Blog Archives
February 2016 Prayer Letter
Dear Praying Friends,
Productive Christmas Trip
Christmas with Aubrie’s Family in Ohio
With Pastor Alfonso Gonzales at the Spanish church we started in GA way back in 2006. They’ve grown!
In addition to preaching opportunities in Ohio, Georgia, and at the Our Generation Missions Summit in Tennessee, I was able to record 15 Spanish sermons in our home church’s television studio, Lighthouse Global Studios. These will soon broadcast throughout Latin America. Pray that the Word would have free course and be glorified!
Phenomenal Growth
During our month-long absence from the work in Colombia, several of our men stepped up to preach & to make sure the services ran smoothly. They did an excellent job, and we returned to find that our church had even grown by a few new families!
We had an excellent Christmas program for our outreach ministry kids. God is changing lives!
Training Men
“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
From The Mouth Of Babes
The girls with their uncle Brian (aka: “the horse”) and cousins Rhett and Conner.
Praises & Prayer Requests
- Vehicle. Praise God for the funds that have come in for this need! Thanks to those who have given. Lord willing, we will be purchasing something in the weeks to come. Pray that we can find the right vehicle, and that all paperwork will go smoothly.
- Mission Trip. We are expecting a mission team from one of our supporting churches toward the end of March. Pray that God would work in and through them. If you would like to line up a trip, just get in touch and we can work something out.
- New believers. There are several people who have recently believed on Jesus for salvation. Pray as we help them grow in grace and truth, and for others to be saved.
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Church growth & plans. This year we are focusing on training men and furthering our discipleship development, as well as opening a mission church on the outskirts of town. The enemy is not happy, as we have had some spiritual attacks lately, but the Light is always stronger than darkness!
Pray for these men and others as they train for the Gospel ministry (Juan Danilo, Félix & Jhon Freddy)
- Financial Support. With the ministry growth and family growth, we could use at least another 5 monthly supporters. Would you pray about partnering with us as we continue to lift up Jesus and his Gospel to the Colombian people?
Love In Christ Jesus,
Aaron & Aubrie Vance
(along with Amira, Anabel & Aris!)
Breaking news! Our updated prayer cards are in. Let us know if you want us to send you one, or a bunch of them for your church.
Click here to see a printable PDF of this letter.
December 2015 Prayer Letter Update
Dear Praying Friends,
First of all, I apologize for the delay in getting updates to you. Our September letter did not go out, so I am sending it along with this one. It has honestly been the most blessed period in all of our years of ministry.
Church EXPLOSION!
Don’t worry. We’re talking about the good kind — an explosion in growth! Since being in the new building, our attendance is now nearly 100. This is in addition to the many we see in our outreach ministry in the north part of the city! People are finding joy in the Lord and his Word. We are regularly seeing people saved and baptized. Colombia is experiencing a great movement toward the Gospel, but we need more laborers. There is much to do!
In September, we finished our series on the Gospel of John. To conclude, 7 of our men helped me by each preaching a mini-sermon on the “I Am” statements of Christ in John. It was a sweet night of reflecting on the sufficiency of Christ, and more exciting still to see him work in new preachers of the Gospel. This is why we are here — to train men! Pray for these & others as they develop the calling God has placed on their lives.
Click for a printable PDF of this letter (with pictures).
In December, we will conduct a special Christmas program again in a poor area of town where we have a weekly outreach ministry. We did this last year and it was a huge success! We’ll prepare a special gift and meal for each of the 200 children who attend and then preach to the families and community. For about $5 per child, we will include a toy, toiletry items, a gospel-centered kids book, and a personalized letter. This is the area of our next church plant, Lord willing.
We have also just started a bus route to this area on Sundays to bring families in until we can get a church officially started there. Pray for an increase in our monthly support to provide for this new ministry. Also, pray for funds to purchase a personal vehicle. This has become an urgent need.
Residents At Last!
It was quite a struggle to get our new visas, as the laws changed multiple times this year, extra certifications were requested, documents were lost internationally, and we paid much more than anticipated, but the Lord is faithful in providing each part of this need and allowing us to finalize everything just in time. Thanks especially to Community Baptist in NC and Calvary Baptist in OH for the special offerings. We are now permanent residents of Colombia!
Christmas Trip
Thanks to our sending church & family, we will be back in the States for one month over Christmas. This will be the first time we’ve been back since two years ago when we arrived in Colombia. We thank God for a full schedule including a couple new churches who wish to join our team of financial supporters. This is an answer to prayer!
We will also participate in an amazing missions retreat called the Our Generation Summit in Pigeon Forge, TN from December 31 through January 2. Why don’t you come join us? Time is short. Contact me for information.
Prayer Requests
- More lost souls to be saved, baptized and discipled
- Continued growth in our church — Iglesia Bíblica Bautista El Faro
- Christmas program for needy children in our outreach ministry
- Christmas traveling to Georgia and Ohio
- Our people who will be leading the church in our short absence
- Church Youth/Singles ministry camp in January
- URGENT: Purchase of a vehicle for family and ministry
We wish you a very Merry Christmas! Thanks for standing with us & supporting the Lord’s work in Colombia.
Aaron & Aubrie Vance
(with Amira, Anabel & Aris!)
God Blessed More Than We Expected! — Church’s First Anniversary Report
We have been amazed at what the Lord has done in the past year in and through our first church plant, Iglesia Bíblica Bautista El Faro (Lighthouse Bible Baptist Church) in Bucaramanga, Colombia. People have been saved, believers have grown through discipleship, leaders have emerged and begun to be developed, and the church has grown.
