Category Archives: Praises
Church Growth and Special Visits — November 2024 Prayer Letter
Reading time: 3 minutes
Dear Praying Friends & Family,
The last two months have been full of ministry, special visits, and God’s abundant blessings. Rejoice with us as we review what the Lord has done.
Fourth Anniversary of Ágape
Agape Baptist Church, our current ministry base, celebrated its fourth anniversary in November. It’s so awesome to be a part of God’s work of seeing people saved, discipling them, training them, and launching them into Christian maturity and ministry. Every week, we witness between two and three hundred believers gather to worship, study, pray, and serve.
Faithful Churches & Ministers
The other local churches we have had a part in starting are also doing well. It is a joy to witness from a distance the pastors and leaders faithfully serving the Lord week by week. Many of them are also training their own groups of disciples and future pastors without our direct involvement. This brings joy to my soul! The success of our ministry doesn’t depend on us doing everything, but in this long-term process of multiplying faithful men and women for the glory of God.
Special Visitors
In the last two months, we enjoyed visits from several special guests. Dave, a representative of Christian Media International, was with us in October. They helped us launch our studio and media ministry and are now assisting us in expanding our non-profit outreach based out of our church in the Café Madrid neighborhood. I’ll share more on that later. In November, we enjoyed getting to know Chantha and Jake, pastors from a new supporting church in Illinois. We also had a great time with our Macedonia field director, Bruce Berry, who was with us during Agape Baptist Church’s anniversary. Additionally, we were visited by David Robles and his family, a Peruvian pastor who is praying about coming to work with us here in Colombia. We thank God for these faithful servants! It seems God brings just the right people into our path at the right moments.
Family Update
Aubrie and the girls are doing well, and we were blessed to celebrate Alethea’s seventh birthday in November. In the midst of a crazy ministry schedule, it was also nice to get away for a few days on a family vacation in October. I thank the Lord we get to do what we do, and for the people with whom we get to do it!
We thank the Lord for you all. We appreciate you faithfully holding the ropes for us with your prayers and financial support. We pray for you often. Feel free to reach out anytime if you need special prayer or just to say hello.
With Grateful Hearts,
Aaron & Aubrie Vance
(Along with the girls: Amira, Anabel, Aris & Alethea)
“Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:”
—Psalm 103:1-2—
Hundreds Reached and a New Church — September 2024 Prayer Letter
Reading time: 3 minutes
Dear Praying Friends & Family,
God continues to pour out His grace and blessings on us and the ministry here in Colombia. We invite you to celebrate His work over the past quarter with us.
Tenth Anniversary!
Though we are approaching our eleventh year on the field here in Colombia, we celebrated the tenth anniversary of the first church we planted, El Faro (Lighthouse), in July. We praise the Lord for His faithfulness in the lives of these dear people—after all, it’s His church! Nearly four years ago, this church was entrusted to the leadership of Pastor Felix, one of the first men we trained for ministry. He and his family have been faithful, alongside many other leaders and workers. Every time we visit, I feel like a grandparent visiting our spiritual children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren! What joy!
Spectacular Vision Clinic
In August, we once again partnered with Medical Mission Outreach to provide eye exams and glasses to the community. What an exciting week! We served over 1,000 people, and a couple hundred of them made professions of faith. It was also a great joy to see more than 100 church members and friends from our various congregations volunteer to make this event a reality. Praise the Lord!
A New Church Is Born!
In September, one of our pastors, José Nelson Pineda, launched Iglesia Bautista Esperanza (Hope Baptist Church) in the Girón district of our metro area. He is working alongside a fellow missionary, Justin Cox, and a team of people we have sent from our other churches. Please pray for this brand-new congregation!
Missions On The Mission Field
I had the privilege of being the main speaker at a missions conference in the coastal city of Cartagena, Colombia. Pastor Alberto Gomez, who has planted many churches there, first challenged me to pray about Colombia over twenty years ago. Thank God for him! This was our first opportunity to witness the ministry there in person. It was a blessing to encourage this network of mission churches in their mission efforts. Some of these congregations are over 30 years old and have sent out many of their own to various mission fields.
Grateful Hearts
Our family thanks the Lord for your continued prayers and support. We deeply appreciate your faithfulness over the years. It is an honor to serve our Savior! May He find us faithful until He returns!
Love In Christ,
Aaron & Aubrie Vance
(Along with the girls: Amira, Anabel, Aris & Alethea)
“Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
—1 Thessalonians 5:16-18—
Praising God for a decade of His faithfulness in this dear congregation. 
Pray for Pastor Félix, his wife Schantall, and little Daniel as they serve at El Faro. 
Anabel in her element interpreting for MMO team member Mrs. Margaret. 
With Pastor Alberto Gomez and a few others from the conference in Cartagena. 
Pray for Pastor José Nelson, along with his wife Ana Gabriela and their family. 
We’re grateful for what God has done in this city over the past decade. There is still much to be done!
