Conversion Experience
I was born January 13, 1979 into a Christian home. My mom tells me that before I was born, she used to pray for a baby boy. She wanted that son to serve the Lord full time. I remember I enjoyed Sunday school as a young child, but then my family backslid from church, and as a teenager I wanted to taste worldly things. I worked as a waiter in a market place and began to make friends with rebel teenagers. I changed from that model obedient young child to a rebel violent son and student.
We began to go back to the church my mom used to attend. In spite of my rebellious attitude, my mom forced me to attend with them. I remember the first time I went back I mocked at the people there and was very rude. The pastor of that church presented me the gospel invitation, but I did not accept it. I knew that if I were to die I would have gone to hell. My prayer after the pastor talked to me was, “Lord, please don’t kill me yet; allow me to get saved first!” Then on January 28, 1996, as Pastor Benigno Portuguez preached on Lazarus’ resurrection story, I could resist no longer, and I gave in and got saved.
Calling and Preparation
As a young Christian influenced by the world, I still had some issues of rebellion in me. Although I became very involved in the ministries in church and began to have a small fire inside me that was calling me to serve him, I was not deciding to obey it. Perhaps I did not want to understand it. But I was struggling with not being in total submission to my parents in some areas. God had to put me through a serious accident where I almost lost one of my legs. Not too long after I had this accident, there was a youth camp meeting at a church close to my house, and although I was disabled, I attended. The Lord spoke to me as the preacher preached on “Give Me a Man” based on I Samuel 17 with the story of David and Goliath. I surrendered that day and later began to pray for the right Bible institute to attend. God brought me to Maranatha Bible Institute in San Luis Potosí. During my third year in Bible institute, I began to pray for two places where I could start a church- Guadalajara and Mexico City.
The Field
By my fourth year in the institute, as I kept praying, God opened the door for me to start a work in Mexico City.
Mexico City, Mexico
Mexico consists of 31 states and one federal district. Spanish is the official language, but one million Mexicans speak other indigenous languages. The population is approximately 105 million and grows by 1.8 million yearly. Mexico’s climate varies from dry desert wasteland conditions in the north to rainy, tropical conditions in the southeast and a mild climate in the central plateau.
Mexico City , with approximately 20 million inhabitants, is home to nearly a quarter of the country’s population. It far exceeds any other area of the country in economic, cultural and political importance. Half of the city lies in the Federal District, with the outlying parts of the city in the states of Mexico and Morelos. It is a city full of people, blinded by empty religion and lost without the Gospel.
The Roman Catholic Church has been deeply etched into all areas of Mexican life. Ninety percent of all Mexicans profess Roman Catholicism. It was present in Mexico from the first days of the Spanish Conquest. Throughout the country’s history, the Catholic Church has been the main unifying force of society. Many facets of Mexico’s Catholic Church come from native forms of worship as old gods were identified with saints and included in the Catholic religion. The most potent symbol of Mexican Catholicism is the Virgin of Guadalupe, a manifestation of the Virgin Mary who reportedly appeared on a hill near Mexico City in 1531.
Mexican people are searching for the truth and are open to the Gospel, but groups of American cults such as Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, and Seventh-Day Adventists have gained millions of converts in the spiritually dry hearts of the people.
Thousands are saved each year as Bible-believing preachers tell them of the love of Christ. Pilot American missionaries, with established works, are training nationals in the ministry of the Gospel. National missionaries are sent out by the hundreds each year to win souls in cities, towns, and villages.
Global Church Planters desires to financially help these national missionaries (we call them Pioneers) start thousands of churches in Mexico.
