgery.

2. We asked him about Celmira and he said that he had asked about her joining the call with us but that she had not had a good day and that she opted out. Her condition seems to be unchanged.

3. We spoke about the school that we visited (Colegio Cristiano del Caribe). Augusto, Janina and Juan shared that the students there deal with many issues. Most of the families that go there are lower middle class so in many cases both parents work so the middle and high school students spend a lot of time at home without parental supervision. This leads them to deal with loneliness, depression, pornography and many other issues. They would love our support on future trips to have similar sessions with the students or perhaps even a short weekend retreat or something similar.

We also spoke about the kids in the Foundation and they would also benefit from teaching similar to what we did at the school or teaching or a short retreat (short Q&A session that James led when we were there which could be expanded with more time).

4. We asked about the church plants in Valledupar and San Juan.

They are about 30 minutes apart. One in Valledupar itself and one in a small town outside of Valledupar called San Juan.

As far as the church plant in Valledupar, they are looking for a place that they can rent that would accommodate 40-50 people. Today they have 20 people attending.

In San Juan, they have a very large location but they are preparing it because it needs a roof, a floor and a door so that they can lock it and store their stuff there safely. Today, they have about 30 people attending but they don't have a leader/pastor.

There are opportunities for us to serve and support both churches through visiting them, encouraging them and serving them through teaching. Perhaps in a future trip, we could get them both together at a location in Valledupar and do some training/teaching. Some topics suggested by Edison were: Leadership, Apologetics, Church History, etc. We could also do teaching via Zoom.

5. We asked Edison the status of purchasing the lot behind the church so that they could grow the sanctuary. He said that it looked like the guy was going to ask $40,000 for the property but that they were waiting for a final proposal.

6. At the end we had a time of prayer to lift up all of the needs that they spoke about (listed above).

Overall it was a sweet time of sharing and prayer and relationship building/growth with Pastor Edison, Pastor Juan, Augusto and Janina."

From Kevin Maner, leader of the Generations missions care team for Colombia regarding their call with Edison, Meredid, Juan, and Johana:

"It was a great call and a great time to reconnect with them. They seemed genuinely happy to see and speak with us.

We told them that it would be a monthly call for us to reconnect and grow closer together and be able to share both praises and prayer requests and for them to let us know what is going on in their church and vice versa.

They shared with us about the addition that they are making to add another floor to their building to accommodate the foundation for the children that they run with Compassion and that they are renaming the Foundation as "Fundacion Calvary" so that it will be more closely aligned and integrated into the church. They shared that it's roughly a 100 square meter addition and that they have roughly 250-260 kids.

Johana asked for prayer for the families of the church, the families of the leaders. Edison shared that they have 8 new members and also new families in the church. Juan asked for prayer for the adolescents in the church and shared that they are meeting with them once per month.

They are in their second year of community groups. They have 5-6 groups. They shared that they have 4 elders and 1 deacon and that they usually invite the deacon to the elders meetings.

All in all it was a great time to catch up and spend time with them. We ended up with a time of prayer for them and their church."

In August, we were able to send a team of 4 (Lina López, Samantha Hammett, Kevin Maner, and Scottie Finlayson) down to Colombia to visit the brothers and sisters at Calvary. Lina and Sam taught at the church's first ever women's retreat, where they focused on the theme of unity. Scottie and Kevin got to spend a lot of time with Pastor Edison and his family. It was a huge blessing to get to reconnect with this church and hear how the Lord is working in and through their congregation! Please pray for the following:

• Pastor Edison has been traveling to a couple cities called Valledupar and San Juan in order to help small groups of believers there to get established and plant churches. Members of Calvary also support believers in an indigenous community close to Santa Marta called the Chimila people. Praise God for his faithfulness to bring lost people in these communities to faith in Christ, and pray that he would continue to use Calvary to help grow strong and healthy in their faith.
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• Calvary partners with Compassion International to run a children's foundation in their community. They're doing an incredible job ministering to kids in the name of Jesus, but it's difficult to sustain financially. Please pray that they'd be able to make connections with partner organizations that can contribute to the work they're doing.
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• Several different ministries currently take turns using the church building on Saturdays because there's not enough space for all of them. They would like to turn another room into a meeting place, and they've also been patiently waiting for months to talk with their landlord about purchasing a piece of land behind the church. Please pray for the Lord's favor and provision in these areas.

