Author: Antonio Salgado

Christian husband, father, missionary to the Dominican Republic
Posted on

BCMS UPDATE FROM THE MISSION FIELD (MARACAY, VENEZUELA)

 Update and Praise Report: From Rafael Rodriguez serving in Maracay, Venezuela

Do you remember Irma and Marcelina?

On several occasions in the past, we have shared updates on Rafael’s home visits. Week by week he follows up with  several people in vulnerable situations, taking them food packages, sharing the  Gospel and doing Bible studies with them. Here is a recent report from Rafael on two of those homes he frequently visits.

 

Irma and Her Son

Irma studying the book of John with Rafael with son Jorge at her side.

We’ve continued to visit Irma, a Peruvian woman who lives in Venezuela, and her son, Jorge, who faces significant challenges, including cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and sleep disorders. Irma has shown a remarkable commitment to her faith since she first learned about Christ. She has been diligently studying the Bible and has recently begun attending church.

Please pray for her son Jorge. We remain hopeful that he will one day encounter the love and grace of God in a way that resonates with him. We continue to pray for opportunities to share the gospel with him in ways that are meaningful and accessible.

Marcelina and Her Son

Marcelina studying the Scriptures with Rafael.

Marcelina and her son, Edgardo, have made significant strides in their spiritual walk. They have been faithful in participating in Bible studies. Marcelina has shown a deep passion for learning more about the Gospel and also has begun attending church.

Edgardo, who is Marcelina’s primary caregiver, has also been attending church with her. His presence is a testament to Marcelina’s unwavering faith and her commitment to involving her son on her spiritual journey.

 

Rafael’s dedication to Irma and Marcelina has been instrumental in their coming to Christ and spiritual growth. For months, he has consistently visited them, even sending others when he was unable to go himself, to ensure they received ongoing support and encouragement.

He also is also leading a weekly discipleship with Irma and Marcelina, guiding them through the book of John chapter by chapter. This has been a valuable opportunity for them to deepen their understanding of the Gospel and their relationship with Christ. The fact that both women are now in church and professing Christ is a powerful testimony to the transformative power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

We are grateful for the opportunity to have walked alongside Irma and Marcelina on their spiritual journeys. Their stories are a testimony to the love and grace of God. Please continue to pray for both Irma and Marcelina, as well as their sons.

We would also like to express our gratitude to those who have supported this ministry through their prayers and donations. Your generosity has made it possible for us to continue serving those in need and proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Irma on the right, now gathering with the saints in the local church.

By partnering with this ministry, you are supporting men who are boldly proclaiming the Gospel in some difficult places,  and demonstrating God’s love in tangible ways through compassionate service to the vulnerable. Please also pray for the church plants we are working towards among some vulnerable populations.

Our mission is to fulfill the Great Commission by equipping nationals, making disciples, and collaborating with local partners to plant and strengthen Christ-centered churches in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Venezuela for the glory of God. But we also believe in showing compassion through works alongside evangelism and discipleship, meeting practical needs as a tangible expression of God’s love. This principle emphasizes showing compassion and love towards the people encountered in mission work, prioritizing their spiritual needs, and meeting physical needs when appropriate, possible and unharmful to a persons’ growth, never hindering an individuals’ ability to work and provide for themselves. 

Marcelina arriving to church with son Edgardo.

We believe that the work being done with Irma, Marcelina, and their families is a powerful example of the transformative power of the Gospel. By consistently praying for them, teaching the Word of God, by providing practical support, the Lord has used Rafael to bring them to the feet of Christ. Praise be to God.

We encourage you to consider supporting this ministry, as we seek to glorify God through the faithful preaching of the Gospel and intentional discipleship by the BCMS team. For us, it is an honor and privilege to serve the Lord in this way.

Soli Deo Gloria

In Christ,

Antonio Salgado serving in the Dominican Republic

Excerpts of reports by BCMS worker Rafael Rodriguez serving in Maracay, Venezuela

 

“I give thanks to my God for every remembrance of you, always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer,  because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.” – Philippians 1:3-5

Please pray for our BCMS workers serving faithfully in hard places. May the Gospel continue to go forth, to God be the glory.

If the Lord so lies on your heart to give back to Him by supporting this ministry, you can easily donate online through PayPal. Click the donate button below to send support of any amount directly to the ministry. This is the fastest option to get funds to the mission field.

 

 

 

 

Also,

CENTRAL MISSIONARY CLEARINGHOUSE
P.O. Box 219228
Houston, Texas 77218-9228
1-800-CMC-PRAY (1-800-262-7729)
Office: 281-599-7411
Fax: 281-599-7511

The ministry of (CMC) serves hundreds of missionaries, but they ONLY receive the funds for us and in no way have control over how the funds are to be spent or what we are to do as a ministry, which gives room to be sensitive to the Spirit’s leading and the liberty in making needed adjustments.

You may begin sending your support to the BCMS (Antonio Salgado) at any time at the address above. (Checks should be made payable to Central Missionary Clearinghouse or C.M.C.)

You can also now give to the ministry here in the DR online through the new giving solution called “click and give” at the CMC website.

To get started, you just need to click on the link below and register the first time. Just a simple click on the donate button on their page (see link below), and then click the “click and give icon/button”.

https://www.cmcmissions.org/donate

For tax exemption, you must send your donation through Central Missionary Clearinghouse (CMC) at the address above. But the PayPal option is the fastest way to get funds directly to the field.

We do not use a sending agency that gets a percentage of the money donated, so you can be sure that your gift goes directly to the mission field.

Whatever you decide, thank you so much for praying for us. Grace and peace.

Posted on

BCMS UPDATE FROM THE MISSION FIELD

 

LAGUNA PRIETA

Laguna Prieta is a community that is part of Puñal, which is on the outskirts of Santiago De Los Caballeros. We have been consistently visiting, doing evangelism and holding bible studies there for a few months now. Pastor Job and I go there every Thursday night and spend on average 2-4 hours a night. Sometimes there is another visit during the week for an individual follow up or to help someone with a need. The group consists of people of Haitian nationality who live in a very vulnerable situation here in the Dominican Republic. They are very kind to us and have accepted us well. They like that I can talk with them in their language, (although not perfectly), and have visited parts of their country. Places where some of them are from.

Usually we meet in the open air, sometimes inside of a home. There is usually a lot of mud and mosquitoes, sometimes there is no electricity. We set up plastic chairs and a table we purchased for this location when we realized the people were coming consistently. We also stay afterwards for a time of snacks and fellowship. That’s the time when we really get to know everyone. 

Last night in Laguna Prieta was wonderful. One lady we met last week (Michelina), came last night and brought her friend, her husband and their children with her. Three new men attended. By the end we had almost 30 people gathered, most of them stayed the entire time. Pastor Job and I pretty excited about what the Lord is doing in this group of people who are quickly becoming beloved to us. When we arrived, we shared the Gospel with a couple of people near where we meet. We also had a chance to talk one on one with a couple of new believers.

After the study, there were many questions and comments from the group. We went on almost a half hour more just to dedicate enough time to that. We asked them to write down their questions during the week so we can answer them on our next visits.

There is even one man, who was somewhat of a scoffer at the beginning, but has become curious and has ended up attending. Although sometimes coming and going, but for the last two weeks in a row he has been present. He is dropping his guard and talking to us now. He even stayed after the study to join us for snacks both times. Praise the Lord!

Something seems to be happening, time will truly tell. May the Lord do a mighty work for His glory in the hearts and lives of many in Laguna Prieta. That they may know Christ, and make Christ known!

Pray.

Soli Deo Gloria

 

“Therefore, whatever you want others to do for you, do also the same for them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” – Matthew 7:12

 

 

In Christ,

Antonio Salgado

Please pray for our BCMS workers serving faithfully in hard places. May the Gospel continue to go forth, to God be the glory.

If the Lord so lies on your heart to give back to Him by supporting this ministry, you can easily donate online through PayPal. Click the donate button below to send support of any amount directly to the ministry. This is the fastest option to get funds to the mission field.

 

 

 

 

Also,

CENTRAL MISSIONARY CLEARINGHOUSE
P.O. Box 219228
Houston, Texas 77218-9228
1-800-CMC-PRAY (1-800-262-7729)
Office: 281-599-7411
Fax: 281-599-7511

The ministry of (CMC) serves hundreds of missionaries, but they ONLY receive the funds for us and in no way have control over how the funds are to be spent or what we are to do as a ministry, which gives room to be sensitive to the Spirit’s leading and the liberty in making needed adjustments.

You may begin sending your support to the BCMS (Antonio Salgado) at any time at the address above. (Checks should be made payable to Central Missionary Clearinghouse or C.M.C.)

You can also now give to the ministry here in the DR online through the new giving solution called “click and give” at the CMC website.

To get started, you just need to click on the link below and register the first time. Just a simple click on the donate button on their page (see link below), and then click the “click and give icon/button”.

https://www.cmcmissions.org/donate

For tax exemption, you must send your donation through Central Missionary Clearinghouse (CMC) at the address above. But the PayPal option is the fastest way to get funds directly to the field.

We do not use a sending agency that gets a percentage of the money donated, so you can be sure that your gift goes directly to the mission field.

Whatever you decide, thank you so much for praying for us. Grace and peace.

 

Posted on

WHAT IS THE GOSPEL? PART 2: How To Share The Gospel With Both Unbelievers And Believers

What is the Gospel? (Pt. 2)

How to Share the Gospel with both unbelievers and believers

Illustration: Did you know that many times when a baby is born it is not breathing? And the doctor or someone has to spank the baby to make it cry out and take its first breath. This first breath of life…is it the one and only breath the baby will ever need? Or is it the first of many?

 

The first of many, of course! Now, I think we can compare the believing of the gospel of Jesus Christ to a baby’s first breath, and subsequent breaths as well. When a person hears the gospel, and the Spirit of God regenerates that person, giving new birth, making them born again, the very first thing they do is believe and repent. Spiritually speaking, believing and repenting are like a baby’s first breath. But just as a baby doesn’t then stop breathing, but needs to continue to breath to live, so a new believer doesn’t stop needing the gospel upon being saved. They continue to live spiritually by the life-giving breath of the gospel every moment of their lives. It is gospel-truth that both saves and sustains a child of God. In other words, it is the gospel that both justifies a believer at the moment of salvation and progressively sanctifies that same believer as he/she matures in the faith.

 

Romans 1:16 tells us, “The gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” So the gospel message saves when one repents and believes it. The gospel is for the unbeliever. It is for those who have not believed on Jesus Christ and confessed Him as Lord. I think we all know this.

 

But one verse prior in Romans 1:15, Paul writing in his introduction to the church in Rome, said, “I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.” Paul was trying to make it to Rome to visit the church so he could preach the gospel to them, to the church, to those who were already believers.

 

Do we know that the gospel is for the believer as well? We naturally think of the gospel being for the unbeliever. We think of sharing the gospel as we evangelize the lost. But not many of us think of sharing the gospel with the church, with those who are already Christians. Paul, did though.

 

Need: Paul knew that the church (believers) still needs the gospel. They need it every day, every hour. Until they die or Christ returns. And we all know the unbeliever needs the gospel, or they will die in their sins and spend eternity in hell.

 

Now, if this is true, if unbelievers and believers alike both need the gospel, we need to know how to share it and speak gospel- truth into the unbeliever’s life and into the believer’s life. Sharing the gospel with unbelievers is the responsibility of every member in the church. Every child of God is called to share the gospel with unbelievers, and so we need to know how. Sharing gospel- truths to believers pertains to all of us as well. There will be times in each of our lives that a brother or a sister in the faith needs encouragement, counseling, admonishment. We need to know how to apply the gospel to their situations. But the pastors and teachers of a church especially need to know how to preach the gospel to the their church members, as Paul intended to do at Rome, because they have the given responsibility to teach the Word of God to the gathered church every Sunday and other meeting times. Pastor, how should you preach the gospel in your Sunday morning sermons (and other teaching times)?

 

Theme: Tonight we will talk about the gospel being for all, for the unbeliever as well as for the believer. And we will talk about how to share the gospel with an unbeliever, as well as how to share the gospel to believers in the church.

 

Outline: So, the two headings of our discussion: How to Share the Gospel with Unbelievers; and How to Share the Gospel with Believers

 

How to Share the Gospel with Unbelievers

So first, how to share the gospel with unbelievers. Let us turn to the Word of God for guidance. One of the reasons I love the book of Acts is because it shows us how the early church did church. How they planted churches, how the did missions, how they evangelized, how the local church operated, how they appointed deacons to help the elders and apostles, how they fellowshipped and interacted. It really is an instructive book.

 

Well, we are going to look at a particular occasion in Acts 17 where Paul shared the gospel to unbelievers in Athens, Greece, and learn from the apostle how to share the gospel to unbelievers. These men of Athens were in many ways like people we encounter. They were not Jews, who knew the OT. They had no prior knowledge of the God of the Bible. Whether you be in Venezuela, or Haiti, or the D.R. or the USA, we are mostly sharing the truths of Who Jesus is and What Jesus has done to those not having a lot of knowledge of the Bible. Some have superficial knowledge, but most have very little understanding, and so it is instructive to see how Paul did it when talking to people who were not Jews.

