9/22/2021 More Baptisms!Rejoice with Iglesia Cristiana La Viña! At the end of the "Stories that Transform" sermon series, 5 people gave their lives to Christ through baptism. Daniel, Mariana, Regina, Miriam, and Daniel all started a new chapter in their lives as people who have been transformed by Christ. Please pray for them as they begin their spiritual growth journey. On Sunday September 19th, El Ancla Iglesia Cristiana celebrated its first anniversary! God has done great things with this congregation that took a step of faith and launched during a global pandemic. 87 people were in attendance on Sunday to commemorate the special occasion. Before the service, four people had expressed their desire to be baptized. During the baptisms, more people were moved and made the decision as well. A total of nine people were baptized into Christ on Sunday! We praise God for what He's doing at El Ancla! The Más IMPACTO online training program is in its third year with almost 30 participants. The IMPACTOnetwork multimedia team worked dilligently preparing the platform that allows students all over the country to access videos to complete each module. On Fridays and Saturdays the students connect for a "Success Call" where they are able to discuss together the topic studied that week. Mayan Aboytes, part of the Más IMPACTO team, says "its very motivating to see how they want to take action and put what they're learning into practice." We look forward to seeing how this training will continue to impact Christian leaders and churches around Mexico.
8/12/2021 Investing in Future GenerationsIglesia Cristiana La Viña held its first ever Vacation Bible School the first week of August with the theme of "Build." Adriana López, Children's Ministry Director at La Viña formed a team that worked incredibly hard to make this event reality. There were 35 children in attendance, 18 of whom were first time visitors to La Viña! Six of those kids attended Sunday services after VBS week. Adriana and her team are doing follow up to make stronger connections with the visiting families and invite them to return to Iglesia Cristiana La Viña. Please pray for those first time visitors! The IMPACTOnetwork Church Planting Residency program just kicked off its fourth year in partnership with Mexico Christian University. Seven senior year students are participating in the 34 week course that covers topics such as planning, demographic studies, contextualization, outreach and discipleship strategies, legal and accounting requirements among others. These students will also be serving on weekends at IMPACTOLatino's church plants in Querétaro; Iglesia Cristiana La Viña and El Ancla Iglesia Cristiana to put into practice what they're learning. The online program started this week as well and is training church planters and leaders around Mexico.
Your prayers and financial contributions sustain IMPACTOLatino's ministry as it plants churches and transforms lives. Thank you for partnering with us as we reach Mexico's largest cities with the Gospel of Christ.
7/16/2021 Growing PainsIMPACTOLatino church plant El Ancla Iglesia Cristiana is encouraged by growth. Over the past month, five new families have gotten connected to El Ancla. Many of these families are already Christians but have recently arrived in Querétaro. Others hadn't made God a priority but the pandemic has drawn them back. They will be taking the "Conócenos" (Get to Know Us) course to learn more about El Ancla and its mission to reach its surrounding neighborhood, El Mirador. This growth is leading to some new problems. The chairs that were purchased around launch time are almost all being used every Sunday. The area that they have designated for Ancla Kids needs to be reworked for the amount of children who are attending on Sunday mornings. Approximately $12 buys a chair. Would you buy a new chair or two so that someone new can hear the Gospel at El Ancla? The building that Iglesia Cristiana La Viña has been renting for the past two years is on the second floor of a sports complex. To access it from the parking garage, you have to go down one flight of stairs and up two. Due to this there have been some families and individuals who have chosen not to attend La Viña. The leadership had been praying and researching a way to remove this barrier since before the pandemic. Due to a generous gift from a supporting church in the US, La Viña was able to build a small pedestrian bridge that goes directly from the parking garage to La Viña's space. The bridge connects to the building in the children's ministry area so the staff built a hallway from the entrance to the main auditorium. We are so grateful for this new addition that allows us to reach people who may have been previously deterred by so many steps. We look forward to a new class of church planting residents in partnership with Mexico Christian University in August as well as an updated online course in which people from all over Mexico will learn practical church planting and leadership principles. This summer, the residency teachers have been filming new clips to be used on the platform and social media. In July and August, there is a big focus on promotion and recruitment for the program. This training has already impacted dozens of church planters and leaders and we know God will do the same this year as well.