Blessings and Burdens — June 2024 Prayer Letter
Reading time: 3 minutes
Dear Praying Friends & Family,
The past couple of months have been blessed, though filled with trials. Through it all, we praise God for his goodness and faithfulness as we minister in Colombia. He continues to work in mighty ways. Thank you for your faithful prayers and support!
Ongoing Church Ministry
I’m genuinely amazed at how Jesus continually builds his church. Besides constantly witnessing new spiritual births as people believe the Gospel, we see them grow and work together in Jesus’ mission. Week by week, people are bringing their friends to Jesus. We’ve been busy with special events, too. We recently celebrated Children’s Day, serving over 100 kids from the community and sharing lots of fun and the Gospel. We showed a Gospel film; many people brought lost friends and family. God is working, and what a blessing to be a part of it!
Exciting Youth Camp
At the end of June, we hosted our second annual youth camp, in which over 50 teens and young adults gathered from the various churches we have started here in Bucaramanga. We studied the life of Daniel and were challenged to live counter-cultural lives. As these young people feel the reality of living in modern Babylon, many made decisions that will change the course of their lives and their eternity. Praise the Lord!
Pray For My Father
My dad, Richard Vance, was taken in May to the hospital with a severe infection, sepsis in his blood, and several other issues. He came very close to death a few times over the following weeks. After several surgeries on his foot, and after the specialists determined it could not be salvaged, his leg was amputated just below the knee. He was diagnosed with neuropathy and Charcot bone degenerative disease. He is now on the long road to recovery, therapy, and life adjustment. Lord willing, he will soon be transferred temporarily to a rehabilitation center. He has had an excellent spirit through it all and seems to be at peace with the change. I went to spend a week with him in June between our ministry busyness in Colombia, and I am so glad I did! Pray for him and my mom in the days ahead.
Family News
Aubrie and I recently celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary and our second daughter, Anabel’s, 12th birthday. Time is just flying by! We also enjoyed a visit from some of Aubrie’s family. We even took her uncle to try paragliding over the city!
Praises and Prayer Requests
- Lord willing, we’ll finally sign papers to purchase the building for Agape Baptist Church in July. We praise the Lord that the exchange rate has improved by around 10% since our last prayer letter. We were very concerned about this matter earlier this year, but God’s timing is perfect!
- In August, we will once again host a team from Medical Mission Outreach to offer an optical clinic and outreach for our community. Pray for the logistics of the trip and the souls of the people we will serve.
- Aubrie is still needing another surgery for her skin cancer. This will likely be before our next update.
For The Name of Christ,
Aaron & Aubrie Vance
(Along with the girls: Amira, Anabel, Aris & Alethea)
“And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.”
—Colossians 3:17—
What a blessing to serve kids from the community on Children’s Day! 
Showing the flim “The Case For Christ” 
Pouring into the next generation of youth for the glory of God. 
Not only was I able to go visit my dad in June, I also got to see my brother, sister & mom. A rare event to be all together! 
I thank God for excellent in-laws! 
After 15 years of marriage to Aubrie, there’s still nobody I’d rather do life with. I thank God for my wife!
Surprise Church Plant! — December 2019 Prayer Letter
Dear Praying Friends & Family,
Grace and peace in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Isn’t that a beautiful thought? We have found both favor with God (grace) and have been reconciled to God (peace) through Jesus. It makes Christmas time even that more special to know what Christ has done for us. We wish you a Merry Christmas from Colombia! Read on to rejoice with us in the great work God is doing here.
Surprise Church Plant
We have made mention in previous letters about the possibility of several church plants that are already in the works around our area. One of these was in the Girardot (hee-dar-DOHT) neighborhood, where a couple in our church runs a children’s foundation. In November, we went ahead and started a few months ahead of schedule. God has blessed already! One of our preachers, Libardo, along with his wife Laura and daughter Valeria, is leading this new church. The foundation has graciously loaned us their facilities free of charge, but we are going to need to find a new place soon, as it is full each week! Please pray for us in the days ahead as we help this new church get off the ground. If you’d like to donate toward setup costs, send a check to Macedonia (or give online) and mark the gift “A Vance – Church plant.”
Special Visits
In November, our pastor, Charles Blackstock, and his wife, Debbie, came for a quick visit. What a refreshing time it was! We put him to work, preaching in all of our churches, and encouraging our leaders. Their stay was also a blessing to us as a family. They gave us wise counsel and comforted our hearts in the loss of our son a couple of months ago.
In December, we enjoyed the company of Aubrie’s mom and aunt, Juanita and Chris. We had a great time with them, though their visit did not go quite as planned. Our vehicle had trouble, and most of the family was sick while they were here, but it all worked out, and we even got to celebrate Christmas with them. We thank God that our families are so supportive of us being missionaries.
Family Funnies
I recently went on a daddy-daughter date with Anabel, our 7-year-old. At the end of the evening, she looked up at me with her big blue eyes and said, “Dad, you’re the second-best dad I’ve ever had! Of course, #1 has to be God, but you’re pretty great too.”