In his book, What is the Gospel?, Greg Gilbert explains the gospel in four easy to remember steps. This book has been translated into Spanish so it would be worth reading. Here are the four steps: 1) God; 2) Man; 3) Jesus; 4) Response. I have found this very helpful over the years.

Now, I would contend with Gilbert that it would be more accurate to label his book: The Message of Salvation or something like that, rather than, “What is the Gospel?”

Why do I say that? Well, because last time we met I explained what the gospel is. It is the person and works of Jesus Christ. So, the gospel is contained within Gilbert’s four steps, mostly the third and fourth, but speaking of God’s holiness, His wrath, man’s sin…things like this in Gilbert’s first two steps are actually bad news. They are not the gospel, which is good news, but they are still very important to explain the gospel. They set the stage. For their to be good news, there must first be bad news. So what Gilbert is really doing in my opinion in his four steps is explaining the plan of salvation and the gospel is within that plan but is not the whole of it.

Hopefully that was clear. So, first, we need to explain God. Consider His attributes. He is holy, He is loving. As He told Moses when He passed in front of Him and hid Moses in the rock in Exodus 33 and 34, He is merciful and gracious (34:6) but He is also a righteous judge (34:7).

That would naturally lead us into talking about man. Man was made in God’s image but has fallen. He has rebelled against God. Romans 1 teaches us we are God-haters (v30). Romans 3 teaches us none is righteous (v10), none seeks for God (v11). All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (v23). Some people use the 10 commandments at this point to demonstrate man’s sinfulness.

So, as I’ve been saying. This is bad news. God is good. God is righteous. That’s good news right. Not for sinners! That is the most terrible news they could hear. He will pour out His wrath on them, judge them. Send them to hell. And there is nothing we can do to earn God’s favor. This is hopelessness. This is not good news.

But the gospel is good news! And this begins with the third step in Gilbert’s plan of salvation. Jesus. As I said last time. Here, we explain the person and the works of Jesus. Here is the essence of the gospel. There is hope because of Jesus.

And then fourth and finally, our response. We must believe the gospel of Jesus. We must also repent and submit to Jesus as Lord. Faith and Repentance are the conditions of salvation. They are the required responses to the gospel.

So, there is how I suggest explaining the gospel to an unbeliever. Now, I mentioned Acts 17. Let’s turn to Acts 17:22-31. Let’s read v22-25. Here we see Paul preach God. He informs these Pagans about the One True Living God. Then, in v26 Paul begins to speak about mankind. V27 says they were to seek God. The implication is that they did not. V29 says they developed wrong thoughts about God. They became idolaters instead of worshipping God. V30 returns to God, saying He was long-suffering, but He is now commanding men to repent or else He will judge the world in righteousness (v31). Paul mentions the response the people must have to the gospel (v30). What is that response? Repentance. He then quickly preaches the gospel in v31. God will judge the people through Jesus, but not if they repent and turn to Him who raised from the dead. Now, I’m sure Paul also preached the crucifixion of Jesus. This is a summary of Paul’s sermon, not every word of it. A resurrection of Jesus, which Paul clearly did preach would not make much sense without the prior death of Jesus being stated.

So, the order at the end is a bit off, but we clearly see the four steps of explaining the gospel to unbelievers that Gilbert stresses. God, man, Jesus, response. Do you have to explain the gospel this way to an unbeliever? I’d say there are other ways, but this is a helpful guide. And remember last time’s lesson. Remember to stress the person and the works of Jesus (Who He is and what he has done for sinners).

Transition: Well, let us turn our attention to sharing the gospel with the church, with believers. And as I said, this is not only for pastors, but pastors and teachers are my primary audience at this point. And the Sunday morning sermon is the primary setting I have in mind.

How to Share the Gospel with Believers

Here is what I grew up hearing on Sunday morning. A sermon. And then a “gospel presentation” at the end. It sounded the same every week. It was the plan of salvation. It was for the unbelievers in the room, not the believer. Furthermore, it was unrelated to the sermon. It had nothing to do with what the preacher just preached to the believers. And there is the problem. What that type of preaching does—when a preacher preaches a message to believers, then tacks on the gospel at the end for the unbelievers—is teaching the church that the gospel is not for them, that it is unrelated to the believer. It teaches them that the gospel is for initial salvation, but then the believer must move on to more deep and mature things.

If you are doing this, you are crippling your church. Listen to CJ Mahoney’s words,

“The gospel isn’t one class among many that you’ll attend during your life as a Christian – the gospel is the whole building that all the classes take place in! Rightly approached, all the topics you’ll study and focus on as a believer will be offered to you ‘within the walls’ of the glorious gospel.”

We never move past the gospel! We believers need it every hour. It is our initial breath of new life, it is every breath thereafter.

But how then do we preach the gospel to those who have already believed it? Is it going through Gilbert’s God, man, Jesus, response method over and over with them, each Sunday? I don’t think so. I think two reminders will help us when preparing our teachings. First, Don’t forget Christ. Second, Don’t forget the text.

Don’t Forget Christ

So, first, don’t forget Christ. That may sound obvious but I am amazed at how many sermons I hear that are Christless! Not only in the OT, but in the NT as well. And this very big problem seems to be nothing new. Charles Spurgeon, almost 150 years ago noticed this problem. Listen to what he said, “A sermon without Christ in it is like a loaf of bread without any flour in it. No Christ in your sermon sir? Then go home, and never preach again until you have something worth preaching.” Very stern words that should make us reflect upon our preaching.

Now, by mentioning we must preach “Christ” in our sermons, what I’m really meaning is we must preach the gospel of Jesus Christ in our sermons. Who Jesus is and what He has done. It is essential that the gospel is woven into each and every sermon, perhaps multiple times. Even if we are preaching through the genealogies in Genesis. We must do this because Jesus, Himself, said in Luke 24:25-27 that all the Scriptures are about Him, and more specifically about His death and resurrection. In this passage Jesus rebuked two disciples on the road to Emaus following His resurrection for not understanding that the Christ must die and rise again. Then he preached to them. V27 says, “And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.” Oh what a sermon that must have been!

Did you notice that word, “expounded”? That’s where we get out word “exposition” from. Jesus was an expository preacher! So,

the number one rule of proper exposition is that we must preach Christ. We must be gospel-centered.

In every sermon a preacher is exhorting, rebuking, challenging, calling for a response, calling for a person to be conformed into the image of Christ, to repent, to abound more in doing good, to look to Christ. He reveals to us from the text where we fall short due to our flesh and due to our fallen state. He beats us up a little, but he always ends on a high note.

There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus! God forgives us in Christ, He redeems us. This is the gospel. Furthermore, Jesus is our strength, our faithful high priest who can relate to our weakness, and Who is able to help us. The preacher offers hope through Christ and the gospel to the weary believer as he sojourns this fallen world. He urges us to keep our eyes on Christ, to endure until the end. He reminds us of our inheritance waiting for us, and encourages us us not to grow weary in doing well, lest we faint before we reap.

This is the aim of the preacher. The aim of the preacher is not life lessons, not to give a “how-to manual” on prayer, marriage, whatever. There are times and places for that but they should not be the main diet for the church. Going through books of the Bible should be and pointing people to Christ and the gospel throughout the text.

Remember the Text

That brings us to our second reminder: Remember the text. Remember Christ and the gospel, remember the text! Our text is not a spring board. We don’t just read it, and jump off it into the gospel without the gospel being related to that text. This is very important. 

The text at hand is inspired, it was written to a specific people for a specific purpose and it is the expositor’s task to take this text and then teach us how it relates to us. How does the main point of the text to its original audience relate to us 21st century believers?

And here is the point I’m trying to make. We must never leave the text behind when going to the gospel. If we do, even if we have good, God-honoring intentions to preach Christ, we are in fact watering the gospel down, because we are suggesting the text does not relate to the gospel. We must preach the gospel from the exegesis of the text. The gospel is in your text, brother. Because every text in some way is centered around the gospel of Jesus Christ—around Who He is and what He has done, and how we need Him. Remember, even from the OT, Jesus preached His person and works from Moses and from the prophets. See, He was text-centered, while being gospel- centered.

There’s a lot more to be said on this, but time does not permit. Maybe we can have future times together on this. The second part of this teaching was just an overview. In the meantime, I think it is helpful to have your sermons critiqued. You have to have thick skin, but it will help you learn to preach better. Hopefully this teaching will start some conversations on the matter. 

 

 

 

Outline for “What is the Gospel? (Pt. 2) The Gospel for all “

How to Share the Gospel with both unbelievers and believers

Introduction

  • The importance of the gospel:
  • The gospel as the first spiritual breath.
  • The gospel as daily nourishment for the believer.
  • The need for the gospel for unbelievers and believers.

 

The purpose of the teaching:

  • Explain how to share the gospel with both groups.
  • Emphasize the importance of preaching Christ in all sermons.

 

Part 1: Sharing the Gospel with Unbelievers

Paul’s model in Athens (Acts 17):

  • Present God as the one true living God.
  • Talk about humanity and its sin.
  • Announce Jesus as the hope.
  • Call to repentance and faith.

 

Greg Gilbert’s four steps:

  • God: His holiness, love, and justice.
  • Man: The fall and sin.
  • Jesus: The person and work of Christ.
  • Response: Faith and repentance.

 

Practical application:

  • Adapt these steps to different cultural contexts.
  • Emphasize the importance of clarity and simplicity.

 

Part 2: Sharing the Gospel with Believers

The problem of decontextualized evangelism:

  • Separating the gospel from the sermon.
  • Teaching the church that the gospel is only for unbelievers.

 

The importance of preaching Christ in all sermons:

  • Quotes from Spurgeon and Jesus.
  • The gospel as the central theme of all Scripture.

 

How to integrate the gospel into preaching:

  • Keep Christ in mind in every sermon.
  • Relate the biblical text to the gospel.
  • Offer hope and encouragement to believers.

 

The role of the pastor:

  • Be a model of dependence on the gospel.
  • Equip the church to share the gospel.

 

Conclusion

Summary of key points:

  • The importance of sharing the gospel with everyone.
  • The need to focus on Christ in all preaching.
  • The practical application of these principles.
  • Call to action:
  • Exhort listeners to apply these principles in their own lives.
  • Encourage pastors to preach the gospel comprehensively.

 

Note: This outline provides a comprehensive overview of the main points discussed in the text. It can be used as a starting point for further development or as a guide for creating a sermon or teaching on the subject.

 

Additional notes:

 

  • The outline could be further developed by adding more specific examples from the text or by exploring additional biblical passages.
  • The focus on the pastor is intentional, as the text is primarily addressed to pastors and teachers. However, the principles can be applied to all believers.
  • Cultural adaptations may be necessary when applying these principles to different contexts.

 

Written by Jared Duncan

Edited by Antonio Salgado

Soli Deo Gloria

 

Please pray for our BCMS workers serving faithfully in hard places. May the Gospel continue to go forth, to God be the glory.

If the Lord so lies on your heart to give back to Him by supporting this ministry, you can easily donate online through PayPal. Click the donate button below to send support of any amount directly to the ministry. This is the fastest option to get funds to the mission field.

 

 

 

 

Also,

CENTRAL MISSIONARY CLEARINGHOUSE
P.O. Box 219228
Houston, Texas 77218-9228
1-800-CMC-PRAY (1-800-262-7729)
Office: 281-599-7411
Fax: 281-599-7511

The ministry of (CMC) serves hundreds of missionaries, but they ONLY receive the funds for us and in no way have control over how the funds are to be spent or what we are to do as a ministry, which gives room to be sensitive to the Spirit’s leading and the liberty in making needed adjustments.

You may begin sending your support to the BCMS (Antonio Salgado) at any time at the address above. (Checks should be made payable to Central Missionary Clearinghouse or C.M.C.)

You can also now give to the ministry here in the DR online through the new giving solution called “click and give” at the CMC website.

To get started, you just need to click on the link below and register the first time. Just a simple click on the donate button on their page (see link below), and then click the “click and give icon/button”.

https://www.cmcmissions.org/donate

For tax exemption, you must send your donation through Central Missionary Clearinghouse (CMC) at the address above. But the PayPal option is the fastest way to get funds directly to the field.

We do not use a sending agency that gets a percentage of the money donated, so you can be sure that your gift goes directly to the mission field.

Whatever you decide, thank you so much for praying for us. Grace and peace.

 

Posted on

¿QUÉ ES EL EVANGELIO? Parte 2: Cómo Compartir El Evangelio Tanto Con Creyentes Como Con Incrédulos

¿Qué Es El Evangelio? (Parte 2)

Cómo Compartir El Evangelio Tanto Con Creyentes Como Con Incrédulos

 

Ilustración: ¿Sabías que muchas veces cuando nace un bebé no respira? Y el médico o alguien tiene que darle una palmada al bebé para hacerlo llorar y respirar por primera vez. Este primer aliento de vida… ¿es el único aliento que el bebé necesitará? ¿O es el primero de muchos?

