One of our members and his family are now serving in Medellin Colombia as missionaries. Below is their mission update.
Buddy Williams
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News
from the Williams family, OMS missionaries to Colombia.
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Happy Thanksgiving!
I will thank you, Lord, in front of
all the people.
I will sing your
praises among the nations. Psalms 57:9
Today does not feel like Thanksgiving. In fact, Medellín, Colombia is
business as usual since this is not a holiday here. Our children are in
school, Heather is in Costa Rica for a training event and now finds
herself hunkered down riding out hurricane Otto. Truthfully, we all
miss home and the traditional celebration of gratitude displayed in
joyous over-eating! Nevertheless, Thanksgiving is not only a holiday,
but an attitude and a lifestyle of gratitude. Although we don’t say it
enough, we are truly grateful for all our family and friends. We are
grateful for our many blessings and that we have the incredible fortune
of serving Christ as missionaries. Thank you for praying, for believing
with us and for giving the resources that enable us to serve here.
May God richly bless you and your family on this special day!
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First Mission Conference in 73 Years!
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A historically relevant event took place in Girardota,
Colombia on the 20th and 21st of October: the
first mission conference in the history of the Interamerican
Church of Colombia (IGLEICO). IGLEICO began through OMS
ministries in 1943 and currently is a denomination with about 600
churches in Colombia. The purpose of this event was to challenge
and involve the district leaders of IGLEICO to begin thinking and
engaging globally in the mission of God. In attendance were district
leaders, the leaders of the internal denominational ministries (women,
men, youth and children’s ministries), 7 of the 8 members that
make-up the mission department, President Jonás Pinto and one North
American missionary - me.
The focus of the convention was the role of the local church in the
mission of God and how God’s desire is for the local church to
thrive in its own context and impact the world through global mission
engagement. President Jonás spoke about churches planting churches and
the absolute necessity to reproduce viable and thriving congregations
in new locations. Mission Department head, Wilberto Ruíz,
shared the vision for global mission through IGLEICO and presented
concrete objectives and possible methods that will enable us to reach
the objectives. I (Chris) taught on the mission principles from the
book of Acts and on the local and global impact of the church (using
the church of Antioch as a model).
Rarely do the district leaders travel from their prospective areas of
Colombia to meet for spiritual encouragement and to be challenged.
Normally they gather only once or perhaps twice per year for business
and administrative meetings. They were proud to gather for the express
purpose of discussing missions, but at the same time, confused about
what new programs or requirements may come forth in the conference.
However, at the close of our two days together, it was
evident that they were profoundly touched by what they had heard. One
leader shared, “It
is so easy to get caught up in our own little areas and in the needs of
our churches that we forget the church exists for those who are not in
the church. We are missing our purpose in the world; the purpose for
which Jesus has commissioned us. Mission is not a program of the church
it is the reason we exist.”
Our goal as a mission department is to help local churches become
involved with the ministry needs in their own context, to plant new
churches where there currently are none in Colombia and to engage
globally in missions. The district leaders are the doorway in each
district to the local churches we want to equip. Thankfully, they were
very open and extended the invitation to begin work in all 15
districts of Colombia. It looks like 2017 will be very busy!
With love and gratitude,
The Williams Family
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Copyright © 2016 Chris and Heather Williams, All rights
reserved.
You are receiving this email because you expressed interest in our
ministry.
Our mailing
address is:
Chris and Heather Williams
7256 Self Rd
Pinson, AL 35126
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