This past week we had the pleasure of hosting Pastor Edison for a few days as he visited church partners in Georgia and Nebraska. Despite the challenges of COVID and several brothers and sisters being personally affected by the loss of family members, the church remains strong by the grace of God.

They've begun a young adult ministry, which is being led by Juan Camilo and Camila (a couple that recently got engaged and who you may have met if you went on the Generations Colombia trip!). This group has been meeting every couple weeks and continues to grow.

Sadly, Edison recently had his motorcycle stolen, which was his only form of transportation. This made it especially difficult to get his daughter Sofía to her appointments for her medical condition. But praise God, another believer heard about the situation and gave her car to Edison's family!

The church continues ministering to children and their families in the community through the foundation. Kids used to come every day, but they've had to change it to an alternating schedule with smaller numbers because of COVID. They continue giving out food and hygienic supplies to families in need. Because of changes in how Compassion International supports the center, the church now has to bear more of the load of finding funding, which has been very stressful. Please pray that the Lord would provide for the needs of this ministry.

Lastly, the church is currently prayerfully considering starting a second service on Sundays. Colombia has restrictions on the number of people that can meet at one time due to COVID, so this would allow more brothers and sisters to worship together on a Sunday. Please pray for God to give them wisdom and to continue strengthening the church in Santa Marta and causing it to flourish!

Colombia continues to deal with constantly changing restrictions depending on the number of COVID cases in the country, but the church is healthy and doing well. They're currently doing two services on Sundays, with 40 people coming to the first service and about 30 coming to the second. Things are going well overall, but the daily grind of ministry and helping brothers and sisters in the congregation with their needs weighs upon Pastor Edison.

Please pray for Calvary's upcoming leadership retreat on March 25-26. Several church leaders and their families will be taking some time away so that they can pray together, enjoy a time of fellowship together, and get some well-deserved rest. Please pray that this time would be refreshing and energizing for them, so that they can continue giving themselves fully to the work of the Lord in Santa Marta without growing weary.

1. I ask you all to pray for my family's health. My son Evans has had a fever for 4 days, and my wife Meredith and I have flu-like symptoms.
2. I ask for prayer for spiritual wisdom to shepherd the church together with the other elders.
3. I ask for prayer for financial provision for the families of the church.

Blessings.

January 2023-June 2023 update

In August, we were able to send a small team down to Colombia to visit the brothers and sisters at Rescue Mission Church. Last year, the Lord faithfully provided a new building for them to meet in to accommodate their growing congregation. God has also continued to bless the biblical institute that the church started, and hundreds of students are taking courses like Bible & Theology, Biblical Counseling, and Pastoral Formation.

Barranquilla is deeply influenced by the prosperity gospel, but that is starting to change as more people attend classes and learn how to properly interpret Scripture. In fact, 5 pastors in the area have come to realize that their churches aren't healthy and have entered into an in-depth mentoring process called the Antioch Project in order to learn how to help their congregation move in a more biblically faithful direction.

There are so many incredible things that God is doing in Barranquilla, but the pastors and staff at Rescue Mission can't take it all on themselves. Please pray that the Lord would give them wisdom to know what things he is specifically calling them to right now so that they might be protected against burnout. Please also pray that God would continue to transform hearts and reform unhealthy churches, so that the kingdom of God might be more powerfully displayed in Barranquilla.

Rescue Mission Church has produced a 2022 update document full of pictures and stories of all that's going on in Barranquilla at the church and the seminary. Click here to check it out!

Below are the prayer requests mentioned in the update:

• Wisdom to the pastoral body and to the members of the church for a correct choice of deacons who can support the work being done in the church.
• Development of new leaders.
• Church finances.
• We plan to initiate a pastoral residency program with a man named Alvaro Blanco, who is currently leading a group of believers who have come out of a Pentecostal church in one of the poorest neighborhoods of Barranquilla. Among our plans is the desire to help Alvaro identify if he does indeed have a call to pastoral ministry and to train him in all that is necessary for him to formally develop a church planting work in that sector.

Rescue Mission Church has produced a 2021 update document full of pictures and stories of all that's going on in Barranquilla at the church and the seminary. Click here to check it out!

