Training Leaders within Tiempo Nuevo

The Tiempo Nuevo congregation of Iglesia de Cristo Tierra Firme (an emerging network of congregations in Tlalpan) has begun to develop its own identity as each of the members takes more ownership within the church. Many of the families are seeing their unique roles in areas such as service, evangelism, administration and spiritual leadership. Two families have showed tremendous growth recently:

The Morales family (Jorge and Patti) have made some drastic life changes. Jorge has quit his job, which was forcing him to spend up to 4 hours in commuting. He has begun an Internet Café with his father in Tlalpan, which will give him much more flexible hours. Also, the Morales have moved to the Miguel Hidalgo Colonia in order to be closer to the other church members throughout the week.

The Rojas family (Luis Enrique and Vicki) have grown in outreach to others. They have purposefully dedicated several days per week to visit non-Christians. As a result they have asked me to help them begin a new small group in the home of some friends of theirs, Susana and Vicki. They have also begun a small group with a lady named Carmen and her family. Vicki Rojas has shared the gospel of John with several of her clients (they sell donuts), including some of her own family members. While Luis Enrique was in the hospital he told God that if he was given strength and healing that he would work diligently to help others come to know Christ. Now, Luis Enrique has regained his strength and is bearing fruit through God’s power.

My developing role within the Tiempo Nuevo congregation has been to help equip the men as spiritual servant leaders, especially in the areas of family, small groups and pastoral teaching. Currently, I am working with 9 men in the Tiempo Nuevo congregation. Each of these men is involved in, at least, helping to lead a small group and most of them have been giving short biblical exhortations during our Sunday morning celebrations. On April 1, I taught the first in a series of leadership development seminars that the men asked me to teach. The next one will be on Saturday, May 6.

Spring is here and we are enjoying the warm Mexico City afternoons. This is the warmest season of the year in central Mexico and many people are enjoying the parks and outdoor activities. People are also looking forward to spring vacation; the school children have vacation the week before and the week after Easter. Many people are preparing to leave the city and those who are not leaving are looking forward to the almost eerie quietness that remains.

In January, as a family we joined a sports club. It is run by the federal agriculture department, but anyone in the general public can join. Among the activities available are swimming, tennis, basketball and handball. It has been good for Sean and I to be more active and the kids are able to do after-school activities there. Sarah is taking tennis and Philip is in basketball. Sarah leaves class practicing her swing and Philip is ready for the day when he joins “my team” (i.e. Arizona basketball).

This school year is beginning to wind down and plans are being made at Sarah’s school for the next school year. I was approached about teaching High School Biology next year and have gladly agreed to do so. My bachelor’s degree is in Biochemistry and I am thrilled about the opportunity to use what I’ve learned. The class will be small – 6 students – but it will be a fun challenge for me.

The monthly women’s reunions continue to be encouraging for those who attend. The number of women attending has dropped slightly from the first few reunions, but we continue to have between 15 and 20 women. The first Sunday of March is Day of the Family in Mexico, so in our March women’s reunion we talked about godly characteristics of families. In addition, the hostess invited a friend of hers who teaches origami to come and share a project with us. We all made paper tulips. Naturally, some were better than others, but everyone had fun.

The kids’ Sunday Bible class continues to go well. The class coordinator rotates on a monthly basis. The coordinators’ job is to arrange the teachers and supplies for each week’s class. This system seems to be working well for us. It is providing an opportunity for people to learn about teaching and organizing children’s Bible classes without feeling overwhelmed. Also, the older children and young teens are helping as monitors during the class. While many people have been willing to serve, no group is as excited about serving as the monitors. They truly enjoy working with the young children, singing songs with them and helping them with their crafts.

·         Mondays for Mexico: Pray for those with psychological disorders. Anxiety disorder is common in Mexico City. Our friend Irasema, is in the hospital recovering from a recent crisis.

·         Give thanks! The Hendersons report the baptisms of two new sisters in Christ: Esmeralda and Sandy. Please pray for their growth in Christ.

·         Pray for the Brednichs' efforts to reach people in their neighborhood through a part-time coffee shop they opened this month.

·         Pray for Susana, Vicki, Carmen and their families as they seek God and his kingdom through new Christian communities.