The Right Mission
There was a group of people in Jesus' day who were willing to cross land and sea to win just one person. They had passion and commitment! Many of them were super willing to sacrifice themselves and no one could convince them of their beliefs. Unfortunately...they had the wrong MISSION. They were called Pharisees (Matthew 23:15).
Today, you and I want to follow Jesus Christ and obey him in everything. For that we need that passion. Following Christ is going to require us to make sacrifices... to crucify the flesh, to take up our cross, to give up our lives. We are also going to need commitment... that we put our hand to the plow without looking back, that we learn to encourage ourselves in the Lord and that we do not live to please man but God. But passion, sacrifice and commitment are not going to be enough. We also need to understand and embrace the mission that Jesus Christ has given us.
When Jesus ended his time here on earth, he approached his disciples to leave instructions with them. His words are SUPER IMPORTANT! Of everything he would have said, he decided that these words would be the best to conclude his stay on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. Matthew 28:19-20. With all the authority of heaven and earth he calls us, the church, to do this task.
WE HAVE A MISSION
Yes, our mission is to go out and find people to make disciples of them. A disciple is a follower of Jesus. It is someone who has left sin behind and trusted Christ as their savior. That person dies to himself and gives his life to Christ as Lord.
All authority has been given to Jesus Christ. He has a right to assign us the work. My life is not mine to live as I want. He is establishing His kingdom, accomplishing His will. It is His visión for the restoration of all things and His sacrifice that won the victory over sin and death. My place is to submit to His authority and engage myself in the work assigned to me.
To be effective Jesus followers, we must become more precise. Our lives at home, church, work, and school cannot be focused on ourselves. It doesn’t matter how devoted we are if we’re devoted to the wrong mission. We have our instructions and we must be obedient.
WE MUST UNDERSTAND THE URGENCY
Our culture is being formed today. With each moment that passes, the things we do become our habits, our normal. We may not mean to, but we are forming a way of life. We should give form to our culture on purpose, live the way we want to and were designed to live, in obedience to Christ and His mission. We cannot afford to let wrong (mistaken) priorities dictate the way we live. It would be absolutely horrible to face Jesus one day and show him all of our accomplishments only to see Him look at what we hold in our hands and hear Him say, “you were passionate and committed, but that’s not what I asked you to do.”
We are the MEANS God uses to call people to Salvation. Every Christian is called to make disciples. “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19
Summer 2023
Sing to the Lord, all the earth;
proclaim his salvation day after day. 1 Chronicles 16:23
Stepping Out of Summer and Into Fall 2023
Here are some of the highlights:
After 17 years of renting the same location for the El Colli church, the time came that the owner asked for the property back. We have been raising money for the purchase of a property or building, but nothing has come through yet. So, we needed a building and needed it quickly! God provided a great location and with it, the opportunity to reach out to new neighbors. We’re still in our target area and people who walk to church can still do so, but it´s just far enough away that we’re meeting a lot of new people.
At the end of June, a youth team from Brave Church in Colorado came to visit. While half of the team helped us move to our new location in El Colli, the other half poured concrete columns at the church in Zapopan. We also had 2 soccer tournaments where the kids shared the gospel and invited people to VBS. We so appreciate their hard work and servant hearts!
In July a family team came from Calvary Gospel in Elizabeth, Colorado. Being in a new location, there was a lot to do. Again the team was split up to do several jobs. In all, they built a metal covering on the upper level to provide a space for kids classes, they built walls to provide a classroom/nursery and held a VBS. We also prayer walked and handed out tracks around the neighborhood. What a blessing! Several families have come to the church as a result of these outreaches and invitations.
At the end of July we had kids camp! The last day it was very apparent that the kids were being ministered to by God. They were dismissed from service and NOT ONE child got up to leave. They sat, quietly singing and praying by themselves and with each other. Wow-it was beautiful!
A week later was youth camp with 100 youth in attendance. It is such an encouragement for the young people to gather with other believers. These are impacting and formative experiences. Praise God for the team that headed this all up and did a wonderful job!
In September we hosted a leadership conference for pastors and leaders. It was focused on leading with biblical principles. A lot more people attended than we anticipated. Fellowship and teaching among pastors is sought after and valued.
