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Entering the Story

August 19, 2023 in Missions by Dave | Permalink

We’re just back from a whirlwind trip by air and land to the south of Mexico and through America’s heartland. We began by boarding a plane in Mexico City to travel to the Latin America Caribbean (LAC) Retreat. This event, which took place from July 24th to 28th, gathered over 580 people from the entire region for rest and renewal. As area hosts, Kelly and I helped coordinate logistics for the event which also served to kick off LAC’s new advocacy campaign: “Enter the Story.”

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“Enter the Story” is a product of the team led by Caribbean Area Directors, David and Kristen Speer. It presents three major blocks of the people of LAC: Unreached People Groups, the Emerging Generation, and the Urban Masses as largely unengaged by the gospel narrative. During the retreat, each Area Director presented a 5-minute window, highlighting the plight of an individual representing these groups. Kelly and I presented the story of Blanca, a member of the Urban Masses living in Mexico City.

In Blanca’s message to us via Network211, she spoke of her desperation, tired of trying to make ends meet. We responded to her with the hope of the gospel, but her access to an example of it is limited. While the most she’d have to walk to fill her stomach at a taco stand is four blocks, the journey to feed her soul in an Assembly of God church may take over 11 miles. In this city of 583 square miles, the Assemblies of God has only 52 churches–there are 1.6 million taco stands.

Following the LAC Retreat, we traveled stateside to Columbus, OH to be a part of the team to assemble and unveil the new interactive LAC exhibit which featured the stories of LAC’s unengaged at General Council ’23 (GC23), our fellowship’s national conference. During our time there, we served as “Story Influencers,” helping visitors understand the messages and encouraging them to respond.

Thank you for your prayers and support! As you help us to “Enter the Story” of LAC’s unengaged, you’re “Changing the Narrative.”

Photo Captions:

  1. Over 580 people gathered in Mexico July 24th-28th for the LAC Regional Retreat, “Reignite.” We were a part of the team coordinating logistics for the event. 
  2. For the roll out of the “Enter the Story” advocacy campaign, we prepared and presented a 5-minute window during the LAC Retreat.
  3. We served with fellow global workers as “Story Influencers” during GC23. Here we’re pictured in the LAC exhibit with Bill and Joy Wilson from the Oregon Ministry Network.  

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Turning to Training (on a Bigger Stage)

July 8, 2023 in Ministry, Missions by Dave | Permalink

We’re back in Mexico City! We’ve recently returned from our trip to Springfield, MO, the second part of which was dedicated to Missionary Training and Renewal.

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As we reported in our last newsletter, Dave was asked to join the Global Resource Training Team (GRTT) to help teach the Bible in Ministry Competency (BiM) to all candidate missionaries and missionary associates across the Assemblies of God World Missions (AGWM) organization. During his participation, Dave led the group through an exercise to facilitate an appreciation of the Bible as an ancient book and the need to understand the context of its original audience to hear and correctly apply its timeless message today. BiM is a work in progress and Dave will be meeting with the team in August to further develop the competency for future training sessions.

This installment of Missionary Training saw 155 missionaries and associates trained and commissioned to serve throughout the world. Among them were new global workers destined for Mexico. Joey and Gabi Ross are appointed missionaries headed to Aguascalientes, and Fausto and Debbie Martinez are missionary associates headed to Tijuana. They are an answer to prayer as we continue to ask the Lord to send more workers (Luke 10:2)!

The last week of June was dedicated to Missionary Renewal. This is a special time when veteran missionaries from all over the world join with the candidates to seek the Lord in worship and prayer. It was marked by powerful services with challenging messages as well as wonderful moments of fellowship. During the week, we welcomed Cory and Angela Hogan, veteran missionaries to university students in Guanajuato.

As we reflect on our time in the States, we can’t help but be grateful for your prayers and support that enable us to serve in this leadership capacity. Thank you for standing with us!

Photo captions:

  1. Dave had his first participation as a member of the GRTT, teaching a portion of the BiM competency to all new AGWM global workers.
  2. Joey and Gabi Ross (center) are new workers headed to Aguascalientes. Cory and Angela Hogan (left) are veterans who were on hand for Missionary Renewal.
  3. Debbie and Fausto Martinez are new associates destined for Tijuana.

