Cultivating Community and Growth: A Report from the Biblical Mission Community of Grace in Maracay

Ministry in November

• Sunday Service

             Last November 10, 2024, was our first worship of the Lord. As many know, we are starting a mission in Maracay, Venezuela, after a transitioning out of our local church.

            The grace of the Lord has helped us, assisting us since that first Sunday, adding to a family, Brother Irving and his wife and daughter. We were glad to have Brother Irving that first Sunday when we thought we’d be alone. We managed to have a time of worship and preaching, considering the passage from 1 Corinthians 3.

             The following Sunday, November 17, was our second Sunday service. The Lord has blessed us with another family and a young man who recently expressed faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. That day we were able to gather and have a time of Sunday school, worship, and, at the end, a time of preaching.

            In Sunday school, we begin with a discipleship book by Paul Washer (Manual of Biblical Discipleship), and each Sunday we will address a topic. It is a time of participatory teaching, so we get a lot out of teaching time. At the time of the preaching, I began to teach the Gospel of John. For that Sunday, November 17, I taught the prologue to John. We have also been able to have some wonderful times of fellowship after the service.

 

•  Wednesday Study

             On Wednesdays, we are conducting a Bible study online via Zoom on the doctrine of man. These are times when we can pray for each other and study together to grow closer and answer doctrinal questions.

            During these meetings, we have been discussing the concept of man based on two fundamental principles:

  -The beauty of man (Bears the image of God)

  -The misery of man (His Sin) 

             With rich passages of Scripture, we are analyzing each statement. The goal is for each of us to develop the ability to defend the teachings found in the Scriptures. Often, we may know or believe something simply because we have read it in a book or confession of faith, but we may not have taken the time to fully understand and verify what the Scriptures have to say about it.

 

• Men’s Meeting

          On Friday nights we meet to account for our lives and families, plan mission issues, and discuss doctrinal issues to define some positions that we believe should be had from the beginning. 

          Pray for me that the Lord will help me, empower me, and fill me with his grace, also for Brother Irving. I have noticed his desire to teach, and he has a good testimony as well as coming from a godly family. I am eager to devote time to his study of doctrine, particularly of the New Covenant, as he lacks a clear position on this issue.

           During this meeting, we also spent a beneficial deal of time on accountability regarding the treatment of our wives and children and our family devotions, hoping that the Lord, through it, could help us be more faithful with our family roles. 

 

• Evangelism

            In the new community where I am living, I have been going out to preach on Tuesdays at the Scientific Penal and Criminalistic Corps (CICPC) with a group of brothers from another nearby church. They go every Tuesday, and I recently joined them to participate this time. We bring food and preach the gospel to the prisoners of this facility. I request your prayers that the prisoners benefit from this time and that the Lord brings salvation. 

 

• Children’s Sunday School

             Considering the presence of several children at our Sunday service, we decided to start a Sunday school for the little ones last Sunday, December. During this time, while the adults attend Sunday school, the younger children will also learn about the same topics as the adults, with adjustments tailored to their age for deeper understanding. We aim for their parents to reinforce what they learn at home during our promoted family devotion time. We hope to establish a dedicated space and superior resources in the future to foster their learning.

 

• Prayer Requests

For our family:

So that the Lord allows my wife and me to fulfill our roles, also for the         upbringing of our children, and that the Lord brings salvation to our little ones.

For the health of our eldest daughter, Valentina (10 years old): 

She was diagnosed with celiac disease. In addition, his condition caused masses to appear at the level of the parotids that, without adequate care, grow. She should eat all her foods gluten-free. This may not seem like a burden, but in our case, it’s quite an expensive diet. Pray for provision for your diet and medical consultations. 

For the mission: 

So that the Lord helps us, allows us to be faithful to the preaching of his gospel, and to impact our community. That is why we are already asking for prayer for a venue or meeting place that is more visible to the community, since at the moment we meet in an apartment. May the Lord continue to provide opportunities for the preaching of the gospel.

For Venezuela: 

On January 10, we expect difficult days as the current Venezuelan government must step down and the new president, Edmundo Gonzales, takes office. However, the Maduro regime has refused to leave and accept its defeat, making that very difficult. Please join us in praying for Venezuela.

In Christ,

Rafael Rodriguez

Soli Deo Gloria

 

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

 

 

 

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. Grace and peace.