Summer at the Frey Home 2023
Sophia turned 15 and had a traditional ¨Quinceañera.¨ We were thrilled that Kelley’s parents got to come to the celebration. Praise God for how He pours out His abundant love.
Anna graduated from high school! She has started attending Dallas International University, online. Emma and Anna were invited by their Aunt to go with her and their cousins to Costa Rica for graduation. They thoroughly enjoyed that!!
Jer and Kelley went to New York in August to continue to learn from a foundation called “Grace and Mercy” about a strategy to help people be successful in reading the Bible. It is called “The Public Reading of Scripture.” Our time there was so enriching. We took advantage of being there and drove up to Niagara Falls to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. We had such a great time and praise God for His blessing on our marriage.
Victor’s paperwork is moving along and we hope to hear any day that his adoption has been finalized in Mexico.
Thank You!
We want to say a heart felt THANK YOU to each one of you! Each days provision reminds us of the faithfulness of God. We are also reminded of you and your sacrificial giving. You are such wonderful partners in ministry! Thank you for helping spread the gospel and build God’s kingdom in Mexico.
Island Ministry
For many years now, our churches here have received unmeasurable benefits of the “missions” programs in the American church. Missionary teams, both short and long-term have been essential to the growth of the Mexican Church. All of us are so grateful for the building and ministry resources that have been shared, the biblical teaching and preaching that is brought and of course the lasting friendships that form. With all of that… we have wanted our church here to have the blessing of giving in missions also! This last week Nueva Creación went on it’s first ever missions trip!
Thirteen of us here in Guadalajara left early in the morning on a 14 hour drive to the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. We spent a week in Soyaltepec, where our friend Roger Tomlinson, fellow EMF missionary, brought the gospel a few years ago to the Mazateco people. They live on a rustic and isolated island in the middle of Lake Miguel Alemán. Most of the things that we enjoy in our modern world are hard to come by on the island… building materials, clothing, food, clean water and even more important… the gospel. Before we arrived we were told, “There are no mature Christians”. That gave us even more motivation to go and to pray and ask God to use us in any way that He would choose. Our hope was that in some way we would be able to help and encourage this new church.
There were some really great things that came from this trip! Although most of our group had a to make a big sacrifice to pay for this mission, we were able to leave behind some much needed chairs for the church, a guitar, a few teachings and friendships with local believers that will last a long time. It was clear in the tears and hugs from the island people that God had used us to bless them. We will always treasure those memories. God also did His work in us. Our team, in their first missions experience on the giving end, was able to see the joy in spending, sacrificing and giving to those who will not be able to pay it back. Jorge discovered that in addition to being a baker and usher in his local church, he’s a gifted preacher. Mauricio learned to value patience, Christy overcame fears and Pastor Toño was able to use the grief he experienced recently to minister to families in grief. Many were reminded that we are amazingly blessed by God and have so much to give.
We were definitely helped along our way by some of our American partners. I want to express very genuine gratitud for that. You have helped us take steps forward in our faith, calling and understanding of what it means to serve God. We believe this trip was a catalyst in helping us become mission-minded churches that participate in the Great Commission.
If I Had…
If I had unlimited time,
I could write daily to the Lord a beautiful rhyme.
I’d spend hours giving thanks for what He brings,
in stead of hours consumed with trivial things.
But I see that time is mine, it’s use I decide,
why do I avoid Him? Why do I hide?
Ambition tells me that I must run,
give in to the pressure of getting things done.
I surrender my priorities for someone else to set,
there goes another day & with God I have not met.
If I had opportunities galore,
then I’d really serve God, I’d be doing much more.
Baskets of fruit I’d bring to present,
the worst of all sinners I’d lead to repent.
Opportunities are there, if I’m careful I’ll see,
my problem is, there’s somewhere else I’d rather be.
The chance comes up to serve, give or pray,
when I’m about to step in, fear keeps me away.
I find myself just dreaming of serving the Lord,
wishing that in life I wasn’t so bored.
That’s why today I resolve to see You,
Your presence is first in everything I do.
I’ll choose to wait on You, you’ll have something to say,
I know you’ll be leading me, guiding me through the day.
Fruit through all my life is sure to abound,
no need for pushing and pressuring nor making a loud sound.
I’ll be like a tree full of fresh fruit,
sturdy and strong with a very deep root.
