Category Archives: Events
God Worked! Inauguration Service Report
Once again, I have been absolutely amazed. God continues to put his blessing on our ministry in Colombia. Many of you prayed much for our first service at Iglesia Bíblica Bautista El Faro in Bucaramanga. Following is a report of what God did.
- Around 40 thousand invites & tracts total were distributed
- 25 people attended the English Service on Sunday July 13th
- 39 or 40 people attended the Spanish Service that followed
- I was able to start a series in John, wherein I shared the first several verses and the thought, God Came to Us! He brought us eternity, he brought us light, and he brought us life. What an amazing truth! All we must do is receive him.
- 5 people informed us that they repented and trusted Christ alone to be saved!
- Most everybody said they’d be back and bring a friend!
- Many people came because they received an invite in the street or in their home, several came that were personal contacts of mine, some through our Facebook Page and some through the website.
- The visiting group from our sending church, Lighthouse Baptist in Dawsonville, has been such a blessing. They have helped paint and repair many areas of the church building, pass out thousands of invites and tracts the past week, and helped with a few things during the service. We thank God for their presence and help. Pray for my pastor, Charles Blackstock, who will be preaching our midweek service tonight (Tuesday).
- Sunday evening we participated in a special service across town at a sister church with Panamanian missionary, José Morales. They had a wonderful attendance with many visitors. My pastor preached, I interpreted, and the Holy Spirit did a special work.
Thank you all for your prayers and financial support. We have gotten off to a great start! With the funeral that the Lord allowed us to host last Wednesday, as well as this inauguration, we have seen dozens of people profess faith in Christ in the first week of our church! GOD IS GOOD!
Please continue to pray for us. We are just getting started! Pray that some of the young men that have already shown interest would allow God to move in their hearts and lives, and that He would call some to the ministry and let us train and equip them. This is what it’s all about!
“And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.” 2 Timothy 2:2
Here are a few pictures from a wonderful day.
-
- Literature distribution!
-
- Jason painting over some graffiti that was on the front of the church. It turned out great!
-
- Will 4 helping get our lyric and verse projection set up.
-
- Getting to know one another.
-
- A new use for offering baskets!
-
- Singing praises to our God
-
- Miss Stephanie singing a wonderful special to prepare people’s hearts to hear from God’s Word
-
- Sharing from God’s precious word.
-
- Bro. Victor mingling with a few Colombian men that came to our service.
-
- Thank God for this group. They’ve been a blessing!
-
- Pastor Blackstock preaching to the church on the other side of town on Sunday night.
Pray for the inauguration of our first church in Colombia!
Well friends, the time is finally here! Sunday, July 13, 2014 is the official inauguration service of our church in Bucaramanga Colombia.
Countless hours of prayer, finances, preparation and literature distribution has been invested into seeing not only many seats filled in a service, but also Christ exalted and his Word expounded. We pray for many people to hear the Gospel, repent and believe on Him who is our hope.
Would you pray with us?
Keep up with the latest at http://www.bemagnified.org and http://www.luzparasuvida.com
God bless!
Update – Funeral Service
Thank you all who prayed for the funeral this afternoon. Honestly, it was an incredible service and it was such and honor to speak God’s Word.
There were over 100 people inside our building and another dozen or two outside. I though we only had space in our church for 80. I guess I was wrong!It was packed.
We sung a few songs, shared a testimony of the deceased’s salvation and love for others, and I was able to share a Bible message of hope and salvation from John 14:1-6.
What God did next was amazing. A large number of those present decided to make a profession of faith in Jesus alone for salvation. Most had heard that Jesus died on the cross, and had some form of religion, but they admitted that having religion and trusting in our own works is simply not enough. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life! They repented and believed in Him.
We praise Jesus for the work he did today and pray that this fruit will remain. Many expressed their desire to continue with us and grow in their new life.
What an honor to this elderly saint (who herself accepted Christ just last May!) that new birth would take place at the service celebrating her death.
God was glorified. The family was comforted. God’s family grew by a bunch.
