But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8 NIV
The world is suffering chaos of Man’s own making.
But there are signs that, locally and at the ends of the earth (to our “First World” thinking), a spiritual resurgence is bringing victory over human suffering. For a week in September, 2025, I went on a “vision” trip in and around Guadalajara, Mexico, to learn and to see firsthand how the gospel of Christ is changing lives for the better. If there is one thing I am taking away from that trip that I would like to share with you, is this: Seeing the power of the gospel bring a thriving church to locate in the middle of a small town square where everyone at first was openly hostile to them, makes me want to step out in faith here in my local community.
There and in other places we visited, we learned that the churches are overcoming opposition from bureaucracy, a lack of resources, their members being shunned for becoming Christians (the catholic church in Mexico is far different than in much of the western hemisphere), and protected from the plots of evil men. Still, God is providing the harvest. After 5 years of refusing to rent space for church, I attended a church’s inaugural Sunday service. At another campus, the vision of a Latino rocker-turned-pastor for a large venue to bring concerts and ministry together, is taking shape. And in other churches, newly ordained local pastors are leading their growing congregations. But in the mountains of Michoacan, an indigenous church near the town of Parecho, is a 18-year story of Faith overcoming all sorts of adversity and even violent opposition.
Through the power of the gospel, we learned from fellow workers you can share your faith unconventionally. In Michoacan, from the pastor’s son, we learned that nothing is impossible for God. They are bringing people to Christ, translating Scripture from Spanish to an oral (unwritten) native language. And they are training indigenous Christians to become pastors, so they can go back into the many isolated mountain villages to share the Gospels with them.
Seeing firsthand how following Jesus and teaching others is changing lives in places much less “comfortable” than my own, the Gospel calls me to action. For Christ to bring Hope, followers of Christ must share the message of the Cross with others we might think are “unwinnable”. As I witnessed so recently, faith in God, prayer and Scripture can turn adversity into opportunity, enemies into Christ’s faithful followers, build strong marriages, and heal people. But we must engage. For the Gospel moves at the speed of relationship.
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