Pastors Manuel Tovar Ruiz on left and Josue Martinez Cisneros lead the prayer and laying on of hands at our Commissioning Service Saturday after Thanksgiving

Just in case you were wondering, we have been doing something other than enjoying new varieties of Mexican food and ogling historic and interesting sights.  Having made a count for you, we’re pleased to report that we have:

• Preached 20 sermons
• Spoken at churches on 11 occasions
• Visited 6 other churches where the gathering has been more “informal”
• Visited a total of 26 churches in the states of San Luis Potosi, Aguascalientes, and Zacatecas.
• Participated in a Men’s Conference and a Youth Conference
• Attended one meeting of the “Mesa Conjunta” Roundtable and served Thanksgiving dinner to the attendees

In two weeks we begin visits of the Congregational Churches in the States of Jalisco, Nayarit and Sinaloa.  We will begin those visits by driving to

President of the ICDC Disciples Pastor Manuel Tovar preaches at a “house church” in Aguascalientes

Guadalajara in a 2003 Nissan X Trail purchased by Global Ministries for the work of the Mesa Conjunta.

The Disciples of Christ and Congregational Churches of Mexico formed the Roundtable about 7 years ago to work together on education and mission programs.  Our assignment here is to support the aims of the Roundtable under the title of “Consultants in Mission Development”.

So naturally our first task is to get to know the churches and leadership of the participating denominations.  We now consider the Presidents of the two Disciple denominations and their families as friends.  The President of the Congregational Churches, Pastor Domingo Guerrero, will accompany us on the visits with his churches this month.

Disciples of Christ churches here are on the move and growing in number.  The Disciples Yearbook of 1991 reported a figure of 29 churches affiliated with the Disciples in Mexico.   The two Disciples denominations participating in the Roundtable now count 55 churches.  Among the new churches are several begun in the homes of members of established churches.  Two churches in both Aguascalientes and San Luis Potosi can claim more than one church plant and churches with members currently serving as pastors.

Pastor Josue Martinez Cisneros, President of CICE Disciples, with family at breakfast in a church member’s home in the Huasteca Region

Leadership development and pastoral education have been the priorities of the Roundtable to date.  Their “Summer Session” last year provided a week of classes in areas such as “The Family in Crisis” and “Post Modern Developments in Theology”.  At the next Roundtable meeting this month in Guadalajara the top agenda item will be planning this year’s Session.

We feel very fortunate to be serving with the Mexican partner churches of our Division of Overseas Ministries (now referred to as Global Ministries) as “long term volunteers”.  New friendships, new growth in ourselves and much new learning are cause for thanksgiving as we look back on the last three months.  And we both have made progress in our Spanish.  Gloria a Dios!  Que Dios los bendiga a todos ustedes!

FOR A GALLERY OF SELECT PHOTOS FROM THE PAST THREE MONTHS SEE BELOW