6/24/2021 Happy Birthday to La Viña!On June 6, Iglesia Cristiana La Viña celebrated its third birthday! Year 3 was anything but ordinary. Rejoice with us in what God did this past year: 20 weeks of online Sunday celebrations 24 baptisms 6 cell groups 40 Children's ministry classes online 120 people attending Sunday services (before virus shutdown) 86 people connecting to Sunday services (online and in person after re-opening) It was exciting to return to one united Sunday celebration with the capacity restrictions being loosened. Though we weren't able to have a sit down lunch together, cupcakes were passed out and eaten while listening to a mariachi band. Many photos were taken as we celebrated God's faithfulness over the past three years. Thank you for your prayers and giving that has made it possible for Iglesia Cristiana La Viña to reach Querétaro with the Gospel of Christ. IMPACTOnetwork's third class of Church Planting Residency students graduated from Mexico Christian University this month. This year's classes were all given online and the instructors did a great job adapting their material to different platform. The online training was also very successful as more than twenty people from around Mexico participated this last school year. Over the summer, the instructors will continue to develop material and also promote the online classes that will begin again in August. We are deeply grateful for your support of IMPACTOLatino and its church planting projects in Mexico which enables us to reach more people in Mexico's major cities. "In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the Gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in your will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:4-6
5/18/2021 May is for Celebrating!April and May are full of holidays in Mexico. You may think of Cinco de Mayo which is a commemoration of the Battle of Puebla (not Mexican independence day). There are many more holidays to be celebrated over a 3 week span! April 30th is Children's Day which often includes parties and candy. May 1st is Labor Day, May 10th is Mothers Day and May 15th is Teachers Day. Most of these holidays are celebrated at IMPACTOnetwork churches with special events or some sort of recognition. We are thankful for the kids, mothers and teachers that God has placed in the churches! At El Ancla Iglesia Cristiana, the Children's Ministry began to meet on Sunday mornings at the facility! They previously had been holding children's Sunday school classes over Zoom because of health and safety precautions due to the pandemic. The Children's Ministry inaugurated their space with a Children's Day party to celebrate. They had Bible stories, games and even a piñata. The kids were so excited to meet together. We look forward to what God will do through the Children's Ministry at El Ancla. The women of La Viña met together for a breakfast before Mothers Day. Marisol López, IMPACTOnetwork's Director of Legal and Financial matters, taught on "Beyond the Mirror" about looking at ourselves the way God sees us. Natalia Ochoa, wife of Pastor Gerardo, did an excellent job of organizing the event. Please pray as the La Viña women follow up with the guests who were present. Pastor Gerardo of La Viña organized the "Model Man" event at the end of April to connect with the "Defeating Giants" sermon series. Jaime Castro, Director of Mexico Christian University (UCM), taught and led small groups. Four different churches, including La Viña and El Ancla, were in attendance. It was a great time of learning and fellowship for all. This Saturday, May 22nd is MILES FOR MISSIONS! There's still time to sign up to participate and donate. You can support church planting in Mexico with the "Mexico Miles" team or directly to the El Ancla church plant with the "Kingdom Partners" team.
4/21/2021 New Life at El Ancla Iglesia Cristiana!Rejoice with us, El Ancla Iglesia Cristiana had its first baptism on March 28! Christian moved to Querétaro with his fiancé Marisol 2 years ago. He had attended a Christian church in Pachuca but had never made a decision. Marisol had been baptized at a women's retreat but never received any follow up. During quarantine, they starting reading the Bible on their own and the Holy Spirit convicted them to get rid of the saints and images that they had previously worshipped. He started attending El Ancla with Marisol a few months ago after seeing the signs for El Ancla while eating tacos. At El Ancla they have found not only salvation but also a community with whom to share life. Please pray for Christian and Marisol as they grow in their faith and also as a family. They are getting married soon and have a baby on the way. Thank God for how His Holy Spirit works in people's hearts as they seek Him. Pray for the El Ancla staff as they continue to reach out to their community, even with many things still closed or severely restricted. Iglesia Cristiana La Viña held a Holy Thursday communion service on April 1st. The evening was based on 1 Corinthians 5:7 which says, "Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch- as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed." We looked at how the Old Testament outlines the Passover celebration and how Christ takes the place of the lamb and takes away our sins. It was a somber yet celebratory evening. For many, it was their first time attending such an event and shared how impactful it was. In March and April, IMPACTOnetwork held two events to encourage and connect its church planting teams. The women of Iglesia Cristiana La Viña, El Ancla Iglesia Cristiana and IMPACTOnetwork were treated to manicures and pedicures at a local spa, had lunch together and heard a teaching from Juanita Del Angel. The men traveled to Peña de Bernal where they hiked and had a ATV tour followed by a time of teaching and dreaming with Sergio Alvarado. These event have allowed church planters to have a fun break from their daily routine and enjoy a time of fellowship and sharing reminding them that they're not alone in the challenges that they face as church planters. There's still time to sign up and participate in New International's Miles for Missions initiative! On May 22, people around the world will be logging miles with the goal of covering 25,000 miles representing the circumference of the globe. Some of our team here will be walking, biking, or rollerblading miles. One of our churches has a group going on a canoeing trip to cover the committed miles. There is also the goal of raising funds to reach more people with the Gospel. You can support church planting in Mexico through the Kingdom Partners team which is raising funds for the El Ancla church plant or the Mexico Miles team which supports IMPACTOLatino's general church planting fund. Register HERE under "Join Existing Team"! You are transforming lives like Christian's through your support of church planting in Mexico!
