Dear Friends in Christ,
Thank you for your prayers regarding the recent trip to Bogotá, Colombia. Dr. Ted Rendall, his wife, Hester, Octavio and Rosie Samper, and Cindy and I were in Colombia October 12-21 to train pastors in expository preaching and spiritual growth. This involved eleven sessions of instruction on preparing sermons and modeling preaching on the subject of spiritual growth. We were also involved at Renacer Baptist Church which is pastored by Horacio Osorio, a missionary affiliated with the Wales Goebel Ministry.
Horacio and Patty Osorio
Horacio planted Renacer Church several years ago. This congregation now has their own building purchased almost totally with the members’ contributions. They have two services on Sunday morning with 150 attending in each. Also, Renacer has planted another church in Zipaquirá, about one hour from Bogotá, with 45 people currently attending services each Sunday. Plans are underway to plant additional churches in the near future. We had a great meeting with the elders of the church in which we discussed future church plants.
Octavio translating for Dr. Rendall
An exciting part of our trip was to participate in Renacer’s first annual mission’s conference. This church currently supports two national missionaries who work in different parts of Colombia. Dr. Ted Rendall was the keynote speaker for this inaugural event. He spoke Thursday and Friday night, and Sunday morning on the topic of missions. Dr. Rendall’s last message was a challenge for people to respond to God’s call to missions. Almost half of the church stood in response to the invitation.
Carlos and Elana Mejia
On Sunday I was privileged to preach the ordination service for Carlos Mejia, one of the elders at Renacer Church. God has called him to help with a new church plant in Bogotá. Carlos will be the initial pastor and will have a team helping from Renacer. The plan is that God will raise up leaders and a pastor who will take the church over once it is established.
Jose and Karina Alonso
Renacer Church helped found Logos Bible Institute which has its own building (This will also be the building for the new church plant). The president of the institute is Jose Alonso, a recent graduate of Moody Bible Institute. He is currently completing his Masters in Divinity from another seminary in Pennsylvania. Dr. Rendall preached the inaugural message for the official start of the Bible institute Saturday evening (The institute has been underway since last February, but officially began this week.). The counseling module, taught by Jose’s wife, Karina, was attended by forty-three ladies. The institute’s preaching module, which covered the importance of spiritual growth for the pastor and those under his care, was attended by thirty-five men. Also, included in the preaching module’s content, was the necessity of the Word for spiritual growth, as well as the ministry of the Holy Spirit. The highlight of the module came on the last night, when over half of those thirty-five men indicated they had appropriated the filling of the Holy Spirit in their lives. This followed a message on the need for the filling of the Spirit in thelife of the Christian.
We now have two missionaries in Colombia who are affiliated with the Wales Goebel Ministry. Horacio is the church planter in Bogotá. Alfredo Medina and his wife, Juana, work in Santa Marta helping to plant a church. They were sent out by Renacer in Bogotá as missionaries. Both of these couples need support to carry out God’s call. I have prayed for $100,000 that would fully support both couples and help continue the training for the pastors. Would you join me in that prayer? God is at work in Colombia. When you pray God may lead you to help with this great need.
In Christ our Life
Dr. Jay Jackson