¡El primero de muchos, por supuesto! Ahora, creo que podemos comparar la creencia en el evangelio de Jesucristo con el primer aliento de un bebé, y también con los posteriores. Cuando una persona escucha el evangelio, y el Espíritu de Dios la regenera, dándole nuevo nacimiento, haciéndola nacer de nuevo, lo primero que hace es creer y arrepentirse. Espiritualmente hablando, creer y arrepentirse son como el primer aliento de un bebé. Pero así como un bebé no deja de respirar, sino que necesita seguir respirando para vivir, así un nuevo creyente no deja de necesitar el evangelio al ser salvo. Continúan viviendo espiritualmente por el aliento vivificante del evangelio en cada momento de sus vidas. Es la verdad del evangelio la que salva y sostiene a un hijo de Dios. En otras palabras, es el evangelio que justifica al creyente en el momento de la salvación y santifica progresivamente a ese mismo creyente a medida que madura en la fe.

 

Romanos 1:16 nos dice, “El evangelio es poder de Dios para salvación a todo aquel que cree”. Entonces el mensaje del evangelio salva cuando uno se arrepiente y cree en él. El evangelio es para los incrédulos. Es para aquellos que no han creído en Jesucristo y no lo han confesado como Señor. Creo que todos sabemos esto.

 

Pero un verso antes en Romanos 1:15 Pablo, al escribir su introducción a la iglesia en Roma, dijo: “Estoy ansioso por anunciaros el evangelio también a vosotros que estáis en Roma”. Pablo estaba tratando de llegar a Roma para visitar la iglesia y poder predicarles el evangelio a ellos, a la iglesia, a aquellos que ya eran creyentes.

 

¿Sabemos que el evangelio es también para el creyente? Naturalmente, pensamos que el evangelio es para los incrédulos. Pensamos en compartir el evangelio mientras evangelizamos a los perdidos. Pero no muchos de nosotros pensamos en compartir el evangelio con la iglesia, con aquellos que ya son cristianos. Paul, sin embargo, lo hizo.

 

Necesidad: Pablo sabía que la iglesia (los creyentes) todavía necesita el evangelio. Lo necesitan todos los días, cada hora. Hasta que mueran o Cristo regrese. Y todos sabemos que el incrédulo necesita el evangelio, o morirá en sus pecados y pasará la eternidad en el infierno.

 

Ahora bien, si esto es cierto, si tanto los incrédulos como los creyentes necesitan el evangelio, debemos saber cómo compartirlo y hablar la verdad del evangelio en la vida del incrédulo y en la vida del creyente. Compartir el evangelio con los incrédulos es responsabilidad de cada miembro de la iglesia. Cada hijo de Dios está llamado a compartir el evangelio con los incrédulos, y por eso necesitamos saber cómo hacerlo. Compartir las verdades del evangelio con los creyentes se refiere a todo de nosotros también. Habrá momentos en cada una de nuestras vidas en que un hermano o una hermana en la fe necesitará aliento, consejo y amonestación. Necesitamos saber cómo aplicar el evangelio a sus situaciones. Pero los pastores y maestros de una iglesia necesitan especialmente saber cómo predicar el evangelio a los miembros de su iglesia, como Pablo pretendía hacerlo en Roma, porque tienen la responsabilidad dada de enseñar la Palabra de Dios a la iglesia reunida cada domingo y otros horarios de reunión. Pastor, ¿cómo debería predicar el evangelio en sus sermones dominicales por la mañana (y otros momentos de enseñanza)?

 

Tema: Esta noche hablaremos de que el evangelio es para todos, tanto para los incrédulos como para los creyentes. Y hablaremos de cómo..

  • compartir el evangelio con un incrédulo, 
  • también cómo compartir el evangelio con los creyentes en la iglesia.

 

Describir: Entonces, los dos títulos de nuestra discusión: Cómo compartir el evangelio con los incrédulos; y cómo compartir el evangelio con los creyentes

Cómo compartir el evangelio con los incrédulos

Primero, cómo compartir el evangelio con los incrédulos. Busquemos guía en la Palabra de Dios. Una de las razones por las que amo el libro de los Hechos es porque nos muestra cómo la iglesia primitiva hacía iglesia. Cómo plantaron iglesias, cómo hicieron misiones, cómo evangelizaron, cómo operaba la iglesia local, cómo nombraron diáconos para ayudar a los ancianos y apóstoles, cómo tuvieron compañerismo e interactuaron. Realmente es un libro instructivo.

 

Bueno, vamos a ver una ocasión particular en Hechos 17 donde Pablo compartió el evangelio a los incrédulos en Atenas, Grecia, y aprende del apóstol cómo compartir el evangelio a los incrédulos. Estos hombres de Atenas se parecían en muchos aspectos a las personas que encontramos. No eran judíos que conocían el Antiguo Testamento. No tenían ningún conocimiento previo del Dios de la Biblia. Ya sea que esté en Venezuela, Haití o la R.D. En los EE. UU., principalmente compartimos las verdades de Quién es Jesús y Lo que Jesús ha hecho con aquellos que no tienen mucho conocimiento de la Biblia. Algunos tienen un conocimiento superficial, pero la mayoría tiene muy poca comprensión, por lo que es instructivo ver cómo lo hizo Pablo cuando hablaba con personas que no eran judías.

 

En su libro ¿Qué es el evangelio?, Greg Gilbert explica el evangelio en cuatro pasos fáciles de recordar. Este libro ha sido traducido al español por lo que valdría la pena leerlo. Aquí están los cuatro pasos: 1) Dios; 2) Hombre; 3) Jesús; 4) Respuesta. Esto me ha resultado muy útil a lo largo de los años.

 

Ahora, yo diría con Gilbert que sería más exacto etiquetar su libro: El Mensaje de Salvación o algo así, en lugar de “¿Qué es el Evangelio?”

 

¿Por qué digo eso? Bueno, porque la última vez que nos vimos le expliqué qué es el evangelio. Es la persona y obras de Jesucristo. Entonces, el evangelio está contenido dentro de los cuatro pasos de Gilbert, principalmente el tercero y el cuarto, pero hablar de la santidad de Dios, Su ira, el pecado del hombre… cosas como esta en los primeros dos pasos de Gilbert son en realidad malas noticias. No son el evangelio, lo cual es una buena noticia, pero aún así son muy importantes para explicar el evangelio. Ellos prepararon el escenario. Para que sean buenas noticias, primero debe haber malas noticias. Entonces, en mi opinión, lo que Gilbert realmente está haciendo en sus cuatro pasos es explicar el plan de salvación y el evangelio está dentro de ese plan, pero no es la totalidad.

 

Ojalá eso haya quedado claro. Entonces, primero debemos explicar Dios. Considere sus atributos. Él es santo, es amoroso. Como le dijo a Moisés cuando pasó frente a Él y lo escondió en la roca en Éxodo 33 y 34, Él es misericordioso y misericordioso (34:6), pero también es un juez justo (34:7).

 

Naturalmente, eso nos llevaría a hablar de hombre. El hombre fue hecho a imagen de Dios, pero ha caído. Se ha rebelado contra Dios. Romanos 1 nos enseña que odiamos a Dios (v30). Romanos 3 nos enseña que nadie es justo (v10), nadie busca a Dios (v11). Todos han pecado y están destituidos de la gloria de Dios (v23). Algunas personas usan los 10 mandamientos en este punto para demostrar la pecaminosidad del hombre.

 

Entonces, como he estado diciendo. Éstas son malas noticias. Dios es bueno. Dios es justo. Esas son buenas noticias, ¿verdad? ¡No para los pecadores! Esa es la noticia más terrible que pudieron escuchar. Él derramará sobre ellos su ira y los juzgará. Mándalos al infierno. Y no hay nada que podamos hacer para ganarnos el favor de Dios. Esto es nos quita la esperanza. Ésta no es una buena noticia.

 

¡Pero el evangelio si es una buena noticia! Y esto comienza con el tercer paso en el plan de salvación de Gilbert. Jesús. Como dije la última vez. Aquí explicamos la persona y las obras de Jesús. Aquí está la esencia del evangelio. Hay esperanza gracias a Jesús.

 

Y luego cuarto y último, nuestra respuesta. Debemos creer el evangelio de Jesús. También debemos arrepentirnos y someternos a Jesús como Señor. La fe y el arrepentimiento son las condiciones de la salvación. Son las respuestas requeridas al evangelio.

 

Entonces, así es como sugiero explicar el evangelio a un incrédulo. Ahora, mencioné Hechos 17. Pasemos a Hechos 17:22-31. Leamos Leer v22-25. Aquí vemos a Pablo predicar a Dios. Él informa a estos paganos acerca del Único Dios Vivo Verdadero. Luego, en el v26 Pablo comienza a hablar de la humanidad. El V27 dice que debían buscar a Dios. La implicación es que no lo hicieron. V29 dice que desarrollaron pensamientos erróneos acerca de Dios. Se convirtieron en idólatras en lugar de adorar a Dios. El v30 regresa a Dios, diciendo que fue muy sufrido (paciente), pero que ahora está ordenando a los hombres que se arrepientan o, de lo contrario, juzgará al mundo con justicia (v31). Pablo menciona la respuesta que debe tener el pueblo al evangelio (v30). ¿Cuál es esa respuesta? Arrepentimiento. Luego rápidamente predica el evangelio en el v31. Dios juzgará al pueblo a través de Jesús, pero no si se arrepienten y se vuelven a Aquel que resucitó de entre los muertos. Ahora, estoy seguro de que Pablo también predicó la crucifixión de Jesús. Este es un resumen del sermón de Pablo, no cada palabra. Una resurrección de Jesús, que Pablo claramente predicó, no tendría mucho sentido sin que se indique la muerte previa de Jesús.

 

Entonces, el orden al final está un poco fuera de lugar, pero vemos claramente los cuatro pasos para explicar el evangelio a los incrédulos que Gilbert enfatiza. Dios, hombre, Jesús, respuesta. ¿Tienes que explicar el evangelio de esta manera a un incrédulo? Yo diría que hay otras formas, pero esta es una guía útil. Y recuerda la lección de la última vez. Recuerde enfatizar la persona y las obras de Jesús (quién es y qué ha hecho por los pecadores).

 

Transición: Bueno, dirijamos nuestra atención a compartir el evangelio con la iglesia, con los creyentes. Y como dije, esto no es solo para pastores, sino que los pastores y maestros son mi audiencia principal en este momento. Y el sermón del domingo por la mañana es el escenario principal que tengo en mente.

 

Cómo compartir el evangelio con los creyentes

Esto es lo que crecí escuchando los domingos por la mañana. Un sermón. Y al final una “presentación del evangelio”. Sonaba igual todas las semanas. Era el plan de salvación. Era para los incrédulos en la sala, no para el creyente. Además, no tenía relación con el sermón. No tuvo nada que ver con lo que el predicador acaba de predicar a los creyentes. Y ahí está el problema. Lo que hace ese tipo de predicación (cuando un predicador predica un mensaje a los creyentes y luego añade el evangelio al final para los incrédulos) es enseñar a la iglesia que el evangelio no es para ellos, que no tiene relación con el creyente. Les enseña que el evangelio es para la salvación inicial, pero luego el creyente debe pasar a cosas más profundas y maduras.

 

Si haces esto, estás paralizando a tu iglesia. Escuche las palabras de CJ Mahaney: “El evangelio no es una clase entre muchas a las que asistirás durante tu vida como cristiano: ¡el evangelio es el edificio completo en el que se llevan a cabo todas las clases! Si se abordan correctamente, todos los temas que estudiará y en los que se concentrará como creyente se le ofrecerán “dentro de los muros” del glorioso evangelio”. ¡Nunca pasamos del evangelio! Los creyentes lo necesitamos cada hora. Es nuestro aliento inicial de nueva vida, es cada aliento posterior.

 

Pero, ¿cómo entonces predicamos el evangelio a aquellos que ya lo han creído? ¿Está repasando el método de respuesta de Gilbert, Dios, hombre, Jesús, una y otra vez con ellos, cada domingo? No me parece. Creo que dos recordatorios nos ayudarán a la hora de preparar nuestras enseñanzas. Primero, no te olvides de Cristo. En segundo lugar, no olvides el texto.

 

No olvides a Cristo

Entonces, primero, no te olvides de Cristo. Esto puede parecer obvio, pero ¡estoy sorprendido de cuántos sermones escucho que no tienen a Cristo! No sólo en el Antiguo Testamento, sino también en el Nuevo Testamento. Y este gran problema no parece ser nada nuevo. Charles Spurgeon, hace casi 150 años, notó este problema. Escuche lo que dijo: “Un sermón sin Cristo es como una barra de pan sin harina. ¿No hay Cristo en su sermón, señor? Luego vete a casa y no vuelvas a predicar hasta que tengas algo que valga la pena predicar”. Palabras muy severas que deberían hacernos reflexionar sobre nuestra predicación.

 

Ahora, al mencionar que debemos predicar “Cristo” en nuestros sermones, lo que realmente quiero decir es que debemos predicar el evangelio de Jesucristo en nuestros sermones. Quién es Jesús y qué ha hecho. Es esencial que el evangelio esté entretejido en todos y cada uno de los sermones, quizás varias veces. Incluso si estamos predicando a través de las genealogías del Génesis. Debemos hacer esto porque Jesús mismo dijo en Lucas 24:25-27 que todas las Escrituras tratan de Él, y más específicamente de Su muerte y resurrección. En este pasaje Jesús reprendió a dos discípulos en el camino a Emaús después de Su resurrección por no entender que Cristo debe morir y resucitar. Luego les predicó. El V27 dice: “Y comenzando por Moisés y por todos los Profetas, les explicó en todas las Escrituras lo que concernía a Él”. ¡Oh, qué sermón debe haber sido ese!

