Focusing on Lost People............

"Look to the nations, watch and be utterly amazed for I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe even if you were told. (Habakkuk 1:5)"

So, one week later, sitting here at my desk I must admit that I am utterly amazed. The Church Planting Movement that started in Guerrero Mexico two years ago is gaining momentum day by day. To date, 17 new churches have been planted in a state that had only 47 Baptist churches only 2 years ago. The church in Coyuca is praying and prayer walking their community expecting God to reveal to them another spot to plant the next church. And next year, we'll return, God willing, and continue to participate in this movement. And the key to all this is the concept of "Biblical Multiplication".....................that is, church planting churches plant church planting churches. It's in their 'DNA', if you will.

Here in Oklahoma, we would do well to watch and learn from our neighbors to the south. These Mexican churches, whose main reason for existing is to reach lost people, are experiencing growth and abundant blessings. I wonder sometimes if we've lost our focus.........................

There is something special about church planting. No other avenue so quickly and effectively multiplies the glory of God in the hearts of so many people. No other means has drawn so many new believers into the ongoing communities of faith where they can continue to grow in Christlikeness. This is why Church Planting Movements are so very important.

The picture shows my new friends, Adan and Eugenia, as they prowl the streets of Altamirano, looking for people who haven't yet heard the Good News. Join me in praying for them.

Lazaro Cardenas Group Photo

Some of these guys must just be exhausted..... they went to sleep during the picture taking session !

Final Fotos......the Trip Over the Mountains to Lazaro Cardenas and the Rest of the Group

We left early on Thursday morning - the plan was to go over the mountains this time since we had plenty of daylight. The photos show us eating a quick breakfast at the church before we left. At 7am, the lead deacon stopped by to thank us again for inspiring them as a church to do Kingdom work. He asked that the Guerrero Convention send helpers to stay a week or just a weekend to continue the work we had started. He promised, again, to continue to nurture the individuals who made decisions and asked us to please come back again next year.

Then we left. The photos show us driving thru Coyuca de Catatlan before daybreak. We drove for four and a half hours thru some world class winding roads. After about two hours, we pulled over for one of the seminary students to get out and vomit from car sickness........ I was starting to get sick myself ! I had been over this road twice before and both times we took 5 or 6 Dramamine ......we forgot to bring any this time. On a more positive note, the views are absolutely breathtaking (see photos). This is the Mexico that is far removed from tourist areas.

We finally arrived in Zihuatanejo around 12:30 and dropped off Pastor Wilbert at his church. Then we drove to San Jeronimito and dropped off the seminary students there at the seminary. At this point, I asked Jason to drive because I was still feeling the effects of the winding roads and wanted to get horizontal. Jason drove us all the way to Lazaro Cardenas, where we hooked up with the whole group for the final service that night.

PS- I threw the tarantula pic in there just for fun....... he is a Mexican Red-Kneed Tarantula and he wanted inside my backpack

I.B. Altamira, Altamirano, Guerrero, Mexico

We just got back to our room after saying goodbye to everyone at Esmirna Baptist Church, our host for the past 5 days. We ate some kind of Mexican barbque and tortillas after the service. On a side note, I am astounded at the number of tortillas that Jason can eat............ I think he must have an unfair advantage over the rest of us because of his donut addiction. Bad joke. Anyway, Alfaro gave a great talk on leadership - especially as it pertains to church. We should invite him to WRBC.......we could learn some things. I certainly learned a few things about myself. It was well received, then we ate, and then spent an hour taking pictures, hugging and saying goodbye. I was asked maybe 20 times if we were coming back next year. Probably, but I can't commit - I'm not in charge. Tomorrow we leave at 7am for a 5 hour trip over the mountains. It's the short way to get back, just a little more dangerous. The scenery is beautiful, tho.

It's been a great 5 days. We leave with the knowledge that a new Baptist church exists in Mexico - because God stirred in the hearts of a bunch of people and called them to His purpose. It's abundantly clear to me that God works in that manner. When a large group of people feel the Lord stirring inside them and moving them to action, we can feel confident that it's a movement of God thru the Holy Spirit. I am happy to be part of this group because we leave here incredibly blessed. I hope to be here next year to continue what's been started. Oh by the way, this new church is called Altamira Baptist Church or in Spanish Iglesia Bautista Altamira.

We should get back to Lazaro Cardenas tomorrow evening where we'll participate in the final service of the campaign. Then we get up on Friday morning, pack, and head to the airport after stopping at the seminary for lunch. I'm not ready to go home yet. Like being on vacation, it's hard to leave it all behind.

The Last Day in Altamirano

The first picture shows Brother Tony preaching in the final service of the 3 day campaign at the house church. We had almost 30 kids show up and probably 40 adults. At the end, Pastor Moises from the church in Coyuca went to the microphone to thank everyone for all their efforts and promise us that after we leave, he will continue to be in contact with all the new people that came this week - especially the ones who made a profession of faith. We drew detailed maps of how to get to each one's house so he and members of this church could do follow-up.

The bottom picture shows us eating breakfast at 9am on Tuesday morning at the mother church. Notice Jason Blosser has his mouth full again - he ate more than John and I combined ! By the way, I have become a real fan of instant coffee - is this a crazy world or what ??

Pictures from the Roof of the Church in Coyuca

The guy in the middle picture with me is Manuel. He is a third year seminary student working as a church planter in the towns of Atoyac and San Jeronimo - narcotraficante country. I'm gonna keep him on my prayer list - he is a good dude stuck in a really dark place and he's by himself. John Garrett and I worked with him last year in Zacatula, Michoacan so it was nice to spend the week with a familiar face - the guy is a real jokster too. The guy to John's left in the first picture is Tony - another seminary student who preached the sermon in the last service we had at the house church tonite...........it was his first time to preach an evangelistic sermon and he did a great job. Most Baptist pastors like to use a 3-point sermon and Tony had 5 ! On the far right is Pastor Wilburt Martinez (who I've known since he was 14) who is the vice-president of the Guerrero Convention and the fellow in charge of their church-planting project.

Prayer-Walking in the City

Here's a short video of us prayer walking in downtown Altamirano. It's a busy place around lunch time. The instructions were to walk praying silently - no big task for John Garrett ! I can't believe I finally got a video to upload - Gloria a Dios