Through all of my life, putting Him first,
I’ll be happy and satisfied, never to thirst.
Written in response to Psalm 92:1-2 & 12-14
A Little Bible
“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; Juan 15:5
Sometimes, many times, almost always, fruit grows when you are not looking. We get the chance to plant a seed and when we might think that nothing came of it, we look over to see a beautiful plant in its place. If you are ever tempted to think that your efforts don’t count for much, I want to remind you that when you’re connected to Jesus, the results are in His hands.
Last Saturday my wife and I arrived at the church for an event we would be speaking at. We chatted with a few people and then I stopped at the information booth to find a pen. A middle-aged lady who has been a greeter at the church for several years snuck over with an excited smile on her face. The look on her face instantly made me curious about what she was going to tell me.
“I can’t help but tell you this, “ she said. “I’ve been looking for the opportunity.” She began to tell me about how she started coming to our church. We had never talked to her at length but she remembered us from a long time ago, 12 years ago. Her name is Elva and one day she was visiting her father. While she and her husband were at her father’s home a few blocks from the church, Kelley and I walked up to the house with a couple of teenage boys. We also had our three daughters with us. Sophia was just a baby, the lady remembered, and had to be carried.
She peeked out the door as we talked with her father, who was sitting in a wheelchair. She recalled us praying for him and leaving a “little Bible” with him. She didn’t understand why we were there but remembered us and especially our three girls. We left his house that day and didn’t think much had happened. It turns out that the little bible became a treasure that her father always kept with him and read often.
She told us about being in a terrible place in her marriage, her own depression and just not knowing what to do. During that time in life, her son became a believer in Jesus Christ and shared the gospel with her. A couple of different acquaintances from the neighborhood also tried directing her to our church. The Holy Spirit continued working on her and her husband. One day she saw her husband reading a little book and asked him where he had gotten it. “Your father gave it to me,” he said.
God ministered to Elva and her husband, Carlos, and she was so excited to tell me how much that “little Bible” meant to her dad and then to her and her husband. She vividly remembers her father receiving the Bible and reading it. His Word took root. It took several years, but now her marriage is healed, she is joyful and serves God in her church along side her husband every weekend.
You may be like me and wonder if what you do has any affect on people around you. Please let me encourage you with these words, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. 1 Corinthians 15:58
Be The Church
In June of 2021 Brave Church had the amazing and unique opportunity to partner with Nueva Creación church in Guadalajara for a week in a short-term mission trip. A couple dozen students and a handful of leaders booked flights on the tail end of the Covid19 pandemic to serve and show God’s love in mission.
What defines a successful mission? Accomplishing the task before you? Raising enough money? Impacting a community? Seeing growth? Staying safe? When we decided to travel to Guadalajara Mexico with twenty high school students right on the fringe of the Covid 19 Pandemic, we didn’t know what to expect. In fact, less than three months before we found our passports stamped, we didn’t even know that we would be going. But from the moment that our plane touched down, there was something special…something divine about the trip that God called us to.
“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45)
So what did we accomplish?
How many lives did we impact?
How do we know if it was a “success”?
Before I get into that, can I just show you something really quick?
When I think about all that was accomplished, it would be really easy to simply say…
We helped create a space to worship and do ministry.
We mixed and poured concrete.
We invited people to church.
We shared our testimonies.
We hosted a soccer tournament.
We painted a beautiful mural.
We made new Friends.
We prayed over one another.
We praised God.
We did those things. We did them and much more. But just doing those things doesn’t mean that we accomplished the “mission” that we set out to do. The beauty of what we accomplished is that we didn’t set out to do much…we simply set out to be who God has called us to be. You see, what was evident, every day of this trip, was that this Brave Church Group was determined to BE THE CHURCH.
We created a space for worship, through pouring concrete, painting over graffiti, creating a mural, and putting on a roof. We did that, but more importantly, we were the church. We bonded with fellow workers, we prayed over the space, we invited Holy Spirit to be present in that place and we listened to and shared testimonies. We were the church.
Later, we had the chance to hold a soccer tournament and invite every household in the neighborhood to come to church. We did that yes, but more importantly, we were the church. We showed love, patience, and kindness to complete strangers. We were bold in faith and invited people to church in a language that we didn’t speak. We showed God’s love language of fun to kids who will hopefully know Him someday soon, and we served a community by giving them joy and hope in a time where many were desperate for it.