 

¿Notaste esa palabra “expuesta”? De ahí surge la palabra “exposición”. ¡Jesús fue un predicador expositivo! Entonces, la regla número uno para una exposición adecuada es que debemos predicar a Cristo. Debemos estar centrados en el evangelio.

 

En cada sermón un predicador está exhortando, reprendiendo, desafiando, pidiendo una respuesta, llamando a una persona a ser conformada a la imagen de Cristo, a arrepentirse, a abundar más en hacer el bien, a mirar a Cristo. Él nos revela en el texto dónde fallamos debido a nuestra carne y a nuestro estado caído. Nos golpea un poco, pero siempre termina con una nota alta.

 

¡No hay condenación para los que están en Cristo Jesús! Dios nos perdona en Cristo, nos redime. Este es el evangelio. Además, Jesús es nuestra fortaleza, nuestro fiel sumo sacerdote que puede relacionarse con nuestras debilidades y que puede ayudarnos. El predicador ofrece esperanza a través de Cristo y el evangelio al creyente cansado mientras peregrina en este mundo caído. Nos insta a mantener los ojos puestos en Cristo, a perseverar hasta el final. Nos recuerda nuestra herencia que nos espera y nos anima a no cansarnos de hacer el bien, no sea que desmayemos antes de cosechar.

 

Este es el objetivo del predicador. El objetivo del predicador no son lecciones de vida, ni dar un “manual de instrucciones” sobre la oración, el matrimonio, lo que sea. Hay momentos y lugares para eso, pero no deberían ser la dieta principal de la iglesia. Revisar los libros de la Biblia debería ser señalar a las personas a Cristo y el evangelio a lo largo del texto.

 

Recuerda el texto

Eso nos lleva a nuestro segundo recordatorio: recuerda el texto. ¡Recuerda a Cristo y el evangelio, recuerda el texto! Nuestro texto no es un trampolín. No simplemente lo leemos y saltamos al evangelio sin que el evangelio esté relacionado con ese texto. Esto es muy importante.

 

El texto que nos ocupa es inspirado, fue escrito para un pueblo específico con un propósito específico y es tarea del expositor tomar este texto y luego enseñarnos cómo se relaciona con nosotros. ¿Cómo se relaciona el punto principal del texto con su audiencia original con nosotros, los creyentes del siglo XXI?

 

Y este es el punto que estoy tratando de señalar. Nunca debemos dejar atrás el texto cuando vamos al evangelio. Si lo hacemos, incluso si tenemos buenas intenciones de predicar a Cristo que honran a Dios, de hecho estamos diluyendo el evangelio, porque estamos sugiriendo que el texto no se relaciona con el evangelio. Debemos predicar el evangelio desde la exégesis del texto. El evangelio está en tu texto, hermano. Porque cada texto de alguna manera se centra en el evangelio de Jesucristo: en quién es Él, qué ha hecho y cómo lo necesitamos. Recuerde, incluso desde el Antiguo Testamento, Jesús predicó su persona y obras desde Moisés y desde los profetas. Mira, Él estaba centrado en el texto, mientras que estaba centrado en el evangelio.

 

Hay mucho más que decir al respecto, pero el tiempo no lo permite. Quizás podamos tener momentos futuros juntos sobre esto. La segunda parte de esta enseñanza fue sólo una descripción general. Mientras tanto, creo que es útil que critiquen sus sermones. Tienes que tener la piel dura pero te ayudará a aprender a predicar mejor. Esperemos que esta enseñanza inicie algunas conversaciones sobre el tema. 

 

 

Bosquejo de ¿Qué es el evangelio? (Parte 2)

Cómo compartir el evangelio tanto con creyentes como con incrédulos

Introducción

La importancia del evangelio:

  • El evangelio como el primer aliento espiritual.
  • El evangelio como alimento diario para el creyente.
  • La necesidad del evangelio para incrédulos y creyentes.

El propósito de la enseñanza:

  • Explicar cómo compartir el evangelio en ambos grupos.
  • Enfatizar la importancia de predicar a Cristo en todos los sermones.

 

Parte 1: Compartir el evangelio con incrédulos

  • Modelo de Pablo en Atenas (Hechos 17):
  • Presentar a Dios como el único Dios verdadero.
  • Hablar de la humanidad y su pecado.
  • Anunciar a Jesús como la esperanza.
  • Llamar al arrepentimiento y la fe.

 

Los cuatro pasos de Greg Gilbert:

  • Dios: Su santidad, amor y justicia.
  • Hombre: La caída y el pecado.
  • Jesús: La persona y obra de Cristo.
  • Respuesta: Fe y arrepentimiento.

 

Aplicación práctica:

  • Adaptar estos pasos a diferentes contextos culturales.
  • Enfatizar la importancia de la claridad y la simplicidad.

 

Parte 2: Compartir el evangelio con creyentes

El problema de una evangelización descontextualizada:

  • Separar el evangelio del sermón.
  • Enseñar a la iglesia que el evangelio es solo para incrédulos.
  • La importancia de predicar a Cristo en todos los sermones:
  • Citas de Spurgeon y Jesús.
  • El evangelio como el tema central de toda la Escritura.

 

Cómo integrar el evangelio en la predicación:

  • No perder de vista a Cristo en cada sermón.
  • Relacionar el texto bíblico con el evangelio.
  • Ofrecer esperanza y aliento a los creyentes.

 

El papel del pastor:

  • Ser un modelo de dependencia del evangelio.
  • Equipar a la iglesia para compartir el evangelio.

 

Conclusión

Resumen de los puntos clave:

  • La importancia de compartir el evangelio con todos.
  • La necesidad de centrarse en Cristo en toda la predicación.
  • La aplicación práctica de estos principios.

 

Llamada a la acción:

  • Exhortar a los oyentes a aplicar estos principios en su propia vida.
  • Animar a los pastores a predicar el evangelio de manera integral.

Escrito por Jared Duncan

Traducido por Antonio Salgado

 

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BCMS UPDATE FROM THE MISSION FIELD

 Monthly Newsletter: Dominican Republic, Haiti, Venezuela 

 

Greetings from the field, everyone!

This month has been a whirlwind of activity for our missionary team serving in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Venezuela. Below are some of the highlights of the activities over the last month:

 

Preaching & Bible Studies:

 

The team has been busy spreading the Gospel and teaching the Bible in various communities. By God’s grace, Pastor Job has continued his Bible study in Laguna Prieta, despite the challenges there, by God’s grace, things are going well. In Yaguita del Pastor, Francisco is teaching and preaching on a regular basis. In August, we held an activity in his church distributing school supplies to vulnerable children and presented the Gospel to them and their family members present. Victor and Job will begin working together on outreach efforts in Hato Mayor, beginning with an apartment complex on the backside of the barrio. There is a good brother who lives in that complex and there is an available common area where we can meet, Lord willing. 

 

Frantzdy, our dedicated brother in Pedernales, continues to serve tirelessly despite facing immense challenges, including a slow but steady gunshot wound last Novemeber. His commitment to the people is truly inspiring. Apart from the the church services, Bible studies and prayer meetings, there are four other spots in the town that he visits regularly to share the Gospel and give Bible studies, all with people in vulnerable situations. He also frequently goes to another church that he planted in Cerro de Aguila to preach and teach. Pray for Frantzdy his continued recovery.

In Juana Mendez, Haiti, apart from local church activities and studying for his  bachelor’s degree in theology, Leonel is actively reaching out to new believers, leading Bible studies, and even visiting a local prison to share the Gospel. He has also begun sharing the Word of God in the nursing home in Juana Mendez. He is often invited by other churches and ministries in the area to teach.

Rafael, serving in Maracay, Venezuela, has been visiting and sharing the Gospel with Mr. Ines and Mrs. Nora. He’s also providing food and support to other individuals in need, like Nina and her family, and giving continued follow-up visits with those who have professed Christ, or are receptive to the Gospel.  We are now praying and planning for a new Bible study in his home soon, Lord willing. Pray 

 

Outreach & Community Engagement:

 

We’ve been actively involved in the communities of our team’s local churches, organizing workshops, providing food, and supporting those in need. A workshop on evangelism and missions brought together representatives from several Dominican and Haitian congregations from Puerto Plata to Santiago. By God’s grace, it went very well and are inviting those who attended the workshop to our online teachings coming later this month. We have created a group in order to maintain communication with those brothers and sisters, and to give follow up from the teachings. 

In Juana Mendez, Leonel organized food donations and a worship service for a home for the elderly. By God’s grace, we received a donation that will cover the cost of the monthly food provision to continue to show the love of Christ and the Word of God to this group of very vulnerable people. Pray for the salvation of this group since they are nearing the end of their lives here on earth.

 

Challenges & Growth:

 

It’s important to acknowledge the challenges that many missionaries face. This in in the context of many American missionaries serving overseas. Many leave the field within the first five years due to various reasons. However, with our team of nationals, that is much less likely to happen. They know and are used to the lifestyle and the challenges, and the team remains dedicated and resilient. 

 

Some of the recent challenges we’ve faced include, poverty, a lack of technology for some team members for quality recording of activities in pictures and videos as evidences of the activities held by the team. There are also the usual field conditions like power outages and inadequate shelter for meetings, the need for bibles and study resources for the team and those they serve. There are also some recent transportation difficulties in the DR. 

 

I need to travel within the country and visit Haiti soon, but sometimes, getting around can be challenging if it’s far. To reach Haiti, I can take a bus and meet Leonel at the border. No problem with transportation there, other than the obvious risks due to the present situation in the country. However, the van has taken a beating over the years. There are several men in different parts of the country I need to meet and spend time with in regard to expanding our efforts and taking the teachings from the workshop on evangelism and missions. While the van still runs well for daily errands here in the city and even a little further, I’m hesitant to travel long distances more than 2–3 hours away in it. Especially after it heated up twice on a mountain road recently. 

 

Near the city I feel things are easier to find. But, to breakdown far from home, find a trustworthy mechanic or getting it back to Santiago would be expensive and somewhat of a nightmare here. Especially if far from any decent sized city because car parts are scarce in many areas outside the main cities. When I lived in Esperanza, I often had to drive all the way to Santiago to find parts, often spending the entire day shop to shop until the needed part was finally found. Unknown mechanics can be risky and often not trustworthy. I speak from experience.

 

Some might say that a cheap motorcycle would be a quick solution. For city travel, it is ideal and more cost-effective. I even used to travel quite far for ministry on the one I had. As far as Jarabacoa in the mountains, Cotuí, La Isabella and Punta Rucia. However, after not one, not two, but three accidents on a motorcycle in this country, unless it is absolutely necessary, I’d rather not. I am a risk-taker, you have to do things out of your comfort zone from time to time, but not all risks are always wise. Yeison needs me, and I want to be there for him.

 

Pray that the Lord would provide for the rental vehicles when I need to travel, or eventually provide for a more reliable and tougher vehicle, ideal for the bad road conditions and mountains here. Rental cars can be affordable here, but require a minimum 2-3 day rental. I’d be very content with whatever the Lord provides. I just need to be able to get around more frequently in a reliable form of transportation for those longer trips.

 

Future Plans:

 

We’re excited about upcoming plans. We’ll be continuing our virtual conference series on the Gospel. The next session will be on September 21st, focusing on “The Gospel for the World” and “The Gospel for the Church” in another session if time does not allow us to finish that day. Following that, on September 28th, we’ll have a teaching session led by our own team member, brother Rafael Rodriguez. Please pray for the expositors of God´s Word and the edification of the hearers of these sessions.

 

Please Pray For:

 

Our team members and their ongoing ministry efforts.

Strength, continued faithfulness, wisdom, and protection for our team.

More laborers for the harvest.

Opportunities for further outreach.

The name of Christ to be lifted up among those we are reaching and further.

 

Thank you for your continued prayers and support!

Soli Deo Gloria

In Christ,

Antonio Salgado & the BCMS team

 

Please pray for our BCMS workers serving faithfully in hard places. May the Gospel continue to go forth, to God be the glory.

If the Lord so lies on your heart to give back to Him by supporting this ministry, you can easily donate online through PayPal. Click the donate button below to send support of any amount directly to the ministry. This is the fastest option to get funds to the mission field.

 

 

Also,

CENTRAL MISSIONARY CLEARINGHOUSE
P.O. Box 219228
Houston, Texas 77218-9228
1-800-CMC-PRAY (1-800-262-7729)
Office: 281-599-7411
Fax: 281-599-7511

The ministry of (CMC) serves hundreds of missionaries, but they ONLY receive the funds for us and in no way have control over how the funds are to be spent or what we are to do as a ministry, which gives room to be sensitive to the Spirit’s leading and the liberty in making needed adjustments.

You may begin sending your support to the BCMS (Antonio Salgado) at any time at the address above. (Checks should be made payable to Central Missionary Clearinghouse or C.M.C.)

You can also now give to the ministry here in the DR online through the new giving solution called “click and give” at the CMC website.

