I will be working alongside the Conover family - a veteran missionary family with BMM. Their focus is church planting in the city of San Pedro Sula. Two churches with whom I will be working are Iglesia Bautista Independiente Faro de Luz and Iglesia Bautista Independiente Fuente de Luz. Fuente de Luz is located in the downtown area of the city and was started by the Faro de Luz church. There are two ordained Honduran pastors who are sharing leadership responsibilities of these churches. The daughter church averages 30 people and currently only has Sunday morning and Wednesday services. I will be attending those services and assisting in music and children's ministries. In the evening, I will attend Faro de Luz, along with the Conovers, and will be assisting in music ministries there too. Pray for the continued growth of these churches and also for another church-plant that can be begun in God's own perfect time.My Ministry Goals:
1. Children's Ministry
Children are the future of any country. And they are also a way to gain entry into families. Understandably, children's ministries are a vital part of every local church. I will be helping with the various church ministries relating to children.
But in addition, I would also like to start children's clubs during the week. My burden is to reach the children and their families; however, I also feel very strongly about the idea of "replacement" - which means I will also be focusing on training others in the church to teach children so that they can eventually replace me as the "leadership" of those children's ministries.
2. Music
My desire is to use my love of music not only to be of service in the local church but to use it as a tool for outreach. On both of my previous trips to Honduras, I had people asking if I could teach them how to play the piano. I taught piano lessons for the past few years to children of my home church, and through that I have realized how much I love teaching piano. When I complete my language studies, I plan to begin teaching piano to people in the church as well as to offer music lessons so I can develop relationships and share the Gospel with others whom God places in my path.
3. Evangelism & Discipleship
Everyone has a different sphere of influence. My focus will be to use the contacts that I have - with those in my neighborhood and those I see each day in town - to communicate God's love.
The local church also offers group evangelism opportunities from scheduled times to hand out tracts in town or helping with a neighborhood outreach activity. One specific Gospel outreach hosted by the daughter church is offering free English classes with the burden to share the Gospel during these sessions. I have already begun to help with tutoring during these classes, and I am thankful for college linguistics classes I took. They have not just prepared the way for my Spanish language acquisition but have better equipped me to help the students learning English.
Discipleship is more than just a several-week course/study for new believers; it is an ongoing, life-on-life mentoring that you find happening all throughout the Bible. Pray for those that God might bring into my path, and pray for me to be a godly example!