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Serving as Signposts

June 6, 2023 in Ministry, Missions by Dave | Permalink

Our daughter, Rebekah, was married on May 27th. It was a beautiful celebration of her union with her new husband, Luke Balch, and the beginning of a new chapter for the Godzwa family. But it was also an opportunity to reflect on the role that we play in all of our relationships.

Luke and Rebekah were wed on May 27th. Their lives are a beautiful example of those who respond to the love of God.

In my comments during the reception, after extolling the qualities of the happy couple, I asked the question, “How have they (Rebekah and Luke) arrived at this place of mutual appreciation and love, at this point of union and expectation for their future together?”

Answering that question, I continued, “As their parents, family, and friends, we’d like to take the credit, for our encouragement, our example, our investment, or our wise and constant counsel, and, yes, we’ve all played a part, contributed as they say our granito de arena. But I, for one, would say that, as a dad, my gaffs probably far outweigh my grace and my failings far outstrip my successes.

However, what I do believe we’ve done successfully in their lives is to serve as signposts, pointing to a higher love, a more perfect example, a richer investment, and a wiser counsel, things each of them has found in the person of Jesus. I believe the reason that Luke and Rebekah have arrived here ready to give themselves one to another is that they first gave themselves to Him.”

Granito de arena is a Spanish phrase that means grain of sand. And in essence, whether our relationships are personal or professional, that is the weight of our influence. Paul says it this way, “It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow.”* Although we make our best effort, even living in foreign lands, our work is only important inasmuch as it serves as a signpost. As we draw near to the people we love and serve, the best we can do is point them, through that love and service, to the only One who can truly save.

The Bible refers to the role as “image bearer,” an angled mirror, reflecting God’s heart to his creation.** It is only as others see the light of that love, shining through us, yes, but originating from God, that they are able to experience their own transformation.

We’re glad to say that Rebekah and Luke have experienced such a transformation, and we give God credit for the work He’s done. We’re also grateful for your support as we draw near to the people of Mexico, serving as signposts of God’s saving love.

Note: this post is just a portion of what we share in our quarterly newsletter. If you’d like more information from the Godzwas or would like to print this update, take a look at the full PDF version of our quarterly newsletter or, better still, sign up to receive our newsletters direct to your inbox!

*1 Cor. 3:7 **NT Wright, “Being an Image Bearer“, Biologos.com, 2013.

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I’d Rather Have Miracles Than Money!

March 8, 2023 in Missions by Dave | Permalink

Just south of the double-row fence line that marks the US-Mexican border, Art Stoneking, one of the 24 missionaries with whom we collaborate in Mexico, is driving us in his white Dodge pickup. We’re headed out of the coastal city of Tijuana, Baja California, to the Monte de Dios Children’s Home, where he and his wife Joyce have labored to rescue, redeem, and raise children born into impossible circumstances.

Art and Joyce Stoneking, in front of the Monte de Dios Children’s Home that they direct in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico

As we weave through the traffic, trying to avoid the potholes on the poorly patched road,  Art tells the unlikely story of their arrival in Mexico, a place where he vacationed as a child and partied as a soldier. Their journey took them on a circuitous path from Southern California through Arizona and some brushes with the law before they recommitted their lives to the Lord and dedicated themselves to service in the local church. It was there that the Lord called them to be missionaries.

They began their missionary career working with church planter and builder, David Godwin. Serving as his associates, they ran logistics for teams and helped with construction, but what captivated them was their work with the children.

And in that work with children, Art and Joyce have truly lived out the counsel, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all of your might.” (Ecc. 9:10) As we drove further into the Mexican countryside, Art told stories of healing and provision. Admitting that they lacked professional experience and sufficient funding to run a children’s home, they’ve provided a safe, loving environment for dozens of kids, giving back the nutrition, education, and opportunities that their desperate circumstances had taken from them. The smiling faces that greeted them as we arrived at the home both from the children gathered in the living room and the photos of the graduates of their program are testimonies to the Lord’s faithfulness and their perseverance over more than 26 years of missionary ministry.

