Discipleship and Leadership
One of the ways we minister in Spain is via church planting and leadership. Each month, we ask you to pray for Spain and for God to call people to come and help serve in the small towns, villages and pueblos. We pray for God to raise up workers who are willing to come to the areas of Spain where there is little to no witness. There are 7000+ towns with no evangelical or protestant congregation. Much of the Spanish population that was born after 1975 is unchurched and has no affiliation with any religion or congregation, Catholic or protestant. The small amount of growth that the Spanish protestant church has experienced has been mostly due to the influx of immigrants.
The large cities have a disproportionate amount of Christian workers and resources, while the small towns and regions have virtually no one and nothing. Madrid, Barcelona, Sevilla, and Malaga continue to be the areas that mission agencies send workers, while virtually no one is sending workers to the villages and pueblos. Spanish pastors in the outlying areas are struggling to carry the load alone and are subject to burnout and exhaustion. We know of 3 ministries that have closed their doors in the past two months, one who has had a major crisis and church split, and others who are overworked and underfunded / understaffed and frustrated.
One of the ways that we minister in Spain is via leadership and church planting. We serve a local congregation in a small town. Our church, Centro Cristiano, has a congregation of approximately 130 members. But all of those members are not from Antequera (the town). Our church has an outreach radius of 32 miles which encompasses 15 communities. We have active house churches and cell groups far outside of our city limits which we visit with and serve each week. Every weekday, the work is divided among the pastor and two missionary couples and we set out in different directions to teach, disciple, and pastor cell groups. Some groups only have two to three people, and some have up to 12. Some meet in the daytime hours, and some in the evenings.
Other ways: We lead an adult study group and a youth Sunday School group, as well as being the Sunday School Directors. Billy serves on the board of the church-affiliated NGO and we both work with the non-profit in various ways. The other mission couple leads the youth group, guides a women’s workshop, and works with the NGO in the food pantry and other outreach.
We also serve on the Pastor’s Leadership Team, helping to determine strategies and methods for more effective work and helping to alleviate the burden that the pastor carries. Maybe most importantly, we are good listeners and friends who support the pastor and each other.
Pray for workers to come alongside local pastors in ways that will lift them up, ways that will lighten the burden, and ways that will glorify God.
The large cities have a disproportionate amount of Christian workers and resources, while the small towns and regions have virtually no one and nothing. Madrid, Barcelona, Sevilla, and Malaga continue to be the areas that mission agencies send workers, while virtually no one is sending workers to the villages and pueblos. Spanish pastors in the outlying areas are struggling to carry the load alone and are subject to burnout and exhaustion. We know of 3 ministries that have closed their doors in the past two months, one who has had a major crisis and church split, and others who are overworked and underfunded / understaffed and frustrated.
One of the ways that we minister in Spain is via leadership and church planting. We serve a local congregation in a small town. Our church, Centro Cristiano, has a congregation of approximately 130 members. But all of those members are not from Antequera (the town). Our church has an outreach radius of 32 miles which encompasses 15 communities. We have active house churches and cell groups far outside of our city limits which we visit with and serve each week. Every weekday, the work is divided among the pastor and two missionary couples and we set out in different directions to teach, disciple, and pastor cell groups. Some groups only have two to three people, and some have up to 12. Some meet in the daytime hours, and some in the evenings.
Other ways: We lead an adult study group and a youth Sunday School group, as well as being the Sunday School Directors. Billy serves on the board of the church-affiliated NGO and we both work with the non-profit in various ways. The other mission couple leads the youth group, guides a women’s workshop, and works with the NGO in the food pantry and other outreach.
We also serve on the Pastor’s Leadership Team, helping to determine strategies and methods for more effective work and helping to alleviate the burden that the pastor carries. Maybe most importantly, we are good listeners and friends who support the pastor and each other.
Pray for workers to come alongside local pastors in ways that will lift them up, ways that will lighten the burden, and ways that will glorify God.