For our anniversary, we expected a good crowd, but we were blown away by how many people came. By our most accurate count, 140 people gathered together to celebrate what God has done in our first year! Many visitors came for the first time, the gospel was preached, professions of faith were made, believers were strengthened, and King Jesus was lifted high!
Following are a few pictures of our special service and a video we showed highlighting our first year.
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- What a group!
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- Happy about what God has done
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- Preaching the Word
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- We are out of space! (In fact, they told me about 30 adults and 22 kids were outside this room)
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- Lifting high the name of Jesus
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- One of our men always stands out front and passes out tracts before and after the service
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- Kids having fun in their service
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- Say cheese!
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- One of our members had a special cake made with photos from all last year.
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- Grill team working hard
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- Ready to pass out a tasty meal
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- Yum!
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Please pray for us in the days ahead. As you can see, we have run out of space, but praise the Lord, we were able to rent another larger building just around the block. Construction work is underway to adapt the building to our needs and get it ready for move in by the end of the month. Our people are very excited and all are pitching in to see Christ’s church expand and his Name lifted high.
The church has given sacrificially toward the many expenses of moving, but there are a few major things we would still like to purchase and we only lack the funds, namely a permanent baptistry and kitchen installations. If you would like to give a one-time gift toward these needs, you can send a check marked for us to our mission agency, Macedonia, or you can give online here. If you plan to give toward a specific need, write us a note to make sure it goes toward the right project.
Thank you so much for your prayers and support. God has blessed, and much fruit has been added to your account. Great days are ahead!
Report on the “Bless a Colombian Child” Christmas Project
Thank you for blessing a Colombian Child this Christmas!
What an amazing time we had on December 20th with the children and families of Café Madrid, a poor community on the outskirts of our city of Bucaramanga Colombia. Our church, Iglesia Bíblica Bautista El Faro jumped in and participated in an amazing way. Dozens of people here collectively spent hundreds of hours preparing food, gifts, logistics and more to make the day a success.
And what a success it was!
We had 157 children sign up who had already been attending our Bible club program on Saturdays. These came, and brought people with them! We were expecting around 200, and God blessed us with over 250 people! Gifts were given, songs were sung, snacks were snacked upon and the Message of Christmas was preached. We thank the Lord for several who made professions of faith, receiving the BEST gift of Christmas, the salvation offered by Jesus Christ.
Please enjoy this video we put together of the special day:
Thank you to those who gave online to this need. It was a help to us as we were able to bless many children who may not have had a Christmas otherwise. We are constantly seeing lives changed in this neighborhood. Pray that God continues to work, and pray for us as we wait upon His timing to officially begin a church here!
If you would like to give toward future projects like this one, you can send a check to our mission agency, Macedonia World Baptist Missions, Inc. (PO BO 519 Braselton, GA 30517), or online, here.
May God bless. Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!
Another fantastic and crazy week in Colombia!
Week in Review – September 30, 2014
Hello, and welcome to another week in review. We thank the Lord for the time he gives us to serve him in Bucaramanga, Colombia, and for you who pray for us and support us financially!
Ministry News
- We had quite the scare in our church on Sunday between our English and Spanish service. As people were arriving, one of our young man, Jhon desired to speak to me about something for a few minutes. This is one who just told me a week ago that God has given him a desire & calling for ministry. Well, during our conversation, he began to have massive seizures. Our people from church came in and were working with him, and contacting doctor friends and his family. We took him to a hospital and got his seizures under control. He spent the night there, but seems to be recovered now, and back on the right medications.
- Needless to say, we missed our 2nd service. However, we didn’t miss an opportunity to serve! During our hours-long wait in the hospital, I was able to spend that time with 4 of our men, discussing our great God and his Word and purpose for our lives. My wife stayed back at the church with most of the ladies. I think this event has strengthened our people.
- Please pray with me for both Jhon and his family. They are not believers, but we are praying that even through this situation that they will see the love we have one for another and surrender their lives also to Jesus.
- We thank the Lord for the growth we’ve seen in the church lately with new visitors in our services as well as new people plugging in to discipleship and serving. It’s amazing to be a part of God’s work!
Family News
- I was able to feel our little girl kick for the first time this week! Aubrie is just over 19 weeks along… Almost halfway there!
- We’re in the process of name picking. Since we happened to end up with all A names, we don’t want this one to be left out. Any ideas?
- We are hoping to purchase a vehicle this month, Lord willing. We are at a point now where it is needful, both for family and for ministry. Instead of a small car, we would like something that could carry 7 or more passengers for use in the church. Used vehicles are not cheap here, but we know that our God is able. Will you pray with us about this need? If you would like to give toward this cause, we would appreciate it greatly! Anything helps!
An event to consider
- This week I want to highlight a special ministry of our sending church, Lighthouse Baptist Church in Dawsonville, GA. For the past 3 years, they have done a special End Times walk-through drama called Hell’s Gates. It has been a huge evangelistic success. Tens of thousands of locals as well as church groups have come through and seen a clear biblical depiction of the end times and the plan of salvation. If you are within a few hours of Atlanta, I’d encourage you to check out their website to buy tickets or to get more info!
Think On These Things
- We’ve been walking through and studying the book of John as a church. It’s amazing to see how each message has been meeting the needs of our people. Here is a passage we dug into this week. Maybe it will challenge you as it did us…
- 45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me. … 51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. [John 6:45-51]
- Jesus gave his flesh for the life of the world, but they must hear! All it takes to receive eternal life is to believe on Jesus, but how will they ever believe unless they’ve never heard?! As Romans 10:17 clearly states in the context of this thought, “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” As we lift up the Word, God does the work of drawing men unto him and saving. Are you actively concerned about helping others individuals, people groups, and cultures hear?
The Vance Family 