After telling us a story of how the Lord intervened in the lives of infant twins at death’s door that they nursed back to health, Art let out a sigh and exclaimed, “I’d rather have miracles than money!” Now in their seventies and closing in on retirement, their 403B may not impress many, but their investment in the children of Mexico continues to produce eternal dividends.

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Help We Never Knew We Needed

February 10, 2023 in Day2Day, Ministry, Missions by Dave | 2 comments

The Area Director is a unique position from which to observe behavior, both our own and that of the missionaries that we serve. From this vantage point, I’ve come to realize two things: we’re incredibly resourceful and remarkably independent, often to a fault.

Let me explain: we take it upon ourselves to hustle. I’ve heard it repeatedly said: “pray as though it all depends on God, and work as though it all depends on you.” We take this mentality into every stage of ministry. And, although it often leads to tremendous productivity, it can also lead to tremendous amounts of stress. We take it upon ourselves to see that the job is finished, inevitably ending in self-judgment when we fail to measure up to our own expectations.

We’re signaling our availability to lend a hand. Kaixin? She just wants a place to nap!

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not writing this to complain about a lack of support in our organization. On the contrary, Assemblies of God World Missionaries are among the best supported in the world. But it’s often our own pioneering mentality that keeps us from taking advantage of the resources at our disposal.

A recent conversation brought this tendency into full view. As we met with a colleague about another issue, we came to find out that this particular missionary was injured, but, despite the risk of further injury, was single-handedly attempting to accomplish a labor-intensive task. We stopped the conversation then and there and offered our help, help unlooked for, but gladly received. 

Of course, as we point the finger at another, we find that there are three pointing back at us. We ourselves aren’t immune to this determination to try to “tough it out.” I remember one occasion, attending a national event, having received news that Kelly had broken her foot, it took the strong encouragement of my mentor missionaries for me to make plans to return early and not leave my wife alone, on one leg, struggling to manage three children on the mission field.

Understanding this tendency, we’ve made it a priority to make ourselves available. By publishing our calendar and distributing it to the missionaries that we serve, they know when we are free to give them our full attention. By scheduling a weekly time of prayer, we’ve let them know that when they are weak they have an open invitation to receive moral and spiritual support, and when they are strong they have an opportunity to give it to someone else.

We know, these are but small moves in the grand scheme of supporting these highly-motivated and highly-capable global workers, but we feel that these are just the open doors that those who never thought to knock just might find themselves walking through. Thanks for your support which enables us to be there for them when they choose to do so.

Frustrating but Productive Experiences

October 8, 2022 in Devotional, Ministry, Missions by Dave | Permalink

Instead of a response, silence. Instead of answers, questions. These are disappointing and often frustrating outcomes, but can they also be a means of growth? In our study of Emotionally Healthy Spirituality (EHS) and in our interactions at the World Assemblies of God Fellowship (WAGF) Missions Congress in Medellin, Colombia, we’ve discovered that, often, they can be.

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As Pentecostals, we’re accustomed to expression, but a word spoken to God is not the only method to meet with God. In fact, there are times when God chooses silence to express his presence (1 Kings 19:11-13). In EHS, in addition to working through the content and engaging in discussion, the men of the Mexico Missionary Fellowship (MMF) are leaning into the silence, making it a daily discipline to turn off the noise and so facilitating growth through an alternative experience with God. 

At the WAGF Missions Congress, we joined with hundreds of delegates from around the world who gathered to mobilize to see the worldwide Assemblies of God movement surpass the 1 million church mark by 2033, the two-thousandth anniversary of the Church. It was an exciting time. However, during the workshop led by missionary, Ed Nye, that Dave translated, we were also confronted by a sobering reality: our normal ways of planting the church are largely ineffective among the 3.2 billion unreached, who are increasingly put off or put at risk by traditional forms of evangelism. 

The temptation is to look for easy answers to our problem, ready-made methods that can generate quick results. Often, though, the answers that we provide are answers to questions that no one is asking. Ed Nye suggested that sometimes the unreached remain so not because we are lacking answers but because we are not asking the right questions.

