Did you know that each American Baptist missionary unit lives 100% by faith? Did you know that “a cord of three strands is not quickly broken”? (Ecclesiastes 4:12) Did you know you are one of those three strands in this missionary cord?

Spain is also on the map
Spain is part of the map in our American Baptist Foreign Mission Society, one of the 76 countries where we have a partnership. We have strong ties with the Seminario Teologico de la Unión Evangélica Bautista de España (ST-UEBE, Theological Seminary of the Evangelical Baptist Union of Spain) where Yamina Apolinaris served and Samuel Escobar has been a professor for many years now. Though a “retired” missionary, Samuel continues to teach, preach, and give of himself to others. The seminary’s director, Julio Díaz, and dean, David Dixon, are a close link to our partnership between Spain and our mission society. One of their newest students is Cristina López, a member of Puerto de Sagunto (one of our 5). When you give generously and abundantly to the World Mission Offering, you are facilitating the seminary to continue its valuable service to the convention’s leadership training.

Natural and National disasters
Spain is not known for natural disasters, like our dear countries in Asia and Latin America have faced for years, yet we have found in Spain other kinds of national disasters hitting them in the face and we are here to see God’s mission accomplished. There are issues with migrants coming to Spain; in just a week, more than 300 undocumented migrants came to Spain hoping for a better life. Some churches have opened their doors to them; others struggle on how to address such needs. Some blame the migrants for the growing unemployment issues Spain faces. Yet unemployment has been an issue that not only Spain, but Europe and almost everyone in this globalized world, has faced even when everyone is in their own country of origin. We also see other kinds of disasters, like spiritual blindness and church inertia.

For such a time as this the BGsInSpain are between two worlds
There are churches in Spain that are thriving in their ministries while others are just trying to survive and keep their doors open. Some churches have pastoral leadership; others are led by lay leadership. The need for leadership training is evident and, unfortunately, not all of them can go to Madrid to get their training at the seminary. Therefore, we are coordinating some leadership workshops and trainings to be held at different key sites, beginning with the Valencian Community. We partner with the seminary to offer such options.

More than a thousand reasons to be grateful
Every time you pray for us and our colleagues in the field, you partner with our ministries; when you send a card, an email or a letter, and when you give toward our ongoing support, too. You provide a roof for shelter for our family and guests that come our way (Hebrews 13:2). You provide food, our daily bread, as well as clothing, for our family and others that come our way (Mathew 25:35-36). You provide to keep us healthy and to prepare for our future, for our children’s education, to keep us online, to see each other at least every four years...

Now, every time you abundantly and sacrificially give to the World Mission Offering, you provide each missionary unit the needed resources to travel to the places of ministry (in our situation it will be more than a thousand miles each month—more than a thousand reasons to be grateful for your generous support!) and the resources to minister with our partners in our country of service. Indeed, you provide the ministry resources to go to UEBE’s annual session this week in Gandía, October 14-17, while our friends in ABCOPAD have their biennial… Your prayers for Manuel Sarrias, UEBE’s general secretary, and the convention’s leadership are appreciated as our celebration is based on 1 Chronicles 29:14b. You also provide to have an important and vital support system in our home office that enables us to be in ministry. Words fall short to express our gratitude for your loving, generous, and even sacrificial support through the World Mission Offering.

Three strands in the mission cord
Therefore, you are one part of the three strands, our partners in ministry in our countries of service is another part, and us, your missionaries in the field and in our home office, are another part: each necessary, each different, each important! We are bound by the Holy Spirit so we can, in unity, fulfill the Great Commission we were entrusted.

Our ABC-USA/PR family has 5,500 churches out of which 3,200 contribute to our mission society’s ministries one way or another. Out of the 1.3 million members in our American Baptist family, 5,000 individuals are counted for in our mission society’s lists of donors. With new, increasing goals to be met, increasing cost of living, and unfavorable currency exchanges in many of our countries of service (ours is 38 cents against us), we see this as an opportunity to have the other 2,300 churches get involved and the other 1,295,000 individuals involved as well !!!

Did you know that with about $5 per member each year or roughly $100 per church each year, we could have resources for our current missionary body of 98 commissioned missionaries? Three new couples have been endorsed, are organizing their MPTs, and inviting network friends and family to join their ministries. We are excited that they will bring our numbers up again to 104, yet we are still not enough for all that remains to be done before our King and Lord returns!

Many of our commissioned colleagues are in a challenging percentage for their continued ministries, others have percentages that look more stable, and others accompany us going Green! Praise the Lord for our loving network that has placed us 7.6% shy of our new PSG. But our rejoicing cannot be complete when others still need an Ohana-extra lift. Please visit www.internationalministries.org/give and click SHOW ALL on the left column to see each of our new PSG committed percentage and seek from the Lord to lead you to partner with a commissioned or endorsed missionary unit. May you count your blessings as you step in faith to partner with His faith-based-missions!

See, each missionary unit lives 100% by faith! We have faith that God will continue to provide each day for our needs through each of those 5,500 churches in our ABC-USA/PR family and those 1.3 million members. He provides each of us through each of you as we have become that cord of three strands that is not quickly broken in this missionary cord, bound by His Spirit that gives us the power to be His witnesses in all four corners of the earth!

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you;
and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria,
and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8)

Together pressing on toward the goal, living 100% by faith,
Your missionary family in Valencia, Spain,
The BGs