Colombia Updates

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

Benjamin Kreps:

Hey everyone. And welcome to the Mark Prater podcast where our aim is to connect our global family of churches with our Executive Director. Mark, I think one of the most encouraging things in Sovereign Grace Churches are the opportunities that are expanding in Latin America. And in fact, you traveled to Colombia just last week to explore some of those opportunities. Tell us about that.

Mark Prater:

I did. I traveled with my friend Joselo Mercado that most of our listeners know. I also brought a couple of members from two different Sovereign Grace churches: Bob Wright from Covenant Fellowship Church and Victor Ko from Risen Hope Church in Prospect Park, Pennsylvania. And we traveled to Barranquilla, where we flew into, and met with a pastoral team and a church in that city who has some interest in potentially joining Sovereign Grace. We had a wonderful meeting with the pastoral team and then met with the church on Friday and just had a wonderful time with them. They've actually doubled in size during the pandemic, which is a story I'm hearing over and over again. Not only here in the states, but obviously in Colombia and it's just a wonderful gospel centered church. And so that was just a joy to be with them.

And then we traveled to Santa Marta. It's about a two-hour drive and spent time with Iglesia Biblica Soberana Gracia led by Jacobis Aldana. And that is actually a candidate church in Sovereign Grace because Jacobis who is the lead pastor is in our ordination process and hopes to complete his ordination exams in the spring of 2022. And Joselo and I taught a men's meeting on biblical manhood on Saturday. And then obviously we met with the church on Sunday; before the service I taught on our seven shared values. And then Joselo preached a wonderful sermon on suffering on that particular Sunday. And they were actually celebrating their six year anniversary as a church. And that is a church that has also grown during the pandemic. But the striking thing about that church is they are clearly imbibing our values and they get gospel centrality. Part of the way you see that is how the gospel outworks in their lives.

You see joy and Thanksgiving, and generosity and encouragement. And it's just a church that understands gospel centrality. So should they be formally a part of Sovereign Grace? They're just going to strengthen us. Let me just say one other thing. It is it is a joy to watch Joselo Mercado work in Latin America. He is a gift to our family of churches, and the way that he leads and preaches and cares for pastors and wives and members of churches. He really is very effective in what he does in that context. And I just thank God for him and the way he is serving Sovereign Grace.

Benjamin Kreps:

Yeah. I mean, he's really a rock star down there, right?

Mark Prater:

He is. I just carry his bags.

Benjamin Kreps:

So thankful for Joselo. So you met with some pastors that are moving towards actual partnership officially in Sovereign Grace, but you also met with another man from Venezuela who actually overcame great obstacles and travel barriers to come and meet with you.

Mark Prater:

He did. Eduardo is his name, he's a pastor in Venezuela. I'm not going to give the name of the city, just partly for his own security and protection, but he traveled from Venezuela by bus. I don't know how many buses he was on, but I asked him, okay, just for the one way trip, how many hours were you on a bus? And he said 24 hours.

Benjamin Kreps:

Unbelievable.

Mark Prater:

And that was just very humbling. He traveled that far first to Barranquilla and then over to Santa Marta, just to spend time with Joselo and me. And he leads a church in Venezuela that has formerly requested adoption into Sovereign Grace. And just getting to know this man was in itself worth the trip. He's one of the more godly men I've ever met. And yet one of the most joyful men.

And you have to understand how amazing that is because of the context he's in, in Venezuela. As most people know, the economy is bad. There's also a fuel shortage of all places in Venezuela and Eduardo was telling me he's had to find different ways to lead and care for his church because he's in a city where people were traveling from different parts of the city to attend the Sunday service and with the fuel shortage, they're not able to get to the Sunday service. It's just too far to walk. So he's had to take the approach of establishing cell groups throughout the city, and then try to get to them to preach and to pastor and to care for them. So that's just one of the obstacles that this pastor is facing. And yet he is one of the most joyful men I've met. And if you're listening to this or reading a transcript, pray for Eduardo and his church in Venezuela.

Benjamin Kreps:

Yeah. Well, what a wonderful opportunity to partner with men like that, and the guys that you met with over the past week. It's also wonderful to remember that even though we are in different parts of the globe, we all share the same gospel that God is working in and through to transform his people. And we get to watch and participate in all of that. So thank you Joselo and Mark for your work last week in Colombia and meeting with the Venezuelan man, pastor. And thank you all for watching. We'll see you here next week, Lord willing. Bye for now.