VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
Benjamin Kreps:
Hey everyone. Welcome to the Mark Prater podcast, where our aim is to connect our global family of churches with our Executive Director. Mark, the last podcast we recorded, you were in Mexico at a conference for pastors. You've since come home, but you're still buzzing from your experience there. What happened in that conference?
Mark Prater:
I am still buzzing. The conference is still affecting me. That is the Fieles conference that is led by Carlos Contreras, senior pastor of Iglesia Gracia Soberana in Juarez, Mexico. That church had 100 volunteers, by the way; church members in that Sovereign Grace Church serving during this conference that was attended by over 300 pastors and their wives. And it was a Sovereign Grace conference. If you ever go to it, it's a Sovereign Grace conference in the Mexican culture, in the Latin American culture, all in Spanish, obviously. And it wasa joy to sing with them. Of course, I'm making up the words in Spanish as I go. But, yeah, I'm singing with them with great joy.
There were a number of highlights from the conference for me. One of them I mentioned last week is Carlos and myself, along with Joselo Mercado and Rich Richardson, we led an interest lunch for pastors who are interested in knowing more about potentially partnering with Sovereign Grace. And I brought home with me a list of 36 names. Carlos gave this list to me so that I could be praying for these men. About 10 of these names are wives. So there were about 25 pastors at this lunch that we had on Thursday afternoon. And it was just wonderful. Got to share a little bit about Sovereign Grace. And then we opened up to a Q & A. A pastor and his wife were there planting a church in Mexico City and just wondering about partnering with Sovereign Grace. There were men there who have existing churches who were asking questions about how to partner with Sovereign Grace, churches in Juarez and in other parts of Mexico.
And it was just humbling to interact with them. Many of them didn't really ask questions, but made comments about how Sovereign Grace had already served them—how Carlos, in particular, and Abelardo and Hellman, other men working in Mexico, had served them. And we're just reaffirming some of the values that I was sharing earlier. So it was a lunch that was very, very exciting and inspiring. And potentially as some of those pastors or churches may either plant or partner with Sovereign Grace, Mexico continues to grow. So that was just one of the highlights of the trip for me.
Benjamin Kreps:
Excellent. That's wonderful. You were sharing with me a couple of stories before we started recording the podcast. Why don't you share those stories now, a couple of reports back from the field that you got to hear about.
Mark Prater:
Yeah, so many encouraging, faith building interactions at this conference. We could probably do an hour podcast if I told you all the stories. But let me just tell you two quick ones. One is a conversation I had both with Andres Contreras and Roberto Estupinian—we know him as Choby. Choby is now the senior pastor of the Sovereign Grace Church in Guadalajara. Andres Contreras, who is Carlos' son, is there with him. And they were just talking about how that church is just beginning to grow. Even during the pandemic this church has grown. And Andres was telling me when they first arrived there, there were not many younger families, and in recent months people are coming with younger children, younger folks coming, who are obviously younger in their marriage and in the parenting process, and they are excited about being at this church. And what's interesting, the timing of the growth of the church along with Choby very carefully building gospel-centered theological foundations. So one of the things that he was telling me about: Choby is teaching a class every Wednesday evening. And he's just taken one section of the Statement of Faith and teaching a section per week. Just a wonderful way to build theological foundations in a growing church. So that was just very, very exciting, given the fact that you know, you're just rejoicing about what God is doing, but Guadalajara is a very strategic city in Mexico.
And then the other story has to do with a man, I believe his first name is Rafael. He lives in the most Southern state in Mexico, as I understand it, Chiapas, which borders right up against Guatemala. And he just has a heart to reach those in his state with the gospel. He somehow got connected with Abelardo Muñoz in Juarez. And he was sharing with Abelardo, "I want to see people in my state come to Christ. And if they come to Christ, maybe even someday we plant a church, and what do I do?" So Abelardo got him the Spanish version of the Bridge course that's been created by Jim Donohue, a pastor I serve with at Covenant Fellowship. And Abelardo said, “Rafael, I'll take this. I'll find some unbelievers and take them through it.” So the first time he did it, he gathered about 10 people and they went through the Bridge course together. Many of them were born again. And he's now scheduled a second Bridge course. Obviously some of those people are inviting friends and there's like 70 people that are now registered to take this next Bridge course. And so I got to interact with Rafael. Abelardo translated for me. And this man's excitement to see the lost reached with the gospel in this most Southern state of Mexico, it was infectious. It built my faith. And so be praying for Rafael. Maybe there's some sort of revival that happens in Chiapas, Mexico. Maybe he’s supposed to plant a church someday. But pray for his efforts in using this Bridge course as it begins to start here in the next week. So just a couple of stories that really stirred my faith I wanted you to hear.
Benjamin Kreps:
That's great. I think it's safe to say most of us never tire of hearing about how God is at work in Mexico and how God is using Carlos and the other guys there to serve men there in the advance of the gospel. So thanks, Mark, for the update. Thank you all for watching or reading and we'll see here next week, lord willing. Bye for now.