Category Archives: Praises
The Most Action-Packed Update, Ever!
September 1, 2014
Dear Friends,
Brace yourselves — This is perhaps the most exciting prayer letter we’ve ever written! The past two months have been packed with God’s grace and blessings. Here is a quick rundown summary.
Church Launch
The Iglesia Bíblica Bautista El Faro had its first official services on July 13th with around 40 in attendance. Several acknowledged their need for salvation, repenting and believing on Jesus that day! There have been new visitors every week and many families and individuals are plugging in with personal discipleship, helping around the church and bringing their friends. Pray especially for a few young men who have shown interest in going further. Christ is building his church!!
Surprise Funeral
Just days before the inauguration of our church, a Colombian lady contacted me from the USA whose mother was back in her hometown of Bucaramanga visiting family, and suddenly passed away. Both the daughter and this woman had been recently saved and were attending a good church in Florida, and I was asked to perform her funeral. The wish of this woman was that her lost family members would hear the Gospel preached at her funeral. What God did was truly amazing. By our best counts, about 120 people showed up for the service at our church (which really only holds 80), and heard a clear presentation of Biblical salvation. Dozens of these decided to place their faith in Jesus alone for eternal life. It was amazing! What an honor to this lady who had just been saved one year before. God is good!
More Lives Changed
We have seen several receive Christ and become born again in the past month, including religious people, who realized that Jesus is the only way, He is enough and that works do not save; also Atheists, who understood that there is a God who created them, loves them and died for them; and even an ex-paramilitary hit-man, who found a new beginning and new life in Jesus. God’s power has no limits. He is mighty to save all who will believe.
A Productive Visit
Our pastor and several from our home church came to visit in July. They helped get out thousands of invites the weekend before the big church launch and were a tremendous help to get the building ready for all the people. God worked through them and in them. Please pray especially for two of the young men that desire to return here or another place as God leads to work as full-time missionaries. If you would like to bring a group to Colombia, please get in touch with us, or see our website with details about a trip for students and singles June 15-25, 2015. We would love to have you!
Prayer Requests
- Growth of the church numerically and spiritually
- Families and individuals who are in discipleship
- A new youth outreach starting this month in the poorest and most dangerous neighborhood of our city
- Additional monthly financial support. At this point we have many more plans but are only held back by lack of funds. Would you consider partnering with us, that fruit would abound to your account? No amount is too small!
- Aubrie and the new baby — they are healthy and in the 2nd trimester already!
We love you and pray that the abundant grace of Almighty God would fill you, bless you and enable you to continue laboring for his Worthy Name!
Aaron & Aubrie Vance and family
Click for a printable PDF of our prayer letter (with pictures!).
Thank you for all you do to make it possible for us to be here! How can we be praying for you?
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.
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- Literature distribution!
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- Jason painting over some graffiti that was on the front of the church. It turned out great!
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- Will 4 helping get our lyric and verse projection set up.
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- Getting to know one another.
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- A new use for offering baskets!
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- Singing praises to our God
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- Miss Stephanie singing a wonderful special to prepare people’s hearts to hear from God’s Word
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- Sharing from God’s precious word.
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- Bro. Victor mingling with a few Colombian men that came to our service.
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- Thank God for this group. They’ve been a blessing!
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- Pastor Blackstock preaching to the church on the other side of town on Sunday night.
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!
Urgent Prayers Are Needed For A Special Opportunity Today!
Hey friends,
Just a quick update to let you know a little of what’s going on in the days before our church’s inauguration. We’re excited about what God is going to do on Sunday the 13th.
We have had another big opportunity dropped on our doorstep. I received a call two days ago from a Colombian lady living in the USA. Her mom, who also lived with her in the US, came back to Colombia to visit family. She arrived Sunday in Bucaramanga, where we live and minister, and that day had a massive heart attack and brain aneurism. Sadly, this dear lady passed away early yesterday morning. Her daughter, the one who called me, found our information online and asked if we could do the funeral at our church. Both the lady who died and her daughter are believers, but nearly all of the family here in Colombia is not. The dying wish of this lady was that the Gospel would be preached to her family at her funeral.
Today, Wednesday, at 3 PM Colombian time, 2 PM Eastern Standard Time in the US, I will be preaching this funeral. This will be the first service officially held at our new church building. The family expects around 50-80 people to attend, almost all of which would be family.
Pray as I preach the Gospel, honor the deceased, comfort the family and encourage these dear people to place their focus, their faith and their life in Christ. He gives hope. He gives peace. He gives life.
“Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.” Romans 15:13
Thanks and God bless you all!
– Aaron & family
PS – Also be praying for my pastor and a group from our church that is already on their way here for a visit. We will pick them up from the airport immediately after the funeral.
March – April 2014 Prayer Letter
Dear Prayer Partners,
6 Months There, Now 6 Here…
Ten years ago I spent 6 months in Peru, South America for missions training and hands-on preparation. It was an amazing time in my life that God used to teach me and mold me into who I am today.* Well, 6 months have now gone by since our family arrived in Bucaramanga Colombia for long-term church-planting ministry. It feels like just a short while, but at the same time it feels like we’ve been here all our lives! In other words, it feels like home.
God has been working mightily lately. The past couple months we have seen blessings with both ministry and with our own family. In March we enjoyed a visit from my Mother in law, our first from the USA! In April I was able to travel to Chile for a very helpful Latin America church planters conference with many other missionaries. Aubrie and I also celebrated our fifth anniversary in April. Our children are growing and adapting well to life here. God has been good to this family!
HUGE NEWS…
We just signed this week on a building to rent for our first church in Colombia! This is a blessing as it takes us one step forward in our ministry goals. Within a few weeks, in June Lord willing, we will hold our kickoff service. Please pray that as we share the Gospel, God would work in many hearts and build His church. He is worthy!!
Special Projects…
Several have asked me to share special financial needs as they come along. In the coming weeks I’ll be buying 80 chairs, basic sound equipment, 20,000 pieces of literature, nursery supplies and much more as we get ready for the first service. If you would like to help offset these expenses, we have set up PayPal on our website for secure online giving through Macedonia World Baptist Missions, or you can send a check to MWBM at the address below with our name in the memo. Thanks for your help!
We had been saving funds for a vehicle but will use this money to go ahead with the church plant and wait for God’s timing on our own transpiration. We have been using public transportation here and will keep doing so until we have the funds for a car.
We express our heartfelt thanks to those of you that support us regularly with your prayers and financial support. God is already adding fruit to your account and we are most grateful that you have chosen to hold the rope for us! How can we be praying for you?
Prayer Requests…
- Church kickoff within a few weeks
- More people saved, baptized and discipled
- Young men that I can begin to pour my life into
Servants Of Our Great King,
Aaron Vance & Family
“Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.” 1 Corinthians 4:1-2
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*PS – if you or a young person you know is interested in missions, I highly recommend they check out the Our Generation Training Center!
Click to see a printable PDF copy of our letter (with pictures!)
The Vance Family 