To get started, you just need to click on the link below and register the first time. Just a simple click on the donate button on their page (see link below), and then click the “click and give icon/button”.

https://www.cmcmissions.org/donate

For tax exemption, you must send your donation through Central Missionary Clearinghouse (CMC) at the address above. But the PayPal option is the fastest way to get funds directly to the field.

We do not use a sending agency that gets a percentage of the money donated, so you can be sure that your gift goes directly to the mission field.

Whatever you decide, thank you so much for praying for us. Grace and peace.

 

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KISA LEVANJIL LA YE? (What is the Gospel? Haitian Creole Version)

Kisa levanjil la ye?

 

Youn nan verite ki tris nan kè m, sè ke si nou ta ap maché nan anpil legliz nan. Etazini ap mandé “(Kisa levanjil la ye)” majorite nan yo pa tap ka reponn byen. Se sa esperyans mwen te anseye mwen.  Mwen te mandé anpil kretyen kesyon sa tou, majorite pat ka reponn mwen, yo te jis gade m nan je.

 

Men kounye pèmèt mwen poze ou kesyon sa a? ( Pa reponn nan vwa yo): Kisa levanjil la ye? Ou ka reponn? Ou ta dwe ka fè li. Poukisa? Paske jan Apot Pòl té di a levanjil la se yon pwisans pou tout moun ki kwè nan Bondye.

 

Nou kòm mèt anseyan pawòl Bondye nou pa genyen konpreansyon klè nan levanjil la, legliz nou pa genyen l tout. Levanjil se yon fondasyon lafwa nou…..
Delivwans nou.. Si nou lidè legliz yo pa genyen klète nan sa a, ministè va soufri, fòmasyon espirityèl ak kwayans manm legliz nou yo va soufri, tout legliz la va soufri tout….

 

Ilustraksyon:

Nan Itali, genyen yon tou ki relé tou penche. Pisa yo té bati li nan ane 1170, men konstwiktè yo pat konpakte tè a byen kote yo te bati li a, sé sa ki fè fondasyon yo te mal pozel egal ak tou a, se konsa tan ap pasé tè a te kòmanse panche. Chak ane yon tikwas plis. Li te ka tonbe depi lontan si se pat achitèk la ak konstriktè ki te rive aprè pou asire tou a. Li toujou kanpe, men li panche anpil. Menm jan pou tou sa a ki panche paske fondasyon li te mal, se
konsa legliz ak ministè nou yo va dezanbalanse, tòde, pa fò ni pa dwat, si nou pa redrese fondasyon lafwa nou, kise levanjil la.

 

Tèm : Kisa levanjil la ye?

Fwa sa a mwen vle dedye tan nou ansan m pou esplike premyèman kisa levanjil la ye selon la bib la.

 

Referans:

Nou reponn kesyon sa a baze sou bib la. Nou va analize de pasaj nan bib la: Mak 1: ak 1 koretyen 15. Chèche paj sa yo nan bib ou, aprè sa na diskite de pasaj sa yo, nou va ka konstwi yon definisyon biblik nan levanjil, nan yon seksyon pwochen, nou va pale sou kòman esplike levanjil la bay moun ki pa kwè yo, epi finalman kòman levanjil la genyen relasyon ak kretyen yo… Wi, levanjil la se tout pou kretyen yo, pa sèlman pou moun ki pa kwè! Isit la, nou va diskite kòman preche levanjil la nan pwen yo ak ansyèman ou nan legliz, si se Dimanch maten oswa nan ti group, tankou mwen te wè nan foto Tony voye pou mwen yo…

 

Boskejo:

Fwa sa a, nou va konsantre sou: Kisa levanjil la ye? Twa pwen va gide diskisyon sa a: “(Pèsonn Kris la)”, “( lèv Kris la)”, Reponn nou bay Kris la Pèsònn Kris la.

 

Retounen nan kesyon premye a: Kisa levanjil la ye? Premyèman louvri bib yo nan Mak 1:15. Li di tan an rive, e wayòm Bondye prè, Repanti e kwè nan levanjil la.

 

Panse sou sa a.. Levanjil la té preche menm avan lakwa ak rezireksyon an. Entèresan pavre?

 

Kounye a, nap pase nan dezyèm pasaj nou an, youn nan pi popilè sou levanjil la: 1 koretyen 15:1-4.

 

Li di: Mwen raple nou, frè ak sè m yo, levanjil mwen te preche nou an, sa nou te
resevwa a, sa nou kanpe fèm la dan nan, epi sa nou sove pa li a, si nou kenbe pawòl mwen te
preche nou an, esepte si nou te kwè an ven. Paske premye bagay mwen te ba nou, se sa
mwen te resevwa mwen menm: ke Kris mouri pou peche nou selon ekriti a, yo te antere li, epi li
te leve vivan nan lanmò sou twazyèm jou selon ekriti a.

 

Sa se mansyon ki pi abityèl nan lanmò, antere, ak rezireksyon Jezi, lè yo palé sou levanjil la. Sepandan, pwen mwen fè kounye a, sè ke levanjil la té preche tou avan evènman lakwa a ak rezireksyon an. Konsekans lan, sè ke levanjil
la se plis pasé lanmò, antere ak rezireksyon Jezi. Nan lòt mo, se plis pasé èstim ak reyisitman Jezi paske li te preche avan reyisitman sa yo té bibliye.

 

Kounye a, si yon moun ta dim ke levanjil la se yon bagay plis pasé lanmò ak rezireksyon Jezi, mwen ta enkyete anpil ke moun sa ta di m yon bagay ki pa biblik.

 

Mwen esperé ke nou tout enkyete yon ti kras kounye a. Men, koute mwen. Alò, kisa ki ka genyen aprè lanmò ak rezireksyon Jezi, ki fè pati levanjil biblik la? Kisa ki ka ajoute nan èstim Kris la? Pèsonn Kris la. Jezi te preche levanjil la avan lanmò ak rezireksyon li akòz ki moun li te ye… Pèsonn li. ” Men
mwen avèk ou”, li te di. “Wa a isit, epi poutan, wayòm Bondye a isit”.

 

Sans nan ” levanjil” se bònn nouvèl. Alò bònn nouvèl Izwayèl!. Wa ou tap atann lan isit! Wa ki pwomèt nan desandansDavid la nan mitan nou. Wa ke wayòm li  pap jann fini an.. Mwen sé li! .

 

Se konsa rezon Pèsòn Kris la ( ki moun Jezi ye), Liv Mak, la di ke Jezi te preche levanjil la menm avan li mouri ak levenan lanmò, ak menm avan li anseye sou  evènman sa yo. Senpleman, li fè yon konnen ke li te nan mitan yo se bònn nouvèl, levanjil la.

 

Kounye a, menm lè nou gade pawòl Pòl nan 1 koretyen 15(se aprè lakwa a, aprè rezureksyon an, aprè èstim Jezi), pasaj sa nan 1 koretyen an konsantre sou èstim Kris la, men Pòl toujou atire atansyon lektè yo sou Pèsòn Jezi tou. Kounye a li fè li? Li dil de fwa “selon ekriti yo”(v.4).

 

Alò, Kris mouri pou peche nou “selon ekriti yo”(v.3). Epi li te antere ak leve nan lanmò sou twazyèm jou,”selon ekriti yo”(v.4). Souvan moun panse se pa vre, men li trè enpòtan! Zèv Kris la ( lanmò ak rezireksyon li) pa rive an ven,(nan vid). Yo te palé de li depi lontan. Nan Ansyen testaman an, yo te di ke yon moun va soufri e mouri. Epi lap leve vivan nan lanmò. Moun panse sou tèsk, tankou sòm 2 oswa Ezayi 53. Nan Ezayi 53, se nan syèk sa a Bondye te avèti sou lanmò li,(Ezayi 53:11). Sepandan Bondye”Prolonje jou li yo”(53:10), yon referans nan
rezureksyon syèk la.

 

Kounye a,ou pa kavrèman divize Pèsònn ak èstim Jezi Kris la. Yo maché ansanm. Epoutan mwen pa vle separe yo, mwen vle ou wè ke yo manche men nan men ak lè yo fè sa, yo fòme levanjil la. Kounye a levanjil la pataje? Kote bon nouvèl sou ki moun Jezi ye ak kisa li te fè. Alò, nou ta ka di ke Jezi se “Mesi nan izrayèl la”, moun ki ranpli istwa izrayèl la. Li se wa ki nan tan lontan, desandans wa David la. Li se yon grenn nan fanmi Abraram nan. Jezi se sèl mediatè
antre Bondye ak moun. Jezi se dènye ak pi gwo Adan an, pi gwo Jonas ak pi gwo David la, Jezi se pi gwo tanp lan, akonplisman la lwa ak ansyen pak la, Jezi se pitit Bondye a ak Bondye pitit la, dezyèm manm nan Bondye trinite a ki te fèt kò moun, poul te vin moun. Gran jij la ki va jije tout bagay nan fen ak ki menm ap kenbe inivè a pou pawòl pouvwa paske li se Pawòl Bondye a.

 

Kounye a, ou bezwen di tout sa a? Non! Pa fe sa, espesyalman si ou ap temwanye bay yon moun ki pa kwè, men yon bagay ki ta dwe di nan sa! Nou va pale sou sa ki dwe di a pwochènn fwa, men sonje pou kounye a ke levanjil la se pataje bon nouvèl la nan Pèsònn Jezi: ki moun li ye.

 

Lèv Kris la:
Alò, nou te wè Pèsònn lan, nou va gade pi prè èstim li. Mwen kwè ke nou plis abitye ak èstim Jezi, se poutan mwen pa vle pasé twòp tan sou pwen sa. Men èstim Jezi Kris la sè ke li te mouri pou peche, li ta entèrese, epi li te leve nan lanmò…. Se sa 1 koretyen 15:3-4 ap di nou. Sa se èstim eskpiratwa Jezi sou la kwa, kote li ta obeyi nan pran kò moun, obeyi nan Lavi, ak obeyi jiska lanmò sakrifisyal nan plas pechè ki kwè nan li. Levanjil la se tou èstim ke Jezi pa fè
ankò.. Dezyèm retou li, tankou dènye pati nan 1 koretyen 15 ap make li.

 

Alò, na mete tout bagay nou te pale ansanm, se sa levanjil la ye selon bib la. Se bònn nouvèl la nan ki moun Jezi ye ak sa li reyalize, sa li te fè.

 

Tout sa li va fe:

Retou li ak etabli wayòm li.

Levanjil la se bònn nouvèl la nan Pèsònn ak èstim Jezi Kris la. Alò, kounye a, nou va sa ak sa nou konnen sou Jezi ak sa Jezi te fè. Jezi se pitit Bondye a, ki se ” Mesi” ki te nan tan Izrayèl, se kounye a wa dè wa yo ak senyè dè senyè yo, paske li te vini sou la tè, li te pran kò moun, li te mouri pou peche, epi li leve nan lanmò nan mitan moun ki mouri yo, konkeri lanmò ak tonm lan, ak li va rive ankò pou etabli wayòm li nèt.

 

Repons nou bay Kris la se sa levanjil la ye. Men, genyen yon lòt sapè nan levanjil la mwen vle mansyone l avan mwen fini. Epi se repons nou bay Kris la. Retounen nan Mak 1. Ann li v.14-15: Aprè jan te arete, Jezi te vini nan Galile, ap pwoklame levanjil Bondye a, li tap di: ” Tan an rive, e wayòm Bondye a prè, Repanti e kwè nan levanjil la”. Se sa repons levanjil la mandé: repantans ak la fwa.

 

Pwodwi dezyèm nan nou an, 1 koretyen 15. Isit Pòl nan 1 koretyen 15:1 ap di legliz la ke li te preche yo levanjil la ak yo ” resevwa” li. Se menm bagay ak kwayans li. Li kontinye ap di ke levanjil la ap sove yo na v.2, si yo kenbe li. Si yo pa fè sa, yo te kwè avan an. Ou wè repons lan. Resevwa li nan la fwa.

 

Nan tout liv nan travay Apot yo, lè ou li ke levanjil la te prezante pa Pyè oswa Pòl, oswa moun li ye a, yo mande yon repons. Travay Apot 2:28 ak travay Apot 17:30 pou egzanp. Epoutan, yon pati nan prezantasyon levanjil nou dwe genyen se yon apèl bay moun ki ap koute a reponn vwa Jezi, pou repanti ak kwè nan li pou padon peche yo.

 

Konklizyon:  Poukisa Jezi ak èstim li?

 

Mwen vle fini ak yon pwen final, poukisa Jezi? Poukisa lanmò ak rezireksyon Jezi? Poukisa Pèsònn li ak èstim li? Kounye a, te genyen anpil diskisyon sou sa ” kòman levanjil la mache” se vrèman levanjil la. Mwen kwè ke genyen bon agiman nan chak bò. Mwen kwè ke nan vrè eksplikasyon levanjil sa a se pa levanjil la. Nan lòt mo, ou ka preche levanjil la san esplike tout detay li. Jezi pa vrèman esplike levanjil la nan tan li te sou tè a. Men Pòl fè sa tankou ekriven nan lèt sa aprè, tankou ekriven nan lèt Ebre yo. Epi eksplikasyon levanjil sa a se jistifikasyon nan la fwa. Nan kout pawòl, Jezi te bezwen genyen nati Bondye ak moun pou peye pou peche kont yon Bondye ki sen. Li te bezwen genyen nati
Bondye pou sakrifis pafè san tach ak tou pou kapab absòbe tout kòlè Bondye ak jistis dènye gout la. Pa genyen okenn moun nòmal ki ta ka fè sa. Alò sa esplike poukisa Jezi.

