Mission to the Americas

Serving Ministries and Missions in Latin America

Missional Evangelism Class in Panama

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Part of our vision is equipping churches to do the work of evangelism.

Here in Panama, there is a mission institute that is focused on helping churches move from an attraction only methodology (based on personal invitation to church and member retention work) to a missional focus of both local community service AND global missions.

PAAM (Panama Alcanzado Al Mundo – Panama reaching the world) has developed a fixed course of study.  Churches send members to the school where they learn through several Saturday seminars and other conferences when they become available.

On this given Saturday, I had about 10 students from many different churches.

Part of the missional work of the church is to share our faith while we are serving the community.

Historically, this is where many churches have missed the mark.  Either the church is not serving the community, or it IS serving the community but not proclaiming their faith. They are just another social service group no different than other non-profits.

I taught a Saturday seminar on personal evangelism while serving the commnunity, stressing

  • The personal journey to faith
  • God’s sovereignty over this process
  • How to recognize the prompting of the Holy Spirit
  • How this can be used in various different models of evangliesm.

The class lasted about 4 hours.

The comments I received all indicated to me that while some of my concepts were not new (like the process of relationship evangelism), how they applied to the missional work of the church was new.

Join us in prayer that this will lead to follow up workshops next year.

(There are no photos of the class. . . )

Teaching Missional Leaders in Panama

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Next Saturday, I’ll be teaching in a local mission school, PAAM.

This is an outgrowth of the Comibam conference I attended several months ago where missionary leaders from 28 countries gathered to discuss missions.

I will have 16 students from 10 different churches, who are taking a series of classes on the missional church.  I’ve been asked to focus specifically on personal evangelism while engaging the community.

I invite you to join me in prayer this week for this class.

Prayerwalking through Panama Viejo with Young Life

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On a recent day in June, our team did another prayer walk through one of the high risk communities in Panama City Panama.

We joined two leaders from Panama’s branch of Young Life who walked us around and explained the various different sites.

Panama Viejo

Prayerwalking Panama Viejo

Panama Viejo is a historical area of the city of Panama.  The Spanish first settled this area as a stopping point for all the gold coming out of South America, where it was hauled across the isthmus and put on a boat to Spain.

A British pirate sacked and burned the city and all that is left are some stone monuments from its churches, one of which has become a national symbol of Panama.

At Risk Community

But around the historical ruins that attract tourist from around the world lies a community that is at high risk.

Drugs are traded on street corners.  Gangs fight for control.

As we walked the community with our guides from Young Life, kids play in the street.  Music blares from speakers within various houses.  Houses and shacks in various states of repair or disrepair line the narrow streets.  Chickens squak and dogs bark as we walk by.

It’s very different world than suburban USA or even the high dollar area of the city that I live in.

As we followed our guides from Young Life, two police officers stopped us and warned us of the risk of being off the tourist trail.  A taxi driver hollered that we needed a police escort to get back to the safe area.

One of the Young Life leaders is a former gang member from the neighborhood.  His best friend was killed by a rival gang.  Having given his life to the Lord, he’s studied youth psychology with a specialty in working with high risk youth.

Our Young Life leaders greet different teenagers as we walk.  These are the kids that Young Life Panama wants to reach.  I see the passion of these leaders to reach teenagers with the gospel.  I see their desire to connect and earn the right to be heard.

Prayer Walking

We spent about one hour walking their community, praying for the various areas on our journey.  Each spot they shared with me had

  • some significance to the ministry,
  • a particular call to prayer,
  • a reminder of events that will happen or have happened.

Prayer Stop #1

We began this prayer walk in one of the chapel ruins of Panama Viejo, a place where Bible Studies are held in the open air.

Bible studies are basic: what does it say, what does it mean, and how can you apply what it says.  Young Life Panama is introducing kids to personal Bible study, beginning at the most basic of levels.

Prayer Stop #2

We moved on to the gym where club meetings are held.

Young Life Panama has started holding their club meetings in this gym.

We took the time to pray for Young Life’s

  • contact work,
  • their clubs, and
  • that local churches would partner with them in their work.

Prayer Stop #3

We finished at the soccer field, an artificial turf surface where some kids were practicing their skills.

The Young Life team is working to build relationships with kids at this field.  The leaders of Young Life introduced me to several of the kids who were goofing around on the field that day.

With Eyes Wide Open

As we walked the Panama Viejo neighborhood with eyes wide open, it didn’t take much to hear and see the community need.

As I listened to the heart of these Young Life leaders, it’s clear they have gotten God’s compassionate heart for the area.  These leaders have the passion, the heart, and the calling to reach out into this community.  They are spending themselves in that community, looking to reach kids for Christ.

It’s a privilege to walk along side of them and encourage them in their ministry.

Another One for the Kingdom of God

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It was the final outreach.

One last effort in the park to do basic contact evangelism through skits, drama, and a short preaching, followed up by conversations with interested individuals.

It almost didn’t happen.

The team tried to invite people to the area, but there was little visible results at the appointed hour.

Just before getting started, the park security forces sent Brenda on a search for a piece of paper from the close park office.

The weather was not cooperating, with the sound of thunder in the distance.

Our chosen spot was a playground area for small children, but tucked away from the main entrance – few families were around.

Discouraged, I almost called it a day.

We even talked with the team leader and were ready to quit when. . .

That nudge of the Spirit

I got that gentle nudge of the Spirit that warned me not to quit.  Rather, I can say the Spirit of God gave me an instant and fresh awareness that he was working.

Quickly, we sent the team out to invite nearby people to the drama spot in the next 5 minutes.

People came, including a mom with a child under 5, who happened to be walking by at the right time.

I invited her to stay and watch our presentation.

She did.   I saw tears in her eyes as the Spirit of God spoke to her through the drama, the mimes, and the story given by our pastor.  The whole presentation was less than 10 minutes.

The fruit of God’s advance work

She talked with our speaker afterwards.  During that conversation, she gave her life to the Lord, making that tearful prayer of surrender.

On Sunday, she joined us for church, and is making steps to connect with a small group for women.

Our presentation almost never made the light of day.  Yet in paying attention to the working of the Spirit, we went on and someone’s eternity was changed.

God loves Me But Jesus Doesn’t

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During last week’s mission outreach, we visited a local private elementary school.

We thank God the rain stopped shortly before our arrival so that we could do the program in the outdoors.

Brenda led the team who put on the assembly for kids aged pre-kinder through 6th grade.

Imagine lots of children

  • wiggling to music,
  • eager to volunteer,
  • quick to point out where the missing sheep is. . .
  • screaming the names of their classmates who are competing in minute to win it type games
  • making crafts about the lost sheep
  • laughing at the comedy skills of the mission team.

Brenda tied it all together with a short talk on

  • how Jesus loves the little children
  • how God loves us
  • how the Lord is our shepherd.

A head turning comment

A young child approached Brenda after the program and dropped this innocent statement on her (not the one pictured):

God loves me, but Jesus doesn’t, at least in my house.

We use this comment as fuel for our prayers, that this child, and others like him / her, may one day discover the grace of Christ.

What’s next.

The immediate impact is impossible to measure in terms of gospel fruit.

However, it is clear that our church built good will with the school and we received a genuine invitation to return to teach again on values.  This will give us a chance to further build relationships with the local school and its adult staff.

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