Blessings & Opportunities
There are so many opportunities that have been opening up to get the Gospel out like never before. People are being reached. Leaders are being trained. New churches are being opened. God continues to pour out his blessing on it all. We don’t understand why he has been so gracious to us, but we are grateful. As long as he goes with us, we aren’t stopping anytime soon. We have another door that seems to be opening up to be on television all around Colombia. Also, we’re looking at a much larger building for our main church. More on these in our next update letter!
Thank You For Your Faithfulness
This year has been extremely challenging, but also full of blessing. We saw God do things beyond our dreams, and we felt stretched beyond our strength. We honestly couldn’t do what we do without your faithful prayers and financial support. God has used you to help us see many people reached with the Gospel. You may never meet these people face to face on this earth. But imagine that day in Glory when we’re all gathered around the throne of God. The redeemed from every nation, giving praise to the one who gave us grace and made peace. What a day that will be.
Prayer Requests and Needs
- For our three churches and their leaders (in San Alonso, Café Madrid & Girardot)
- For the Lebrija church plant, and funds to help them get started
- For the Real De Minas church plant (more on this soon!)
- For the many other pastors and leaders whom we are training
- For our monthly financial support to increase as the ministry grows
Thank you for your love and support. Let us know how we can be praying for you!
For the Cause of Christ,
Aaron, Aubrie, Amira, Anabel, Aris & Alethea Vance
Great Joy and Sorrow — September 2019 Prayer Letter
Dear Praying Friends & Family,
It has been said that when God blesses, opposition is right around the corner. We rejoice in God’s favor on the ministry here, and we rest in his grace during trials.
Church Growth
Our main church continues to flourish. In the last two months we have had big attendances for special days, but also a constant flow of guests for almost every service, as well as professions of faith and baptisms. We recently started preaching through the book of Acts. Much of what we have seen in the ministry here reminds me of those special days in the early church. People from every background are finding freedom in Christ and community in his body, the church. There is a spirit of unity, passion, boldness, and generosity as Spirit-filled believers work together to fulfill the Great Commission.
Letting Them Go
As many of you know, two years ago we started a second church in the Café Madrid neighborhood. We have worked alongside this church and its leaders since its inception. The pastor we trained, Díver Ortiz, has been doing an excellent job, and the church has grown. In September, we commissioned Pastor Díver’s family, as well as five other families from our church, to work in this daughter church full time. This change is bittersweet for us. They will be able to focus entirely on the other church; however, we will have much less contact with these families whom we love. It is all part of growing up. We sometimes joke that we feel like spiritual grandparents, even though we’re only in our 30’s. On a positive note, we now have more room to continue to grow in our first church, and newer leaders have the chance to step up and fill in the gaps left behind.
New Lebrija Church Update
In our last letter, I mentioned one of our next church plants, located in the town of Lebrija. God has moved over the previous two months, and we think we have found an ideal building to rent to help them get off the ground. It is easily accessible to around 50,000 people, large enough to get started, and at a fantastic price. Hopefully, sometime in October or November, we can sign the rental contract and begin to get everything ready for this exciting new stage of ministry. The leader of this work, Juan Cruz, is very encouraged, as are we, at how God is working things out. If you’d like to help with start-up expenses (chairs, essential sound equipment, literature, pulpit, etc.), you can send a gift through Macedonia and mark it “A. Vance — church plant.”
Dreaming Big
Our primary goal as missionaries isn’t just to build one megachurch that a lot of people attend. Instead, it is to make disciples that make disciples; it is to train leaders who train leaders; it is to plant churches that plant churches. With this in mind, we are dreaming big. There is already a pipeline of believers in various stages of training that we plan to send out someday soon, as God allows. We are also close to opening the next two churches, but this is a small effort in light of the task at hand. We need at least 50 more churches for our city, hundreds more for our country, and thousands more for Latin America. Then we look at the world and realize even those numbers are small in comparison to the great need. We believe we can reach the world in our generation, but we must get serious! Will you dream big with us?
Our Son, Amaziah
Many of you know we were expecting another child. A couple of weeks ago, Aubrie suddenly lost a lot of blood and went into early labor. Our son, Amaziah, was stillborn on September 19th and is now in the presence of Jesus. We held his lifeless body in our hands as we cried out to God for strength and grace. We don’t yet understand why this happened, but we trust our sovereign God, who works all things out for his glory and our good. Continue to pray Aubrie’s healing, as well as our family in the days ahead.
Prayer Requests and Needs
- For our two established churches and their leaders
- For the Lebrija church plant, and funds to help them get started
- For the Real de Minas church plant (more on this in the next letter!)
- For the many Bible studies going on each week as future church plants
- For the pastors and the leaders whom we are training
- For our family in the loss of our son and the raising of our four daughters
Thank you for your love and support. Let us know how we can be praying for you!
May Christ Be Magnified,
Aaron, Aubrie, Amira, Anabel, Aris & Alethea Vance
The Vance Family 