 

Kounye poukisa lanmò ak rezireksyon Jezi? Bon, dèt pou peye pou peche se lanmò. Moun ki peche dwe mouri. Alò Jezi te fèt kò moun pou l te mouri, epi pou mouri kòm yon sakrifis pou tout gason ak fanm ki kwè Jezi. Sou la kwa, lè li te soufri kòlè Bondye epi aprè li te mouri, li te pote peche moun ki te kwè nan li ak nan menm tan li te konte jistis li bay moun ki te kwè.

 

Dubl impitasyon. Gran Echanj la (chanson nan Gracia soberana).

 

Peche nou ale nan Jezi, jistis li ale nan nou. Alò li te kondane pitit li, men li aksepte nou. Poukisa? pou san Jezi ki te lave peche nou yo. Paske Bondye konsidere nou tankou nou te ” nan Kris”. Nou kouvri nan jistis Kris. Ki bagay ki pi bèl ke la kwa, ak bagay ki pi tèrib. Alò Bondye te leve Jezi nan lanmò nan
mitan moun ki mouri yo! Sa vle di ke sakrifis Jezi te aksetab. Epi kounye a nouvo lavi ke Jezi genyen an, li pataje l ak moun vin jwen li ak la fwa.

 

Boskejo: ki sa levanjil la ye?

 

Entwodiksyon:

Levanjil la se mesaj ki pi enpòtan pou moun kapataje. Se bon nouvèl de salvasyon Bondye pou limanite. Nan twa sa a, nou va konsantre nou
sou twa pwen kle pou n konprann levanjil la pi byen:

 

1. Pèsònn Kris la: Ki moun Jezi ye?

  • Jezi se pitit Bondye a, Mesi ki te la lontan nan Izrayèl.
  • Li wa dè wa, senyè dè senyè yo.
  • Li se Bondye ki fè kò moun pafè san peche.

 

2. Zèv Kris la: Kisa Jezi te fè?

  • Jezi te vini sou la tè pou mouri pou peche nou.
  • Li te mouri sou yon kwa tankou yon sakrifis pafè pou limanite.
  • Li leve nan lanmò nan mitan moun ki mouri yo, konkeri lanmò ak
    peche.
  • Li monte nan syèl la epi kounye a lap entèsede pou nou devan Bondye Papa a.

 

3. Repons nou bay Kris la: Kouman nou reponn levanjil la?

  • Nou dwe repanti nan peche nou yo, ekwè nan Jezi tankou senyè e sivè nou. Nou dwe resevwa Jezi nan lavi nou tankou senyè ak wa.
  • Nou dwe viv yon lavi nan obeyisans ak fidelite nan Bondye.

 

Konklizyon:
Levanjil la se sèl espwa pou limanite. Se yon mesaj nan lanmou, gras ak padon. Lè nou aksepte Jezi tankou sovè nou, nou ka resevwa kado nan lavi etènèl ak yon relasyon pèsonèl ak Bondye.

 

Apèl nan aksyon:
Ou te aksepte Jezi tankou sovè ou? Si ou pa ankò fè sa, mwen ak envite w pou fè sa jodia menm. Pa gen anyen ki pi enpòtan ke ou ka fè nan lavi ou.

 

Vèsè nan la:
Mak:1:14-15
Aprè jan te arete, Jezi te vini nan Galile, ap pwoklame levanjil Bondye a. Li te di: Tan an rive, e wayòm Bondye a prè, Repanti e kwè nan levanjil la.

 

1 Koretyen 15:1-4
Kounye a, frè m yo, mwen ap fè nou konnen levanjil mwen te preche nou an,ke nou te resevwa a, Ke nou ap kenbe nèt la, ki ap sove nou an, si nou kenbe pawòl mwen te preche nou an, si nou pa kwè nan li. Paske nan premye pyè a, mwen te ba nou sa mwen te resevwa: ke Kris te mouri pou peche nou yo, selon ekriti a; ke li te antere, epi li te leve vivan nan lanmò sou twazyèm jou a, selon ekriti a; ke li te parèt tou nèf, aprè sa sou douz disip li yo.

 

(Ekri pa Jared Duncan, tradwi pa Antonio Salgado y modifye pa Frantzdy Francois.)

 

SOLI DEO GLORIA

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¿QUIÉN ESTÁ DISPUESTO A PAGAR EL PRECIO POR LAS MISIONES? 

¿QUIÉN ESTÁ DISPUESTO A PAGAR EL PRECIO POR LAS MISIONES? 

Una breve historia de las misiones en la República Dominicana  

 

 El cristiano que no está dispuesto a pagar el precio de seguir a Cristo difícilmente permanecerá firme en la fe. Es en momentos decisivos que somos probados como el oro (1 Pedro 1:7) y donde nuestra fe brillará resplandeciente, glorificando a Dios. Es debido a hombres y mujeres que estuvieron dispuestos y pagaron el precio, perdiendo o abandonando sus trabajos (los apóstoles dejaron lo que estaban haciendo y siguieron al Mesías), sus familias e incluso sus vidas, todo para llevar el evangelio, las buenas nuevas de salvación a todas las naciones. Del mismo modo, conociendo el sacrificio de estos hombres y mujeres y hasta dónde llevaron el mensaje de esperanza y vida eterna, ¿te has preguntado alguna vez: “¿Cómo llegó el verdadero (protestante) evangelio a mi país”?

 

En mi caso, la República Dominicana, este país desde su colonización en 1492, fue fundado sobre la fe de la Iglesia Católica. Solo recuerda que la reina que financió los viajes de Cristóbal Colón se llamaba Isabel la Católica, por lo que los taínos, los habitantes nativos de la isla, fueron instruidos en esta fe. El 31 de octubre de 1517, Martín Lutero, con sus 95 tesis clavadas en la puerta de la Catedral de Wittenberg, inició la Reforma Protestante, sin embargo, no fue hasta 1594 que se conocen los primeros intentos de introducir el evangelio protestante en la isla de La Española, el nombre de la República Dominicana durante la época de la colonización española, a través de comerciantes en la parte norte de la isla. Esto fue impedido por el Arzobispo de Santo Domingo, quien informó la situación al Rey de España en una carta, lo que resultó en la confiscación de 300 Biblias traducidas al español, el idioma oficial de la isla desde la colonización.

 

En 1605, ocurrieron las devastaciones de Osorio, públicamente debido a los intercambios comerciales de los isleños y los barcos mercantes que se acercaron a la isla, sin embargo, había otra razón oculta, la prevención de que los comerciantes protestantes enseñaran doctrina y/o entregaran literatura y Biblias a los habitantes de la isla.

 

Después de esto, no hay registros de nuevos intentos o evidencia de alguna introducción del evangelio a la isla. Fue en 1822, debido a la ocupación haitiana, que el presidente Boyer permitió la entrada a la isla de 6,000 protestantes negros libres de Filadelfia, junto con el reverendo Isaac Miller, un pastor metodista wesleyano. En 1836, construyeron la primera capilla en Puerto Plata, pero, desafortunadamente, debido a la situación opresiva impuesta por el gobierno haitiano, la misión protestante no cruzó la brecha cultural entre los misioneros y los dominicanos, lo que resultó en la separación y división de las dos naciones después de la independencia dominicana en 1844, con la República Dominicana siendo anexada a España nuevamente en 1861, imponiendo la intolerancia religiosa de España, lo que resultó en la anulación de la libertad de culto, seguida por la persecución de protestantes e incluso el incendio de templos, esto es incluso evidente en una carta enviada a Lincoln por los libertos negros para reclamar los derechos que les fueron garantizados en el momento de su establecimiento en el territorio.

 

En 1865, la República Dominicana fue liberada de la intervención extranjera a través de la Guerra de Restauración, en la que participaron tanto católicos como protestantes por la libertad de la nación, por lo que al final de esta guerra se restauró la libertad de culto, sin embargo, las tensiones entre protestantes y católicos persistieron. Sin embargo, los años siguientes fueron beneficiosos para el trabajo misionero, llegaron muchos grupos protestantes, en esta ocasión no se quedaron internamente en servicios de culto y estudios bíblicos, sino que cruzaron la barrera cultural donde los dominicanos comenzaron a creer firmemente que la Biblia es la palabra de Dios, esta fue una edad de oro para las misiones que lograron establecerse tanto en la República Dominicana como en Haití.

 

En 1889, una misión de la Iglesia Metodista Libre llegó a la isla en Monte Cristi, vía Cabo Haitiano, fundando la primera congregación de criollos. Desafortunadamente, las tensiones entre católicos y protestantes persistieron y como resultado de estas confrontaciones, se registra oficialmente en 1900, iniciando el nuevo siglo con la primera muerte de un protestante a manos de católicos, siendo la hermana Luisa Paulino esta víctima como resultado de la hostilidad del momento.

 

En 1916, debido a diferentes situaciones políticas en el país, la mala gestión de fondos y la corrupción, llevaron al gobierno norteamericano a intervenir en la isla, de cierta manera, en lo que respecta al evangelio, esto favoreció a las misiones ya que gran parte de los norteamericanos eran culturalmente evangélicos como resultado de que la Iglesia Católica nunca tuvo la fuerza que tomó en América Latina. Desde este momento histórico todo el trabajo que se había realizado durante siglos comenzó a dar frutos, el tiempo de Dios es perfecto, y llegó el momento perfecto para el trabajo misionero y donde hombres y mujeres valientes no tuvieron miedo por sus vidas, sino que las pusieron a disposición de nuestro Señor para ser usados como Sus herramientas para que se cumpliera la última voluntad de Jesucristo nuestro salvador. Y confiando en que la presencia de Cristo estaba entre ellos a través del Espíritu Santo, lograron abrir las puertas a todas las misiones evangélicas a esta bendita nación.

 

“Por tanto, vayan y hagan discípulos a todas las naciones, bautizándolos en el nombre del Padre y del Hijo y del Espíritu Santo, enseñándoles a observar todo lo que les he mandado. Y he aquí, yo estoy con ustedes siempre, hasta el fin de los tiempos”. -Mateo 28:19-20.  

 

En 1922, se estableció la primera obra criolla, la Iglesia Evangélica Dominicana, compuesta de misioneros presbiterianos, metodistas, unidos y moravos del trabajo wesleyano que se habían quedado en el país sin llamar la atención desde 1824. Dos años después, en 1924, las Campañas con Harry Strachan llegaron al país entre agosto y octubre de ese año, trayendo consigo representantes invitados de las denominaciones bautista, presbiteriana, unida (Templos Bíblicos) y otras. Harry Strachan desarrolló una serie de campañas evangelísticas en la República Dominicana. Con una asistencia de entre 500 y 1000 personas por noche, quizás ahora parezcan pocos, pero para esos años y el contexto histórico, son números impresionantes para la época, a pesar de la gran oposición que predicó en Puerto Plata, Moca, Santiago, San Pedro de Macorís, Sánchez (Cotuí) y La Vega.

 

La congregación de los Templos Bíblicos hizo contacto en 1939 con pastores de la isla y en 1941 construyeron la primera congregación en Santo Domingo. En el mismo año, gozando de cierta libertad de expresión y culto, se fundó la prensa bíblica, promovida por los Templos Bíblicos, y comenzaron a imprimir material para escuelas bíblicas, tratados y el periódico Luz y Vida. En 1942, las Asambleas de Dios llegaron y también establecieron su trabajo en Santo Domingo, y en 1946 los primeros misioneros bautistas Zeral Brown y su esposa Doretta, Lyle y María Jessup, Iván Y Grace Augsburguer, llegaron a la provincia de El Seibo y no fue hasta 1953 en la provincia vecina de Hato Mayor que se fundó la Primera Iglesia Bautista en la República Dominicana.

 

En 1949, se fundó la Sociedad Bíblica Dominicana, con el apoyo de la Sociedad Bíblica Americana, y en 1950 el pastor Julio Postigo logró que se estableciera el 23 de abril como Día del Libro y para 1951 la primera Feria del Libro a desarrollarse. En 1954, se construyó la segunda Iglesia Bautista, esta vez en Santo Domingo, pero, en el mismo año, el gobierno del tirano, Rafael Leónidas Trujillo, firmó el Concordato con la Iglesia Católica, dando gran poder a la iglesia tradicional y convirtiéndola en la religión oficial de la nación. Durante los años del régimen y después de su caída, hombres y mujeres valientes no se detuvieron, sino que continuaron creando fundaciones y asociaciones evangélicas, la predicación no cesó en ningún momento, después de la muerte del tirano en 1964, comenzó la iniciativa del culto jubilar, promovida por un grupo de jóvenes de un programa de radio, donde se encontraron Ezequiel Molina, Demetrio Montero, Rudy Contreras y Juan Valdez, llamando a este culto “La Batalla de la Fe” y que continúa hasta el día de hoy. En 1965, Evangelismo a Fondo lanzó la mayor iniciativa de evangelismo conjunto de las iglesias en la República Dominicana. Aproximadamente 350 iglesias participaron en esta iniciativa, se organizaron más de 2,000 células de oración, se realizaron alrededor de 9 retiros y se capacitaron cerca de 7,800 creyentes. Se distribuyeron 470,000 tratados, se compartieron 250,000 porciones de Escrituras (Nuevos Testamentos) en impreso y se visitaron 100,000 hogares, desafortunadamente este evento no fue institucionalizado o continuó. Para 1984, el 27 de septiembre se estableció como Día de la Biblia bajo la Ley 204-84.

