Many times we think that smaller churches are not able to participate or participate very little in missions. But in 2 Cor. 8 Paul uses the example of some of the poorest and smallest churches in Asia Minor to challenge the wealthier Corinthians. Such is the case of 2 of the 3 churches that we have mentored in Mexico City. Iglesia Cristiana Biblica and Familia de Vida are only 150 and 100 in attendance each, but what God has done through this process in these 2 churches has made other much larger and wealthier churches in Mexico sit up and take notice.
Both of these churches have a passion for making a difference, not only locally and in Mexico, but among the unreached as well. During this year and a half long process of mentoring their leaders through 6 modules, each one began in make paradigm shifts, make changes in their church, began to involve more and more people in the mission of the church. One of the paradigm shifts each made was to understand that the purpose of the church is to fulfill Christ’s mission on earth.
Therefore missions could not be a segmented department in the church it had to be the main purpose of which each member and each ministry is a part.
Today, almost all of their members are involved in different missional projects and are serving locally and globally at the same time. Some of the local missional projects that have been developed by their own members are: adopting a marginalized neighborhood, hospital ministry that takes care of dying patients, neighborhood children’s ministry, and an addiction ministry. Not only are their members involved in these local missional projects but they are also sponsoring the starting of 2 new churches in the least reached areas of Mexico, they are partnering with indigenous Bible translators translators to translate the New Testament in local languages of Mexico. Not only are they working locally and in Mexico, but they are also partnering with some of Connect Global’s missionaries in Central Asia and North Africa and planning on taking their first projects there next year!