3/24/2021 Moments, Members, and Miles in MexicoIMPACTOnetwork's church planting residency program continues online. It has been a challenge to translate some very hands on modules, like Dee Duggins' children's ministry class, into an online format but the team has risen to every challenge. The students are growing in their knowledge of church planting and discipleship. Church Planting Residents Tony and Jackie Moreno are taking the course and serving at Iglesia Cristiana El Ancla in preparation for starting a church on the Yucatan peninsula in 2022. Tony says that the residency has challenged him to continue growing in all areas of his life and it has helped him realize how much he can do for the Kingdom by changing his mindset and certain habits. He has been impacted by the genuine love that the team has for the lost and how working together lightens the workload and makes a greater impact. Jackie commented that she no longer helps Tony with his ministry but that it has become her ministry as well. Please pray for Tony and Jackie as they continue preparing to plant a church. Iglesia Cristiana La Viña has remained stable and is showing signs of growth even while being restricted in meeting. The church continues with 2 Sunday celebrations allowing for more space and accommodating lower capacity gatherings. At the end of February , La Viña concluded its "Successful Families" series with a Concert of Prayer. It was a powerful time of worship and prayer where Pastor Gerardo and his wife Naty shared how God had transformed their marriage. A "Conócenos" membership class was held recently and on March 14th, 4 people were introduced as new members of La Viña. Later this month, the Life Groups will participate in a community service week to impact their neighborhoods.
New International released its annual report in February and IMPACTOLatino is featured on page 9! You can read about how God used the pandemic to multiply our Life Groups HERE. Your prayers and financial gifts enable us to train church planters who are reaching their communities with God's love. We couldn't do it without you. Thank you!
IMPACTOLatino is honored to have been selected as a strategic church planting partner for the "Twenty One in '21" campaign at the International Conference on Missions to be held in Richmond, VA in November 2021. Church planting organizations in Africa, Europe, Asia and Latin America have been selected to plant 20 churches and one church will be planted in the Washington DC area. IMPACTOLatino has been chosen as the church planting partner for Latin America and will be receiving funds to help plant 5 new churches over the next few years. We are grateful to Waypoint Church Partners, the host for this year's ICOM, for their partnership in reaching Latin America. Because of this great honor, all of the IMPACTOLatino missionary families will be in attendance at ICOM this fall. We hope to see you there! The video below explains more about the "Twenty One in '21" campaign. El Ancla Iglesia Cristiana continues to meet on Sunday mornings where they have had visitors attend and and a new family became members. Their Life Groups continue to meet online during the week reaching even more people. Please continue to pray for church planter Andrés García and his team as they reach the unchurched El Mirador neighborhood. Iglesia Cristiana La Viña held its first Life Group multiplication of the year at the beginning of February. The Life Group meeting in the Piramides neighborhood was consistently over 16 people and Life Group facilitator Gerardo was preparing his assistant, Roger for multiplication. Rosy, a Life Group member, is now the hostess of the new group meeting in the Colinas del Bosque neighborhood with Gerardo as the facilitator. Please pray for both the Piramides Life Group and the new Colinas del Bosque Life Group as they begin to grow and focus again on multiplication. Pray for Gerardo and Roger as they lead their groups and disciple the members.
1/20/2021 Planning and PrayerAt the beginning of the year, the Management teams for Iglesia Cristiana La Viña and El Ancla Iglesia Cristiana held their annual Evaluation and Planning Retreat. During this 3 day retreat, the participants review stories and statistics from the prior year and set out plans for the new year. The teams set goals, calendar for discipleship courses and events, and sermon series among other things. Normally this retreat is held out of town allowing the participants to focus on the meetings as well as providing time for socializing but this year both teams held their retreat in Querétaro. Even though it was different than previous years, the time was very beneficial for preparing hearts and plans for what God has in store for His churches in 2021. El Ancla Iglesia Cristiana continues to meet online with its Life Groups. Their Sunday celebrations are also in person and online. The staff has dealt with a few cases of Covid and isolation and has grown stronger and more united because of it. They specifically ask for your prayers for: *El Ancla to impact the El Mirador community and that more people would come to know Jesus as Savior *wisdom to make wise decision during the pandemic on behalf of His Kingdom *good health to allow them to continue serving *continued provision for all the needs of the church and staff team Your faithful prayers and giving allows us to equip and support church planters in Mexico. God is reaching people who are far from Him through IMPACTOnetwork church planters. We are grateful for your partnership that makes it possible!
12/30/2020 There's still time!As we close out 2020, we thank God for what He's done through church planting in Mexico. Thanks to your faithful prayers and financial support:
There's still time to make a year end gift to train church planters who are reaching Mexico's cities. Your gift is ALWAYS tax deductible and will be used to plant churches and transform lives with the hope of the Gospel. The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace. -Numbers 6:24-26 |
IMPACTO's General News and UpdatesYou will find current news about the IMPACTO Latino team, the churches, and prayer requests. Archives
March 2023
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God is calling! How will you respond?
PRAYfor this ministry and the new church planters that are raised up for kingdom work in Latin America.
Our ministry depends on partnership with churches and individuals in the United States and around the world. We regularly ask for prayer and send prayer updates to hundreds of committed prayer partners. |
INVESTin a new church plant financially.
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SERVEalong side us on the field by doing an internship, organizing a work group from your church, providing your professional skills or even by moving to Mexico or any other Latin American country to serve as one of our missionaries.
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