November 2023
We are praising God for the way he has led our church to join with the Warnes and Johansens to further God’s work of growing his church in Mexico and Brazil.
Mexico
Brian and Danyel Warne have been ministering in Mexico since 1999, and they have spent most of the last 2 decades in Mochicahui, a small agricultural community in Sinaloa, Mexico. Mochicahui has one of the largest populations of traditional Mayo Indians in Mexico, a community that desperately needs the gospel. The church in Mochicahui, Iglesia Biblica Palabra de Cristo (Word of Christ Bible Church), serves believers in Mochicahui as well as several larger towns 30 or even 60 minutes away such as El Fuerte and Los Mochis.
As Brian and other leaders in the church have evaluated the number of people who commute from Los Mochis to their church in Mochicahui, they have realized the opportunity they have to plant another church in Los Mochis. Los Mochis is a town of over 300,000 people that needs more biblical teaching and gospel witness. They are also uniquely suited to aid the training of pastors for future church plants.
The effort to plant the church in Los Mochis will be led by Pastor Brian and Pastor Antonio from Mochicahui, as well as by Pastoral Residents Tony and Yosimar who are training for ministry. Several more from the church in Mochicahui will help as well, and they pray that their church will grow as they share the gospel with more people in Los Mochis. The team has rented a building and will begin meeting together this month. They have named the new church plant Iglesia Biblia Redención (Redemption Bible Church). What a joy to have such a similarly named new church!
Exterior of Los Mochis Church Building
Seth, a deacon, helps lead a Sunday service in the new church plant
Planting this church requires significant initial and ongoing costs such as chairs and audio/visual equipment, fans and A/C units for the formidable heat, and rent for the church meeting space. As we at Redemption Hill have prayerfully considered the needs of the church plant and our own generous provision from God, we are thrilled to partner with the Warnes and cover the cost for the first year of this church plan.
Assisting financially is the first way that we desire to be involved at Iglesia Biblica Redención, but we also desire to support the church plant in several other ways, namely praying specifically for them, encouraging those planting the church, and even visiting the church there.
How to pray
Pray for Brian as he balances a large workload in the church in Mochicahui and in the larger church planting movement in Latin America in addition to initiating the Iglesia Biblia Redención church plant.
Pray for Danyel as she joins Brian and serves in various capacities in the church plant.
Pray for the entire team helping to plant the church in Los Mochis:
Pastor Antonio de la Cruz and wife Alicia
Pastoral Resident Tony de la Cruz, wife Avi, and family
Pastoral Resident Yosimar Moya, wife Paula, and family
Deacon Seth, wife Mavy, and familyDeacon Will, wife Jasmin, and family
Other families from Mochicahui
Pray for God to prepare the hearts of people in Los Mochis to be ready to accept the gospel.
Pray for many logistical steps necessary for planting the church like purchasing supplies and securing a place to rent.
Pray for the church in Mochicahui as the dynamics of the body change with several transitioning to the church plant in Los Mochis.
Pray for Brian and other church members as they repair and clean up small amounts of damage from the recent hurricane.
Please join us in praying for the Warnes as they embark on this church-planting effort!
Brazil
In September, Roger and Crystal Johansen returned to Brazil with their son James after helping their daughter Juliana get settled for her first year of college in West Virginia. They came back and engaged again in the church plant in Aracaju, Brazil which they helped to plant a few years ago.
As they minister in the church, the Johansens have encountered multiple financial needs. The church needs to purchase chairs for their congregation, as well as new equipment for their sound system and live stream. They have been getting along with poor quality equipment for both their seating and their technology for some time, and they desire to upgrade each area to further the ministry they are able to do.
Redemption Hill has joyfully come alongside the church in Aracaju to provide for both of these needs. While chairs and sound equipment might seem like menial items in the life of the church, they are both vital to accomplish the work of the ministry. We are excited to see how God uses these resources to grow his church in Aracaju!
Church service in Aracaju
Church service in Aracaju
In addition to providing for these physical items, Redemption Hill also provided for Roger to lead a group of Brazilians to Portugal for a visioncasting trip. The group included Roger’s wife Crystal and son James, Pastor Gersom (a leader from a church Roger has planted), Pastor Eriomar (who pastors with Roger in Aracaju), a college student named Hanniel, and a woman named Tatiana. Gersom, Eriomar, Hanniel, and Tatiana are all seeking the Lord’s guidance on how they might be involved in missions in Portugal.
The church in Brazil is uniquely suited to send laborers into the harvest of Portugal because of their shared language, Portuguese. There are a few churches already established that the team visited and desires to join in the future to bring the gospel to the people of Portugal.
How to Pray
Pray for Roger as he undergoes further tests for some significant health concerns.
Pray for the church in Aracaju as they seek to share the gospel in their community and care for the members of their body.
Pray for the lost, like Dr. Anderson, to be saved.
Pray that the team that traveled to Portugal would find wisdom and guidance from God as to how he might lead them to serve in Portugal and that they would all continue to be burdened to share the gospel with the lost.
Pray that the people of Aracaju and Portugal would be ready to hear and accept the gospel.
Pray for the leadership in Aracaju:
Pastor Roger Johansen
Pastor Eriomar Maia
Pastor Marcos