 

“Entren por la puerta estrecha; porque ancha es la puerta, y amplio es el camino que lleva a la perdición, y muchos entran por ella. Porque estrecha es la puerta y angosto es el camino que lleva a la vida, y pocos son los que la hallan”. Mateo 7:13-14  

 

Luego está la siguiente tragedia sobre los Potter que fue escrita en un periódico dominicano, aquí cito.

“Paul y Nancy Potter eran dos misioneros bautistas estadounidenses que llegaron en 1966 a Santiago, la segunda ciudad más grande de la República Dominicana, donde comenzaron una obra de misión médica y evangelización. Allí realizaron una serie de servicios en una residencia alquilada, donde se estableció una especie de clínica, lo que hizo que muchos dominicanos de las clases más desfavorecidas asistieran en busca de sus servicios.

 

Para 1970, los Potter tenían dos iglesias florecientes y tres capillas de misión, por lo que consideraron la posibilidad de tener otras cinco iglesias al final de su próximo mandato. Nunca alcanzaron esa meta. Temprano en la mañana del 7 de julio de 1971, el hijo de diez años de los Potter, David, descubrió los cuerpos ensangrentados de sus padres. Mientras los niños dormían tranquilamente en sus habitaciones separadas, los intrusos golpearon y apuñalaron a sus padres hasta la muerte.

 

El robo fue inicialmente probado como motivo, luego descartado porque se sabía que los Potter vivían modestamente en una casa pequeña. Muchos consideraron la posibilidad de que Paul y Nancy habían sido asesinados por terroristas antiamericanos y comunistas. Un reportero dominicano señaló que “¡Muerte a los Yankees!”, había sido garabateado en la parte trasera del auto de los misioneros. Sin embargo, muchos dedujeron que esta era una estrategia para engañar a los verdaderos culpables del incidente.

 

Otra hipótesis era que un pequeño grupo de médicos y farmacéuticos dominicanos pagó a algunos matones para que asesinaran a la pareja. Sin embargo, la información nunca fue confirmada. Desde esa tragedia, han pasado muchos años sin saber quiénes fueron los autores materiales e intelectuales”.

 

El camino ha sido duro, difícil, empinado, agotador y sacrificado. Sí, así debe ser, de lo contrario, sería un camino que lleva a la destrucción. Hoy nos quejamos de las supuestas dificultades que tenemos para llevar el evangelio incluso a las casas de nuestra calle… Ni siquiera quiero mencionar a los cristianos que están en países musulmanes y comunistas, donde no solo la predicación de la palabra, sino también el llevar una Biblia puede costar la vida de quien sea atrapado con ella.

 

Quiero que vean el camino que tuvieron que recorrer quienes nos precedieron y nos trajeron las buenas nuevas de salvación. Personalmente, estoy muy agradecido por quienes se sacrificaron para traer el evangelio a mi país. Como cristianos, debemos estar dispuestos a pagar el precio, para evangelizar debemos pagar el precio, para que las misiones puedan llegar a todos los lugares y personas que no han tenido la bendición que tenemos, debemos pagar el precio, y cuando hablo de pagar el precio no estoy hablando de dinero, si fuera así, el cielo solo sería para los ricos. Pagar el precio no es más que dar más allá de tu límite, sacrificar tu familia por la obra de Cristo, sacrificar tu trabajo por Cristo, sacrificar tu economía por Cristo, sacrificar tu vida por Cristo.

 

Recuerda dos cosas básicas que no podemos perder de vista: amar al Señor tu Dios por encima de todas las cosas, con toda tu alma, con toda tu fuerza y con todo tu ser, y para evidenciar esta fe, debes llevar tu cruz cada día y sígalo, es decir, debe tomar su vida y ponerla a su disposición, incluso si corre el riesgo de morir por Cristo, y amar a su prójimo como Cristo nos amó, por lo tanto, evangelizar y llevar a cabo misiones internacionales es imperativo, necesario y urgente”.

 

Escrito por Victor Dominguez

 

Historical data obtained from the following sources: https://pezmundial.com/2012/10/cronologia-del-protestantismo-en-la-republica-dominicana.html

https://www.elcaribe.com.do/panorama/caribe-inconclusos/caribe-inconclusos-el-asesinato-de-los-potter-en-santiago/

Please pray for our BCMS workers serving faithfully in hard places. May the Gospel continue to go forth, to God be the glory.

If the Lord so lies on your heart to give back to Him by supporting this ministry, you can easily donate online through PayPal. Click the donate button below to send support of any amount directly to the ministry. This is the fastest option to get funds to the mission field.

 

 

 

 

Also,

CENTRAL MISSIONARY CLEARINGHOUSE
P.O. Box 219228
Houston, Texas 77218-9228
1-800-CMC-PRAY (1-800-262-7729)
Office: 281-599-7411
Fax: 281-599-7511

The ministry of (CMC) serves hundreds of missionaries, but they ONLY receive the funds for us and in no way have control over how the funds are to be spent or what we are to do as a ministry, which gives room to be sensitive to the Spirit’s leading and the liberty in making needed adjustments.

You may begin sending your support to the BCMS (Antonio Salgado) at any time at the address above. (Checks should be made payable to Central Missionary Clearinghouse or C.M.C.)

You can also now give to the ministry here in the DR online through the new giving solution called “click and give” at the CMC website.

To get started, you just need to click on the link below and register the first time. Just a simple click on the donate button on their page (see link below), and then click the “click and give icon/button”.

https://www.cmcmissions.org/donate

For tax exemption, you must send your donation through Central Missionary Clearinghouse (CMC) at the address above. But the PayPal option is the fastest way to get funds directly to the field.

We do not use a sending agency that gets a percentage of the money donated, so you can be sure that your gift goes directly to the mission field.

Whatever you decide, thank you so much for praying for us. Grace and peace.

 

 

Posted on

WHO’S WILLING TO PAY THE PRICE FOR MISSIONS?

WHO’S WILLING TO PAY THE PRICE FOR MISSIONS?

A brief history of missions in the Dominican Republic

 

The Christian who is not willing to pay the price of following Christ will hardly remain firm in the faith. It is in decisive moments that we are tested like gold (1 Peter 1:7) and where our faith will shine brightly, glorifying God. It is because of men and women who were willing and paid the price, losing or abandoning their jobs (the apostles left what they were doing and followed the Messiah), their families, and even their lives, all to take the gospel, the good news of salvation to all nations. Likewise, knowing the sacrifice of these men and women and how far they took the message of hope and eternal life, have you ever wondered, “How did the true (Protestant) gospel come to my country?”

 

In my case, the Dominican Republic, this country since its colonization in 1492 was founded on the faith of the Catholic Church. Just remember that the queen who financed Christopher Columbus’s voyages was called Isabel the Catholic, hence the Tainos, the native inhabitants of the island, were instructed in this faith. On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther, with his 95 theses nailed to the door of Wittenberg Cathedral, initiated the Protestant Reformation, however, it was not until 1594 that the first attempts are known to introduce the Protestant gospel to the island of Hispaniola, the name of the Dominican Republic during the time of Spanish colonization, through merchants in the northern part of the island. This was prevented by the Archbishop of Santo Domingo, who reported the situation to the King of Spain in a letter, resulting in the confiscation of 300 Bibles translated into Spanish, the official language of the island since colonization.

 

In 1605, Osorio’s devastations occurred, publicly due to the commercial exchanges by the islanders and the merchant ships that approached the island, however, there was another hidden reason, the prevention of Protestant merchants from teaching doctrine and/or delivering literature and Bibles to the inhabitants of the island.

 

After this, there are no records of new attempts or evidence of any introduction of the gospel to the island. It was in 1822, due to the Haitian occupation, that President Boyer allowed 6,000 free black Protestants from Philadelphia to enter the island, along with Reverend Isaac Miller, a Wesleyan Methodist pastor. In 1836, they built the first chapel in Puerto Plata, but, unfortunately, due to the oppressive situation imposed by the Haitian government, the Protestant mission did not cross the cultural gap between the missionaries and the Dominicans, resulting in the separation and division of the two nations after Dominican independence in 1844, with the Dominican Republic being annexed to Spain again in 1861, imposing Spain’s religious intolerance, resulting in the annulment of freedom of worship, followed by persecution of Protestants and even the burning of temples, this is even evident in a letter sent to Lincoln by the freed blacks to claim the rights that were guaranteed to them at the time of their establishment in the territory.

 

In 1865, the Dominican Republic was liberated from foreign intervention through the Restoration War, in which both Catholics and Protestants participated for the freedom of the nation, which is why at the end of this war freedom of worship was restored, however, tensions between Protestants and Catholics persisted. However, the following years were beneficial for missionary work, many Protestant groups arrived, on this occasion they did not remain internally in worship services and Bible studies, but crossed the cultural barrier where Dominicans began to firmly believe that the Bible is the word of God, this was a golden age for missions that managed to establish themselves in both the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

 

In 1889, a mission from the Free Methodist Church arrived on the island in Monte Cristi, via Cape Haitien, founding the first congregation of Creoles. Unfortunately, tensions between Catholics and Protestants persisted and as a result of these confrontations, it is officially recorded in 1900, beginning the new century with the first death of a Protestant at the hands of Catholics, Sister Luisa Paulino being this victim as a result of the hostility of the moment.

 

In 1916, due to different political situations in the country, the mismanagement of funds and corruption, led the North American government to intervene on the island, in a certain way, as far as the gospel was concerned, this favored the missions since a large part of the North Americans were culturally Evangelical as a result of the Catholic Church never having the strength it took in Latin America. From this historical moment all the work that had been done for centuries began to bear fruit, God’s time is perfect, and the perfect moment came for missionary work and where brave men and women were not afraid for their lives, but put them at the disposal of our Lord to be used as His tools so that the last will of Jesus Christ our savior would be fulfilled.And trusting that the presence of Christ was among them through the Holy Spirit, they managed to open the doors to all evangelical missions to this blessed nation.  

 

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” -Matthew 28:19-20. 

 

In 1922, the first Creole work, the Dominican Evangelical Church, was established, composed of Presbyterian, Methodist, United Brethren, and Moravian missionaries from the Wesleyan work who had remained in the country without attracting attention since 1824. Two years later, in 1924, the Campaigns with Harry Strachan arrived in the country between August and October of that year, bringing with them invited representatives of the Baptist, Presbyterian, United Brethren (Bible Temples) and other denominations. Harry Strachan developed a series of evangelistic campaigns in the Dominican Republic. With an attendance of between 500 and 1000 people per night, maybe now they seem few, but for those years and the historical context, they are impressive numbers for the time, despite the great opposition he preached in Puerto Plata, Moca, Santiago, San Pedro de Macorís, Sánchez (Cotuí) and La Vega.

 

The congregation of the Bible Temples made contact in 1939 with pastors on the island and in 1941 they built the first congregation in Santo Domingo. In the same year, enjoying a certain freedom of expression and worship, the Bible press was founded, promoted by the Bible Temples, and they began to print material for Bible schools, tracts, and the Luz y Vida newspaper. In 1942, the Assemblies of God arrived and also established their work in Santo Domingo, and in 1946 the first Baptist missionaries Zeral Brown and his wife Doretta, Lyle and María Jessup, Iván Y Grace Augsburguer, arrived in the province of El Seibo and it was not until 1953 in the neighboring province of Hato Mayor that the First Baptist Church was founded in the Dominican Republic.

 

In 1949, the Dominican Bible Society had been founded, with the support of the American Bible Society, and in 1950 Pastor Julio Postigo managed to have April 23 established as Book Day and for 1951 the first Book Fair to be developed. In 1954, the second Baptist Church was built, this time in Santo Domingo, but, in the same year the government of the tyrant, Rafael Leónidas Trujillo, signed the Concordat with the Catholic Church, giving great power to the traditional church and making it the official religion of the nation. During the years of the regime and after its fall, brave men and women did not stop, but continued to create foundations and evangelical associations, preaching did not cease at any time, after the death of the tyrant in 1964, the initiative of the jubilee worship began, promoted by a group of young people from a radio program, where Ezequiel Molina, Demetrio Montero, Rudy Contreras and Juan Valdez were found, calling this worship “The Battle of Faith” and which continues to this day. In 1965, Evangelismo a Fondo launched the largest joint evangelism initiative of the churches in the Dominican Republic. Approximately 350 churches participated in this initiative, more than 2,000 prayer cells were organized, about 9 retreats were held, and nearly 7,800 believers were trained. 470,000 tracts were distributed, 250,000 portions of Scripture (New Testaments) were shared in print, and 100,000 homes were visited, unfortunately this event was not institutionalized or continued. By 1984, September 27 was established as Bible Day under Law 204-84.

