July has been a busy month. Here’s a bit of what’s been going on:
- The first couple of days, I was at the Summer Celebration at David Lipscomb University. I was privileged to speak twice in their Spanish track.
- On July 10, I spoke at the Pleasanton church of Christ (Texas). I was able to spend the night in Stockdale with some dear friends.
- July 12-24 saw my family and I participating on a mission trip to Cuba with members of the University church of Christ (Abilene). It was a great trip that I’ll tell you more about in the coming days.
- This past weekend I did a “Christ and Culture” seminar at the Hardin Valley church of Christ in Knoxville, Tennessee. Really great group of people.
So that’s what I’ve been up to. How about you?
In the last year, I was unable to convince the church I attend to focus on local missions. So at the beginning of this year, I launched out in my community with the intent of planting a church. I spend several weeks putting together a “mission plan” with goals and thresholds and then completed a “plan of action.” I worked several weeks in identifying nine denominational groups within a two mile area in my community. I’ve been contacting the group’s pastors, attending their meetings and involving myself in their activities slowly inching myself in seeking to find those that are truly interesting in serving the Lord. It’s been very difficult because these groups are very much like our spanish groups. I represent a new and intimidating force in their midst and they do not know how to deal with me. The goal and plan is to begin having meetings on Sundays in my home by the end of the year. If this works as planned, I will begin moving into the adjacent community with the few people I’ve assembled to train others to do the same thing. By the end of 2020, we should have several small churches meeting in homes, working in each community to make a difference in people’s lives. It’s been the most difficult and challenging endeavor I’ve ever undertaken in my 45 years of ministry. So, in a nutshell, that’s where I’ve been in the last seven months.
Sounds super, Rafael. May God bless your work for him.