Below are the prayer requests mentioned in the update:

• We are looking for a larger place to move because the owners of the house where the church and Bible Institute currently operate decided to terminate the current lease with us, giving us until January 15, 2022 to move. In this regard, we need approximately US$120,000 for this project, of which we already have US$72,000.
• Funds to be able to pay Pastor Moises´salary
• For the Bible Institute classes on the church plantation in Puerto Colombia
• For a possible new church planting in Santo Tomas.

Things to pray for:

To find a new place where we can gather, also for one of the pastors whom is praying about coming aboard in fulltime ministry. Also for finances to support the work we are doing here.

Ministry Story:

Due to the generosity of our church partners, even as 2020 was by far the most difficult year financially speaking, our local church felt compelled to support another small church serving in a poor area of the city. So as pastors, we just were able to witness the beautiful picture shown in the New Testament, giving to others, not according to what we lack but to what we have!

Please pray for spiritual growing up and for wisdom to navigate this season! we have seen a huge increase of online students at the seminary, before covid we had nearly 200 virtual students, now we have nearly 650!! and our desire of planting a church in a town called Saint Thomas, is intact.

Over here things are still hard but we believe are going better little by little. We have been able to gather again for the last 8 weeks, people are coming back to church full of hope in the everlasting life, also, new people have come to join us.

There are many HUGE praises:

1. Eduardo, Etna and their 2 children will move to North Carolina in July/August. He will attend Southeastern Seminary. Pastor Andres will be the only full time pastor after Pastor Eduardo leaves.

2. Every Saturday they are meeting with 5 men in their church as they prepare them to be deacons and possibly elders in the future. Praise!

3. They have found a new location! HUGE Praise! They were able to buy a new location. It is 418 square meters (roughly 4,500 sq. ft.)! It has a house on the property which they will remodel to suit their needs. The cost of the property is $250,000,000 Colombian pesos roughly $64,000 US dollars. They will need to empty their bank account to buy this property but it is a huge blessing for them. The seller is being flexible with them and allowing them to pay $200,000,000 now and the remainder of $50,000,000 in 2 years with NO INTEREST! Praise God! They will move in 2-3 months. The property is 10 mins by car from where they are located today. They will fix the main room to have air conditioning and they will need to fix the roof.

They will be working on the property and several men in the church have volunteered to help out with the electrical and A/C work. They will need to install fans as well as the A/C and a new electrical panel. There is a brother in the church with skills in A/C maintenance/installation/repair.

4. They are asking us to pray for the men in the church that they would serve in a spirit of volunteering without expecting payment for their services.

5. They are focusing on teaching in the church in the following areas:

a. Requirements for elders

b. Choosing future pastor candidates (requirements for pastors)

c. Requirements for deacons

6. They are sponsoring a church in Valledupar - Pastor Pedro is the lead pastor there. They are planning to have Pastor Pedro visit Riohacha and Pastor Andres plans to continue to visit them in Valledupar. Pastor Pedro has been in the ministry for 2-3 years. They have a relationship of accountability with him. They are sister churches and the church in Riohacha gives monthly support to the church in Valledupar. They recently moved to a new location. They have 80 people attending and they have a sanctuary that could seat up to 300 people. They are focusing on raising up leaders. They would love for us to visit the church in Valledupar on our next visit to Riohacha to teach and encourage the pastor and congregation in Valledupar.

7. Pastor Andres' family is doing well as he transitions to be the only pastor at their church.

8. Prayers for Pastor Andres to learn English since Pastor Eduardo is leaving and he has held most of the international relationships up until now. Pastor Eduardo has been the "public relations" pastor and now Pastor Andres will need to pick up that role.

LOTS to praise God for in our last call with Pastors Eduardo and Andres!

Please be in prayer for them and their church as Pastor Eduardo moves to NC, Pastor Andres becomes the sole pastor and as they move to their new location!

The Generations missions care team for Colombia recently had a video call with Pastor Eduardo and Pastor Andres from Riohacha. Below are prayer requests they shared:

1. They are currently doing two services that are full and they really don't want to open up a third service. They are looking for another place to meet. Rents are very high right now in Colombia so other locations will be very expensive.

2. Pray for the political situation in Colombia. It is difficult with the current president trying to push a very left wing agenda.

