Blog Archives
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!
A great opportunity, a hospital visit, and a special date — November 2018 Prayer Letter
Dear Praying Friends & Family,
One of the most significant messages of the Bible is that God works in ways we cannot fully understand. He uses ordinary people for extraordinary tasks. He makes a way to move forward when it seems to be a dead-end. He works out even the worst circumstances for his glory and our good. He only calls for us to trust and obey. In this update, we highlight how this is happening all around us.
[Download and print this newsletter: PDF file | JPG file]
One Door Closes, Another Opens
I mentioned in our last letter that the landlord of our second church told us we need to vacate soon. Almost immediately, we were approached by the owners of a store three doors down to inform us that if we would ever want to purchase property, they want to sell to us. What an amazing opportunity! God works things out, doesn’t he? This building was used as a community store on the first floor and served as the owner’s residence on the second and third floors. The space is beautiful and perfect for a church! It will provide a long-term home, and help this new church become fully autonomous. It is also right in the community park that was recently renovated. The first floor is big enough for the church auditorium, and children would have classrooms upstairs instead of meeting on the ground outside.
The owners are giving us an incredible price for the property, and already have all the documents in order. We need to raise $50,000 for this need by January when we return from Furlough. Praise God, in the last two months, we’ve already seen 30% of that given! Please pray about how you could help this young church. Any amount helps! Checks can be sent to:
Macedonia World Baptist Missions, Inc.
PO Box 519, Braselton, GA 30517
(put “A. Vance – Building Fund” in the memo)
You can also give online at mwbm.org. Click on the “give online” banner, follow the prompts, and look for us on the drop-down menu. All gifts are tax-deductible.
Hurry Up, and Slow Down!
It’s amazing how God makes us slow down sometimes. To say this fall has been busy would be quite an understatement. I have had some discomfort for much of this year that finally came to a head in November. I was experiencing extreme pain just hours after arriving “home” after a trip to upstate New York. I rushed to the emergency room and then was transported by ambulance to another hospital where I spent five days. They did several procedures and surgeries, and praise God that all was successful.
It’s hard for me to cancel meetings, but the rest required to recover has been a blessing in disguise. God knows what we need. I’m thankful also for my wife, Aubrie, and her support during all of this. Somehow she excels in keeping up with our children and home on top of being my nurse. She is amazing.
The End Is In Sight
Our tickets are purchased, and we will return to Bucaramanga, Colombia on January 15th, 2019! Furlough has been challenging in some ways, but a tremendous blessing in every way. I’ll write more on this in our next letter. We are close to our monthly support goal, praying the last 10% would come in soon. There is much to do when we return, so we appreciate your prayers as we make the transition back.
Thank you for holding the ropes for us through your prayers and financial giving. God is working, and he is adding fruit to your account. We are grateful for you!
Trusting and Obeying HIM,
Aaron & Aubrie Vance and family
“Pastor, We Need To Talk.” — August 2018 Prayer Letter
Dear Praying Friends & Family,
The last two months have been a roller coaster. In this report, I cover some of the enormous challenges we’ve faced, as well as some of the tremendous blessings. Through it all, God is our rock and fortress, and we cling to him.
“Pastor, We Need To Talk.”
I landed in Colombia toward the end of July for a quick, 2-week trip to celebrate our church’s 4th anniversary and the wedding of one of our preacher men. It was looking to be a joyous trip, but I heard a fateful phrase way too many times… “Pastor, we need to talk.” I sat through dozens upon dozens of complaints, observations, and concerns, all about one of the men who had served closest to me for the past four years. After all was said and done, this man decided to leave, and he didn’t leave well. He hurt many people and thought everyone was against him. He wouldn’t let others help him. To him, it was everyone else’s problem. Pride destroys as nothing else can! As we dug deeper into the situation, we found numerous issues beyond mere hurt feelings. Pray for this man, as well as his family and two other leaders who left with him. We continue to love them and pray that they repent and can be restored to fellowship with Christ’s church.
Moving Forward In Faith
It may sound crazy, but I’m grateful that this horrible situation took place when it did. Our church and the rest of the leaders have risen to fill in the gaps, and I believe we are better for it. We lost around ten people, but since then we’ve had dozens of new families visit, new members added, and new leaders are stepping up. We improved several systems, and the church is in even better shape than before. We’ve been encouraged in seeing both spiritual and numerical growth in the past month. Our leaders are united, as is the entire church body. People are still being saved and discipled. New opportunities are opening up like never before. We press on in the strength that Christ gives.