 

“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. Because narrow is the gate and confined is the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Matthew 7:13-14  

 

Then there is the  following tragedy about the Potters that was written about in a Dominican newspaper, here I quote. “Paul and Nancy Potter were two American Baptist missionaries who arrived in 1966 in Santiago, the second-largest city in the Dominican Republic, where they began a work of medical mission and evangelization. There they performed a series of services in a rented residence, where a type of clinic was established, which caused many Dominicans from the most disadvantaged classes to attend in search of their services.

 

By 1970, the Potters had two flourishing churches and three mission chapels, so they considered the possibility of having another five churches by the end of their next term. They never reached that goal. Early on the morning of July 7, 1971, the Potters’ ten-year-old son David discovered his parents’ blood-soaked bodies. While the children slept peacefully in their separate rooms, the intruders beat and stabbed their parents to death.

 

Robbery was initially proven as a motive, then ruled out because the Potters were known to live modestly in a small house. Many considered the possibility that Paul and Nancy had been murdered by anti-American and communist terrorists.A Dominican reporter noted that “Death to the Yankees!” had been scrawled on the back of the missionaries’ car. However, many deduced that this was a strategy to mislead the real culprits of the incident.

 

Another hypothesis was that a small group of Dominican doctors and pharmacists paid some thugs to murder the couple. However, the information was never confirmed. Since that tragedy, many years have passed without knowing who the material and intellectual perpetrators were.”

 

The path has been rough, difficult, steep, exhausting, and sacrificial. Yes, that’s how it should be, otherwise it would be a path that leads to destruction. Today we complain about the supposed difficulties we have in taking the gospel even to the houses on our street.. I don’t even want to mention the Christians who are in Muslim and communist countries where not only the preaching of the word, but also the carrying of a Bible can cost the life of whoever is caught with it.

 

I want you to see the path that those who preceded us and brought us the good news of salvation had to travel. I personally am very thankful for those who sacrificed to bring the gospel to my country. As Christians, we must be willing to pay the price, to evangelize we must pay the price, so that missions can reach all places and people who have not had the blessing that we have, we must pay the price, and when I talk about paying the price I’m not talking about money, if it were so, heaven would only be for the rich. Paying the price is nothing more than giving beyond your limit, sacrificing your family for the work of Christ, sacrificing your job for Christ, sacrificing your economy for Christ, sacrificing your life for Christ.

 

Remember two basic things that we cannot lose sight of: love the Lord your God above all things, with all your soul, with all your might, and with all your being, and to evidence this faith, you must carry your cross every day and follow Him, that is, you must take your life and put it at His disposal, even if you are at risk of death for Christ, and loving your neighbor as Christ loved us, therefore evangelizing and the carrying out of international missions  is imperative, necessary, and urgent.

Written by Victor Dominguez

Translated by Antonio Salgado

Historical data obtained from the following sources:: https://pezmundial.com/2012/10/cronologia-del-protestantismo-en-la-republica-dominicana.html

https://www.elcaribe.com.do/panorama/caribe-inconclusos/caribe-inconclusos-el-asesinato-de-los-potter-en-santiago/

Please pray for our BCMS workers serving faithfully in hard places. May the Gospel continue to go forth, to God be the glory.

If the Lord so lies on your heart to give back to Him by supporting this ministry, you can easily donate online through PayPal. Click the donate button below to send support of any amount directly to the ministry. This is the fastest option to get funds to the mission field.

 

 

 

 

Also,

CENTRAL MISSIONARY CLEARINGHOUSE
P.O. Box 219228
Houston, Texas 77218-9228
1-800-CMC-PRAY (1-800-262-7729)
Office: 281-599-7411
Fax: 281-599-7511

The ministry of (CMC) serves hundreds of missionaries, but they ONLY receive the funds for us and in no way have control over how the funds are to be spent or what we are to do as a ministry, which gives room to be sensitive to the Spirit’s leading and the liberty in making needed adjustments.

You may begin sending your support to the BCMS (Antonio Salgado) at any time at the address above. (Checks should be made payable to Central Missionary Clearinghouse or C.M.C.)

You can also now give to the ministry here in the DR online through the new giving solution called “click and give” at the CMC website.

To get started, you just need to click on the link below and register the first time. Just a simple click on the donate button on their page (see link below), and then click the “click and give icon/button”.

https://www.cmcmissions.org/donate

For tax exemption, you must send your donation through Central Missionary Clearinghouse (CMC) at the address above. But the PayPal option is the fastest way to get funds directly to the field.

We do not use a sending agency that gets a percentage of the money donated, so you can be sure that your gift goes directly to the mission field.

Whatever you decide, thank you so much for praying for us. Grace and peace.

 

Posted on

BCMS UPDATE FROM THE MISSION FIELD

Greetings brothers and sisters,

May the peace of Christ be with you all.

The Lord seems to be opening doors of opportunity very often. With more doors opening, we have more to do and we are periodically seeking ways to improve and become more efficient. We are confident the Lord will provide for all things needed. The team communicates daily and we regularly offer each other prayer and  support and are available for each other throughout the day. The respect and the love between us makes it a privilege to work with them.

Please begin praying for us and our next virtual conference for the team.

This next one is a continuation of our first virtual conference, which was titled

“What is the Gospel?”. (Already available in article form on the website). We had about 10 individuals other than the team join in on that teaching and received some good feedback.

We will be doing part 2 “The Gospel for the World”, and then part 3 “The Gospel for the Church” in the coming session.

The content from the first session has already been published on the website in English and Spanish. An outline was added the end  for extra clarity and to be used as a teaching tool for those who choose to do so in a clear and biblical way. The Haitian Creole version of “What is the Gospel?” is being edited and is coming soon. Here are the two available versions.

In English   https://salgadodrmission.com/2024/07/what-is-the-gospel/

In Spanish   https://salgadodrmission.com/2024/07/que-es-el-evangelio/

Please also pray for an outreach event for children in Yaguita de Pastor who will be receiving the Gospel and school supplies on August 3rd.

We also ask that you help us pray for an upcoming evangelism workshop in Santiago on Saturday, August 10. Both the outreach and the workshop will be held in Santiago. The invitation to the evangelism workshop is being extended to other churches and visitors as well. We are already receiving requests to offer this type of workshop at other churches here and in Haiti. Here is the basic program of how the workshop is organized.

WORKSHOP: THE NECESSITY OF GOD’S MISSION

TOPIC: HOW TO DEVELOP A CULTURE OF EVANGELISM IN THE LOCAL. CHURCH

INTRODUCTION:  The history of missions

SESSIONS: From forming a biblical basis to practical applications

Building a biblical foundation for evangelism

Cultivating a culture of evangelism in the local church

Practical strategies for evangelism

Overcoming challenges and maintaining momentum

Mini session (if time allows): The results of biblical evangelism

Then we will have a time of questions and answers, and comments from those participating. These kinds of teachings are part of our work plan to help strengthen struggling churches and to eventually plant new ones. The plan is for the men we work with to be trained and memorize this material, to then give these teachings themselves, (after teaching it in each of their local churches first), to then assist other churches who need help training their people to reach the lost, while cultivating a culture of evangelism in their local church in the process. For the virtual conferences, we are planning other teaching sessions given by our team, but we all need to be edified by others from time to time as well. Especially those who teach on a regular basis. Hence, the guest expositor for the first few sessions. Pray that the Lord uses this to ignite a passion for evangelism in many to reach many souls with the Gospel!

Apart from the upcoming outreach for children with school supplies, we have also managed to do two vacation Bible schools to take advantage of the free time the young people have who are out of school. One was done in the barrio of Hato Mayor in Pastor Job’s church, the other in Pedernales at Pastor Frantzdy´s church. Pray for the many children who heard the Gospel and Bible teaching.

For two consecutive months we have been able to help the nursing home with food through Leonel. This is a group of people reaching the end of their lives and a wonderful opportunity to share the Gospel with them. We have an open door with the director. There are some that have shown interest in helping with that specific need on a monthly basis. But we do not yet have a confirmation. Pray that the Lord will move someone to be generous to that group of people and help us take that on regularly. This would also free up much needed funds for some  other needs.

Continue to pray for the work in Pedernales. Pastor Frantdzy recently shared these words and asks for prayer.

“There are many that have fled from Haiti living in our area. But they are destitute, they came with very little to nothing and the needs are overwhelming.

Some are living in horrible conditions. We have been visiting and getting to know many of them. And many of them are open to the Gospel.

Some are afraid to go out, some have been mistreated, but I have identified 4 or 5 “spots” around the town where there are small concentrations of these vulnerable individuals. Right now we’re forming cell groups at these spots to give weekly Bible studies. They definitely need the Gospel, but they need help too.

We are doing what we can for now, but any help towards food and basic needs for these people is very welcomed. The biggest need now is food. We pray and ask our brothers to pray as well and we must trust that God will provide what is necessary.”

The amount we can designate to this specific area ministry and need is not enough considering the present situation. There are moments when we must go above and beyond for a time to help meet an urgent need. We are asking for you to consider praying about this and giving if you can.

It is a sin to despise one’s neighbor, but blessed is the one who is kind to the needy.- Proverbs 14:21

Please pray also for the weekly Bible study in Laguna Prieta. We head out there each Thursday from 6pm to round 8pm. We have been covering the basics of salvation to his group and often present the Gospel since we regularly have new visitors to the group. Here is a list of names of the regulars in that group for those who would like to join us in prayer for their salvation. Don’t worry if you cannot pronounce some of their names. The Lord knows exactly who they are.

Jenny, Lulu, Manés, Marlenny, Monuzina, Sylvios, Idelfi, Vidli, Josué, Milua, Frefre, Michei, Beken, Emanuel, Jeffrey, Enson, Makenzie and Kaluo.

There is more I can say, but to not go too long, I have already mentioned plenty of ways by which you can help us by praying. Keep praying for the work of the nationals, that may be God be glorified in all things. Grace and peace.

In Christ,

Antonio Salgado serving in the Dominican Republic

“I give thanks to my God for every remembrance of you, always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.” – Philippians 1:3-5

Please pray for our BCMS workers serving faithfully in hard places. May the Gospel continue to go forth, to God be the glory.

If the Lord so lies on your heart to give back to Him by supporting this ministry, you can easily donate online through PayPal. Click the donate button below to send support of any amount directly to the ministry. This is the fastest option to get funds to the mission field.

 

 

Also,

CENTRAL MISSIONARY CLEARINGHOUSE
P.O. Box 219228
Houston, Texas 77218-9228
1-800-CMC-PRAY (1-800-262-7729)
Office: 281-599-7411
Fax: 281-599-7511

The ministry of (CMC) serves hundreds of missionaries, but they ONLY receive the funds for us and in no way have control over how the funds are to be spent or what we are to do as a ministry, which gives room to be sensitive to the Spirit’s leading and the liberty in making needed adjustments.

You may begin sending your support to the BCMS (Antonio Salgado) at any time at the address above. (Checks should be made payable to Central Missionary Clearinghouse or C.M.C.)

You can also now give to the ministry here in the DR online through the new giving solution called “click and give” at the CMC website.

To get started, you just need to click on the link below and register the first time. Just a simple click on the donate button on their page (see link below), and then click the “click and give icon/button”.

https://www.cmcmissions.org/donate

For tax exemption, you must send your donation through Central Missionary Clearinghouse (CMC) at the address above. But the PayPal option is the fastest way to get funds directly to the field.

We do not use a sending agency that gets a percentage of the money donated, so you can be sure that your gift goes directly to the mission field.

Whatever you decide, thank you so much for praying for us. Grace and peace.

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A PETITION OF PRAYER FOR VENEZUELA

The following is petition of prayer for the people of Venezuela written by BCMS mission partner Rafael Rodriguez in Maracay, Venezuela. The current President of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, has been recorded making public threats of a “blood bath” if he does not win in the upcoming elections. Please join us in prayer with brother Rafael for his people. Grace and peace.

“Dear beloved brothers and sisters,

On July 28, 2024, Venezuela will once again hold presidential elections. The situation in our nation is well-known; millions of Venezuelans have left their country seeking better opportunities abroad.

For 22 years, socialism has intensified, tearing families apart, fueling poverty, and fostering corruption and insecurity. Our country desperately needs change. We require a government dedicated to its fundamental responsibilities: security, lawmaking, and protecting private property. As Romans 13 and other scriptures teach, these are the core functions of government. Unfortunately, the current regime has overstepped its bounds, mirroring the behavior of other socialist and communist governments that prioritize state control over individual liberty and faith.

We humbly request your prayers for Venezuela’s liberation from this dictatorship. May God’s will be done, enabling us to continue serving and preaching amidst adversity. Regardless of the election outcome, we pray for joy and gratitude.

We believe that a change in leadership will bring immense joy to Venezuelans, especially those living abroad who yearn to reunite with their families. May the Lord grant this joy to our nation.

Please do not cease praying. President Maduro has hinted at a refusal to relinquish power peacefully if defeated on Sunday.

May the peace of Christ be with us all.”

Sincerely,

Rafael Rodríguez BCMS Missionary, Venezuela 🇻🇪

Translated by Antonio Salgado