Small Steps. Big Faith.

This month I was honored to be sent to CXI, Western Europe's Team Leader Training in Malta. CXI are the Roman numerals to stand for  100 Team Leaders, 10 Days training (5 on-site, 5 on-going), 1 purpose (healthy teams). The idea was to attend, receive the training and return to lay the groundwork for a Spanish version of the training to prepare future Spanish team leaders for leading more effective teams of evangelism and discipleship. It was a very encouraging time to be with other leaders from around Western Europe, a refresh of many materials I had seen during my days as an Associate Campus Director in Texas and a significant time of soul-searching in regard to my future in ministry.  A s I have served in a variety of roles and carried out a plethora of different administrative tasks in Agape over the last few years, my heart's desire of discipling believers, developing staff and mentoring leaders is still burning...but not occupying the bulk of my ministry ti...

Working in a team is such an important aspect of effective ministry for me. That's why I am so grateful to have begun working more closely with Gema Alvarez and Rex Winn pictured above to begin redefining and renewing Agape Spain's Human Resource Team. Several months ago I began collaborating with Gema Alvarez, the HR Director to consult on several staff-related issues from revising staff standards and the interview process, to hiring and orientation of new staff, to receiving international staff. This has been an amazing opportunity to re-connect and re-engage with ministry on the field and the lives of our Spanish staff. This fall Gema, Rex and I will take the next step in forming our team by receiving official training from the Agape Europe office for LDHR. (In the last few years, the name of HR has been changed to LDHR (Leadership Development and Human Resources) to emphasize the importance of developing leaders as we grow our ministry.) We have begun to meet ...

We wanted to send you warm wishes from our house to you and your family  on this very special American holiday!  We thank God for you, our faithful partners in ministry,  for your prayers, your giving, your encouragement and your patience.  May you find that you have many more blessings than you can even count  and may God bless you greatly in 2014 as well! Please pray for us this weekend ,  Nov 30 and Dec 1 ,  as we have invited 7 of Aaron's classmates and their moms (all of whom live within just a few blocks) to get together for snacks and activities centered around Thanksgiving. Spaniards are quite curious about this unusual holiday of ours and see it as a novelty. Please pray that God would guide our play and our conversation.  Pray for natural opportunities to talk about the importance of gratitude and the goodness of God. Pray for opportunity to give testimony to God's grace in our lives. Pray that God would soften...

For decades (if not centuries) in Spain, the the perspective on giving financially toward God's Work has been a difficult pill to swallow even by many Christians. For many Spanish missionaries, the idea of support raising is equal to begging for alms and living on less than enough.  As a result, many of our staff struggle financially, which in the long run also hinders their personal ministries. However, in October I went to Málaga with our newest staff in Spain to listen to their presentations of their personal ministries. The small room was filled with several of our bright new staff who are trusting God to meet their financial needs so they can use their FULL-TIME to take the gospel to others who don't know Christ.  I got goosebumps. There was an eagerness stirring in me as i listened to David and Ellen share about how God had called them into ministry and the profound effect the gospel had on one of their neighbors. I am still overwhelmed and amazed ...

Over the last 2 years Agape has seen an encouraging rise in the number of new staff joining our ministry. I was in Málaga this month (Oct 8-10) to assist in our ministry support development training for new staff in Spain. In was a very encouraging time to get to know these young staff and to hear their stories, to remind them of God's faithfulness in raising up our ministry support team and to encourage them in all that God has called them to do. One of the staff I met is Pablo Gómez, or Pablín as he is often called. He has been volunteering for several years with Agape, but the end of 2012, he made the most important decision of his life, to not only dedicate part of his time serving God but rather to work full-time to build bridges in order to help change lives by introducing people to Jesus. Below he shares a bit of his story.... "My name is Pablo J. Gómez, but everyone calls me Pablín. It's a name that I identify with because, although I am tall, I recognize...

grow·ing pains   (gr ng)  plural noun 1.  Pains in the limbs and joints of children or adolescents, often attributed to rapid growth but arising from various unrelated causes. 2.  Emotional difficulties that occur during adolescence. 3.  Problems that arise in the initiation or enlargement of an enterprise. Recently several supporters have asked the question about my role in ministry here in Spain. The truth is that it has been slowly evolving for the last 5-6 years. At times it has been difficult to define and even more difficult to pinpoint and share what God has been doing all around me.  I'd like to try now to illustrate what I understand God to be doing in Agape Spain during a season of incredible growth for this ministry. I'd like to do in through a Bible story and some organizational numbers. There is a story from Exodus 18 that illustrates the strain of growing pains and that "a-ha" moment in Moses' life where he realizes that...

One of the staff I work with is Abraham Crespo, (pictured right) who is staff with Athletes in Action in Málaga. This past July he was part of the staff team that hosted the 16th annual Campus Villa de Frigiliana Basketball Camp. More than 50 boys and girls from all over Spain arrived in Frigiliana , said good-bye to their parents, pulled on their high-tops and reported, ready to train, learn, participate, laugh ´til they cried.  During the week, the staff and campers also enjoyed the presence of CVF´s guest basketball star, Tremmel Darden, forward for the Real Madrid basketball team. (pictured at right, center) In addition to drills, practice games, meals and free time, the campers also had the chance to hear  about Darden´s personal life story, his basketball experiences and his relationship with Christ. Abraham and other staffers will continue to follow-up with campers who expressed interest in hearing more about Christ.     Check out thi...