3. They have been training some of the indigenous people from their region (Guajira). These people are from the Wayuu tribe. They are seeing good results with that work.

4. Pray for Pastor Eduardo and family as they are seeing some developmental issues with his young son (Ethan). He is having speech issues and they suspect it might be autism. They are having him tested for this.

5. They have been intentionally training up 5 young men from their church and they meet with them weekly on Saturdays at 7AM. Please pray for this work.

It was a great call with them to get reconnected. They would very much like for us to come to Riohacha the next time we go to the north coast of Colombia.

In August, we were able to send Kevin Maner to Riohacha, Guajira, Colombia to visit the brothers and sisters at Iglesia Cristiana Vida en Su Palabra. It was great to be able to spend time with Pastor Eduardo and Pastor Andres to hear how the Lord is working in and through their congregation! Please pray for the following:

• Their church continues to support a church plant in Valledupar, Cesar, Colombia. Please continue to pray for this work and for the brothers and sisters in Valledupar as they continue to work on planting a church in that city.
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• Their church has outgrown their current location and they are seeking to move to a larger and better situated place. There is a possibility that a member of their church could build a new location for them and then lease the new facility back to them. Please be praying for the Lord's hand to move in such a way that would benefit the church and its work in Riohacha.
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• Please continue to pray for Pastor Eduardo's work with Gospel Coalition and his working in providing translation and interpretation services both in Colombia, other locations in Latin America and the US.
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• Please pray for Pastor Andres as he serves as the chaplain for a local Christian school where he was formerly a teacher. Pray that his work there would be a blessing to the students, parents, teachers, and staff at the school.
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• Please pray for both Pastors Eduardo and Andres as they blend the pastoral work at the church with their other work/duties as well as family that the Lord would bless them in their various endeavors.

Last month, Eduardo and his family got to take a much needed vacation in the US. One of their stops was at Generations, where we got to host them and spend time together for a few days. During their time here, we got the chance to interview Eduardo on the Weekday Worship podcast, which you can listen to here.

While Eduardo was here, we became aware of the fact that his fellow pastor Andres Aguilar (also at Vida en Su Palabra Christian Church) had similarly gone many years without having taken any time off. Thanks to your generous giving, we were able to pay for a vacation for him, his wife Yuli, and their children Samuel and Abbie, which was a tremendous blessing and time of rest for their family. Andres will also be undergoing an Acts 29 assessment in August, so be praying for that!

This month of April has brought some challenges, we are at a difficult point of the pandemic, there is a high occupancy of hospitals and clinics, relatives of our members who have passed away. And there is a strong sense of anguish and fear, we are again with many restrictions, for example we had curfew for the whole weekend.

We appreciate your prayers for our city and our church, and for those who have experienced the absence of their loved ones, may the Lord help us as pastors to accompany and comfort the brethren, and may we soon be able to return to face-to-face meetings again.

As a church it is difficult to keep up with the normal rhythm of our activities in the face of changing restrictions. Help us to pray then for healing, for protection and that we can soon overcome this point of the pandemic.

After a difficult year, the church is doing well. One of the most challenging decisions we made after a hard year was for the church to support one of the pastors full time. So my fellow pastor, Andres, starting this month will be providing to his family only through the church. He quit his job as a teacher as it was time-consuming and we weren't able to care for the church properly, so our prayer is for us as a church to be able to cover his salary. Please join us in praying for that, and may the Lord add more of his people to the church.

Year end updates

An update from Pastor Felix:

"Greetings to Generations, Pastor James, Danilo, Mitchell and all the brothers and sisters of the church.

Things are going well at the orphanage. We currently have 20 babies. God gives grace to bless our ministry. The church is doing alright as well. Our group in the Bounouna district is gradually developing. There is a pastor who takes care of it now. We have a project to establish a church in a town called Douna. We are investigating, we will work on it.

Here in our church, we have a primary school with 3 classes for the moment. In this school, several schoolchildren are enrolled who have been displaced due to insecurity.

Our place of worship is being expanded and renovated. Thank you for your prayers that accompany us.

How is your friendship with the Clarkston refugees? Have many been converted and added to those who have already converted?

We are with you in spirit in this work. I wish you good luck. Tell the brothers in Clarkston we love them. We will have the opportunity to visit them on our next trip."