Thank you for praying! Please continue to pray for this family, both those that started new life today and others who are still grieving their loss.
I stand in wonder of His grace to allow us to be a part of something much greater than ourselves.
I snapped a few pics after I finished preaching before we dismissed. Enjoy…
PS – The visiting group from our church in the States made it in just fine. Pray for a productive and fruitful trip, and for the upcoming official inauguration this Sunday!
Feliz Cumpleaños, Aubrie!
Y’all don’t mind if I brag a little on Aubrie, do you?
Today, February 10th is a very special day… It’s the anniversary of my wife’s 22nd birthday!! ((I think that’s when we were supposed to stop counting… Lol))
Aubrie, you’re amazing and I love you with my all! You’re the best wife I could ever imagine, the best mother to our girls, the best looking, most compassionate, most loving person I’ve ever met. I couldn’t imagine my life without you.
Thank you for sticking with me, and not giving up, even through the hard trials we faced last year. Thank you for your heart. Thank you for being 100% supportive in the ministry The Lord has placed us in. Thank you for your excitement in reaching people with the Gospel. Thank you for your love for God and his Word. I thank Christ for you.
You’re my companion, my best friend, my sweetie. Happy birthday. I look forward to getting old, sore and wrinkly with you. Ok, maybe not so much the “sore” part, but you know what I mean.
Yours for life,
Aaron
Class, Camp, Celebration, & Challenge – A Machine Gun Update
Hey friends! There has been much going on lately in the Vance family household. God has been good (what’s new there?!) and we’ve been enjoying each minute. This post is simply to get you all up to speed on some amazing recent events… (I alliterated it for my preacher friends, so bear with me).
Class
The past week was both exciting and exhausting as I was privileged to teach a 14 hour modular class at the Our Generation Training Center on Evangelism & Leader Training in Catholic Cultures. God really blessed as we went through the Master Plan of World Evangelism and some of The Gospel According to Rome. I’d definitely recommend both of these books if you are serious about both learning how Jesus trained leaders to reach the world, and how to deliver the Gospel to those that are close yet still depend on works.
Camp
My family and I will leave Monday morning to spend a week with teens and college students from around the country at the OG Student Leadership Camp. I was at the very first camp that was held 9 years ago just before I spent 6 months in Peru preparing for the mission field. The camp helped me tremendously as I was able to get around missionaries that were getting the job done in reaching people and training men. It was encouraging to see how God was using other young men, and now I’m able to return on the other side of that equation. Please pray that God works in the lives of the many teens and singles that will be there. God has a plan for each of them. Pray that some are saved, some are called, and all would be surrendered to God’s will for their life!
Celebration
This Sunday our little Anabel turns 1-year-old! It’s crazy how time flys by. It seems like just last week that we brought her home from the delivery room. It seems like just yesterday she was starting treatment for her tumor (which is doing fantastic, by the way), and it seems like a few minutes ago she was an infant. Now she’s trying to talk, walk (she’s getting close!) and she’s growing up into a little lady. Wow… We joy in the fact that God has entrusted our children to us, and we take very seriously our responsibility to shepherd their hearts and guide them through their childhood years toward knowledge of, and commitment to, Christ.
Challenge
In our last prayer letter I mentioned that as of right now, it looks like we’ll be moving to Colombia in November. Well, that is becoming more of a reality each day! Our support continues to steadily rise (at 79% now!), and our setup fund needs are being met, little by little. We just received the girl’s passports this week and will be getting our religious visa for Colombia very soon. Here’s the challenge: Would you pray that everything goes smoothly in these last few months? There’s much to do, still some money to raise and lots of traveling to do on deputation between now and then. Secondly, would you pray that God would send more people to Colombia? The need is great. The laborers are few! If we were to plant a church for every 50,000 people, we would need at least 940 churches throughout the country! Maybe God would have you to come and help us.
We love y’all and would love to hear how things are going in your lives. What can we pray for you about? Keep your eyes on Jesus… He’s coming soon, we must be busy in the work he has left us to do. God bless!
The Vance Family 