These students then had the chance to again be the church when they poured their love out on one another.
“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:35)
By spending hours in affirmation of one another, our students were able to both express and experience the Love that is God to and from their fellow classmates. Hours spent washing one another’s feet was a chance to truly humble themselves and then be lifted high by their brothers and sisters in Christ (Matthew 23:12).
The worship. This team worshipped God! Through the partnership with Nueva Creación, we were able to host two church services at their different locations. Bi-lingual students led worship in English and Spanish and brought the love of Christ pouring over two separate communities. Seeds were sown of what it looks like to praise God despite your circumstances and through every worship song we sang we were able to watch Holy Spirit touch the lives and hearts of his people in Guadalajara. We explored the city. We saw new faces, tried new food, danced in new streets, and sang songs with new friends. What a way to serve a community, by simply engaging with it.
There was over seven days of ministry accomplished. There were two hosted services with pastors lifting one another up in prayer and over one-hundred kids engaged with either through a devotional at the soccer tournament, or through a kid’s program at church. There was daily prayer and devotionals led and participated in by students which led to more seeking of the holy spirit, more prayer, and more worship. There were at least two worship sets every day praising God for who he is and what he is yet to do. There was a new space created for a church to gather and worship together. There are now two church communities that are closer to looking like the local church than there was a few short weeks ago.
So was our mission experience a success. Yes. It was. Through the love, planning, open arms, and organization of Nueva Creación, Brave Church was able to truly be the church. We were able to serve one another and be the church together. How beautiful it is to see students and adults using their different skills, talents, abilities, resources, languages, and love to further the name of Christ together.
HUGE thank you to New Creation for their love and willingness to host us and to continue to give us opportunities to serve and live out the gospel!
Drought
We can bear fruit in times of drought!
This Church was under water for 40 years but is now visible in a time of drought.
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is the LORD, for he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit. Jeremiah 17:7-8
Mexico is experiencing one of the worst droughts it has seen over the last 30 years. Reservoirs are at very low levels and local governments are rationing water. Many neighborhoods have had to find ways to survive for months without running water in their homes. Guadalajara has been affected by this drought in a big way. Last month, Pastor Toño, Alejando and I installed a small water storage system in the home of a family from the church in El Colli. This single mother and her two teenage children had been struggling to manage life with no running water for about two months. Finding places to bathe outside the home, washing dishes with bottled water, and taking time to evaluate whether you wash your hands or not all make life much more difficult! Drought is not easy and certainly never fun.
It is often in the midst of drought, when we see the handiwork of God that we may not take notice of at other times. In the state of Guanajuato, a couple of hours from here, you can visit a church that dates back to the 18th century. The spectacular thing about this church is that since 1979 is has been hidden under water. When the dam “La Purísima” was built, the community surrounding the church was relocated and everything was lost to the covering of water. Forty years later, because of severe drought, the church has emerged into full sight. Maybe God would use this spectacular turn of events to highlight His grace and His plan to be fruitful at all times.
This entire last year may represent a time of drought for many people, their ministries or businesses. I have friends who have lost work, faced turmoil at home or had to answer tough questions about the future of ministry. But… we are also hearing reports from around the world of the amazing things that God is doing! As God promised the prophet, when our trust and hope is in the Lord, we will be like the tree planted by rivers of water, we will not be anxious in time of drought, nor stop bearing fruit.
During the year of worldwide pandemic, we have seen the birth of three new churches here in Guadalajara. The new church in the suburb of Tesistán opened just two weeks before the announcement of the closure of all non-essential business. They are now re-opened and growing as a church! Congregations in Campo Bello and Los Silos were born out of the church meeting the needs of people who recognized that they desperately needed God. There are many people who can rejoice about this; our coworkers here in Mexico who went out preaching and visiting, supporters in the USA who continually pray and give financially. We all see God bringing things into our sight that we did not know were there.
We have probably all asked ourselves and maybe even God during this past season, “what is going on?” Even though we don´t have answers to everything, we can know that our trust and hope in God is never wasted! Take a moment to ask God to help you see what fruit he is producing through the relationships you have and in the activities that fill your life.
God Bless You My Friends,