Ministry summer update

This past week we had the tremendous honor of hosting Aaron, Kristi, Felix, and Priscilla here in Georgia. It was a wonderful time to reconnect, encourage one another, and get updated on what the Lord is doing in Burkina Faso. Check out the items below to learn how you can be praying:

• Aaron and Kristi are now officially grandparents! Just a couple weeks ago, their daughter Jana gave birth to Piper Jane Channer. All three Wheaton children have gotten married in the past couple years, so pray that the Lord would guide Aaron and Kristi and give them wisdom as they enter this new season of life.
• Pray that God would continue to use them powerfully from Montana to advance his kingdom in Burkina, even as they're unable to be there in person due to the dangerous conditions in the country.

Felix and Priscilla

• Priscilla told us that last time they visited the U.S. they prayed that God would provide Aaron and Kristi's children with godly spouses, so now that that prayer has been answered, it's their family's turn! Pray especially for their oldest two, Kevin and Maximine.
• Felix's church has identified two new villages where they desire to plant churches in the next 12-18 months. Ask the Lord to prepare the hearts of those who don't yet know him, so that evangelization efforts would be fruitful. Pray also for boldness and strength for those being sent out to plant, and that the name of Jesus would be greatly glorified through healthy new churches.
• Priscilla shared that being a pastor's wife can be a very difficult role at times. Pray that God would fill her with strength for what he's called her to and provide her with deep, life-giving, godly friendships.
• Inflation has hit Burkina hard, and the cost of food and formula for the orphanage has nearly doubled. Pray that God would continue to supply all the needs of the precious children that Felix and Priscilla's church cares for, and consider making a donation. To do so, select the Missions Fund of the Generations giving form and write "Burkina Faso" in the memo line (or do the same in person with a check).

Gratitude

I entrust to you some subjects of prayers, because we feel in our ministry the effects of your prayers.

Prayer requests:

• Pray for the 17 babies of the orphanage. Each has a touching story.
• For the upcoming missionary seminar: March or April (it's been 4 years since we've held one of these seminars).
• Pray for the motorbike need of the president of the mission area and two other pastors.
• Pray for the continuation of the construction work of the Sunday school. In these rainy times, it is difficult to bring the children together for a teaching class.
• Pray for the revitalization and spiritual awakening of young people in the missionary region.
• Always pray for Christians and pastors displaced by terrorism.

Today, July 25, we have installed Pastor Gedeon Kambou at the new church that we have built in the Korona neighborhood (pictures here). Several brothers came to assist. Several children too. Pray for this church planting work. Greetings to Pastor James and to the brothers and sisters of the church.

Here the work is progressing. Babies do well in the orphanage. The orphanage is a holistic ministry that we do to manifest the love of God and to draw souls to the Lord. We have 13 babies and 10 girls who are learning trades. We have built some buildings which are necessary for this ministry. Please pray with us and be with us in this ministry for the glory of our Lord.

The mission is moving forward with the construction of a church in the town of Banfora Korona neighborhood. Pray that we have a missionary for this church. Thank you for the partnership in the work. May God bless your work for the King of glory!

We have several prayer topics: Maintain the vision and mission that God has entrusted to the church. The numerical and spiritual growth of the Church.

Church projects: The construction of churches and the construction of a school in the courtyard of the church. Pray for our student at Bible school. Motorcycles for the servants of God.

Our student is a Turka (people group in Burkina Faso) from Bodadjougou named Adama Siri. He is in second year. I personally contributed for the first year but it remains the second year and the third year. He will be an instrument for reaching the Turka people.

Pray for the construction of the missionary center and the realization of the vision of formation of evangelists and missionaries. Pray for the orphanage. We have 12 babies. pray for their health, their future, their support. Pray for workers to work with love.

Pray that God bless all donors. Those who support the orphanage. Pray for the other buildings that remain to be built: administration, health center, nursery, guest house.

Finally pray for my family: Schalom our son because he can't walk. Praying for our health as a family, my wife and I. Pray for the future of my children Maximine and Kevin. Pray that God will continue to equip us spiritually for his work. Pray that we have a good pastor to work at the church in Banfora. Because we have a lot of work. Finally pray for the completion of our family home.