Family Funny
We recently enjoyed a baseball game with the whole family for the first time. Aris, our 3-year-old, had never been to such an event, and since everyone was shouting, she decided to join them with a loud “HALLELUJAH!”
Praises & Prayer Requests
- Thanks to offerings from some of you, we were able to recover 100% from the church robbery I write about last time. Praise God!
- God has given us safety on the road, several good meetings, and a few more supporters. Amen! Pray as we head into a hectic “missions conference season.”
- The landlord of the house our second church is renting notified us that she needs the property back soon. However, we were just offered an incredible piece of property next door. We are trying to raise $50,000 to purchase it when we return to Colombia. I’ll write more about this in our next letter. If you’d like to give, click here.
- We thank God for some excellent opportunities we’ve had to witness while here in America. There is still a great need here!
The Our Generation Summit
We will be participating in a missions event like no other on December 28-29, 2018. For the first time, The Summit will take place in Ohio. Plus, it’s only $80, including lodging. We would love to see you there! For more info check out their website: www.ogsummit.com.
Once again, thank you. Your prayers and financial support have made our ministry possible. May God supply your every need.
To Magnify Christ,
Aaron & Aubrie Vance and family
To download a PDF of this letter, click here.
Or, following is a JPG of this prayer letter that you can also save and print:
And some recent pictures from our ministry and family:
Furlough Update & Church Robbery — June 2018 Prayer Letter
Dear Praying Friends & Family,
Hello again from the furlough road! We’ve got a lot to update you on in this letter, so buckle up!
Friends, Old & New
It has greatly encouraged us to visit some of our supporting churches and to see the many familiar faces of those who have been praying for us during all these years. It is awesome to share about God’s grace in Colombia, and the fruit that has been added to their account. We’ve also made some new friends at churches who have had us in to share about the ministry and are considering joining our team of rope-holders. Thank God for his faithful saints! Each month we are inching closer to our support goal. Contact us if you want us to come to your church.
Colombia’s New President
On June 17, Colombia had their final presidential runoff election, wherein Iván Duque won the majority vote. He looks to carry on the efforts of the last two presidents to eliminate the corruption, violence and drug trafficking that plagued the country for decades. Many are happy, others are not. We know, however, that real peace only comes through knowing Christ. Pray for this new leader, and for the people of Colombia, to know the true peace-giver.
Planting Seeds In New Fields
Our preachers and leaders in the two churches of Bucaramanga have been doing a tremendous job with the preaching, outreach, discipleship, as well as every other ministry. Thanks to technology, we talk very regularly and I am excited about getting back in the trenches with them. We are looking forward to planting a couple more churches when we return, and these leaders are already holding bible studies in some of the target areas. It is exciting to see!
Church Robbery
We had somebody break into our main church just a couple of weeks ago. They stole at least $1,500 worth of cash, and maybe other things. This was the church’s rent money, missions support and some of the building fund offerings. It looks like we will simply have to absorb the loss, as the police couldn’t find any significant evidence to continue an investigation. We thank God nobody was hurt and the damages were not worse, and we trust him to provide. He is always faithful.
Family Funnies
Aris, our 3-year-old, was just asked if she’s ever been on a family trip. She said NO! This is a kid who has had passports from two countries since she was a baby and has already visited more countries and US states than most people do in their lifetime. For her, life on the road is normal, as is traveling on planes and staying in hotel rooms. #MKlife
Prayer Requests
- Wisdom as we raise our children, lead ministries, and plan for the future.
- Continued safety as we travel on the road (several close calls lately).
- Remaining support to be raised (we are at around 85% of our recommended level of monthly support).
- Special financial needs for recuperating what was stolen in Colombia as well as other projects.
- Opportunities and boldness to witness as we travel here in America.
Once again, thank you for your faithful prayers and support. We love you all and pray that God continues to bless you as you strive to glorify him.
May Christ Be Magnified,
The Vance Family
Aaron • Aubrie • Amira • Anabel • Aris • Alethea
Here are a few recent pictures from our lives and ministry.
Click here to download a printable PDF of this letter
Alternatively, here is a JPG image of the letter that you can view and print:
The Vance Family 