Silence. Questions. Perhaps they’re not what we want but exactly what we need to see both personal and corporate growth. Thanks for your support, which gives us the opportunity to lead others into these frustrating but often productive experiences.

  1. Dave is facilitating the Emotionally Healthy Spirituality program for the men of the MMF.
  2. We were on hand to participate in the 6th WAGF Missions Congress in Medellin, Colombia.
  3. At the congress, Dave translated for Ed Nye in his workshop about reaching the unreached. 

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Go West Young Man…

September 20, 2022 in Mexico, Ministry, Missions, Progress by Dave | Permalink

…is a saying attributed to Horace Greely who in 1865 encouraged youth to seek opportunity on America’s frontier. It is also a song sung by Michael W Smith who in 1990 encouraged youth to flee evil, often represented in the Bible as lying to or coming from the east. But for us, “Go West” is what we did to experience some of what’s happening in el Distrito Occidente (the Western District).

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This was our first time visiting the district, which is comprised of the states of Jalisco, Colima, and parts of Michoacán. The drive there was certainly a beautiful one, but what put a smile on our faces was seeing the work being carried out by veteran missionaries Rich and Jenni DeMartino and Ernie and Sandra Peacock and their partners.

Restoration on the coast: our first stop was at the coastal community of Melaque. There, Ernie and Dave toured the Bible School Nuevas de Gran Gozo and were on hand for their graduation ceremonies. Ernie and Sandra hope to renovate the Bible school facilities and reinvigorate the program that seeks to catalyze ministry in this needy area.  

Reconciliation in the north: our next visit was with national workers, Alberto and Ruth (second photo), who are working among the Huicholes of northern Jalisco. We had the opportunity to hear how they are using business as mission (BAM) ideas to draw near to a people who, in 2016 expelled all Christians, and how the Peacocks hope to further resource their efforts. 

Rescue in the city center: we finalized our trip in Guadalajara where the DeMartinos’ ministry of compassion has been feeding hundreds since the start of the pandemic. There, we joined a team from Pittsfield, MA, to help distribute food, pray for the sick, and speak words of hope (third photo). Rich and Jenni look to purchase a permanent home for this ministry while they are also planting a church in Chapala.

Thanks for enabling us to “Go West” to encourage and support these efforts!

Note: this post is just a portion of what we share in our quarterly newsletter. If you’d like more information from the Godzwas or would like to print this update, take a look at the full PDF version of our quarterly newsletter or, better still, sign up to receive our newsletters direct to your inbox!

Photo Captions:

  1. Dave and Ernie Peacock praying for the graduates of “Nuevas de Gran Gozo” in Melaque, Jalisco
  2. Alberto and Ruth, workers among the Huicholes, in front of their ministry center, built with an innovative technique they’re teaching to locals as a BAM initiative
  3. Dave and Pastor Dave, from the Pittsfield team, speaking in downtown Guadalajara

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What’s Happening in Oaxaca (wah-HAH-kah)?

August 13, 2022 in Ministry, Missions by Dave | Permalink

Actually, a lot! First-term missionaries, Noah and Melanie Lane are training indigenous pastors. Mexicans are preparing for international missions service, and brand new opportunities to pray, give, and go are opening up!

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2. Noah Lane leading worship at CAMAD
3. Dave speaking at CAMAD graduation
4. Iliana, one of our former students from Mérida, now a CAMAD student

We’ve just returned from our second visit to Oaxaca. This time, we road-tripped from Mexico City to be on hand for the graduation of 11 students from the missions training center, CAMAD (Centro de Adiestramiento de Misiones de las Asambleas de Dios). The event marked the culmination of the training of a new group of global workers, prepared to face the challenges of making disciples in this post-pandemic world. Dave spoke during the graduation, reminding them that their call was first to be with Jesus, the one who was sending them to make disciples.

The ceremonies also included the inauguration of CAMAD’s new facilities as incoming students prepare to take classes and reside for the first time on grounds exclusively dedicated for training in cross-cultural service. A special treat was seeing one of our former students from the Bible School in Mérida, Iliana, among them.

Simultaneously, Noah Lane was participating with other faculty of the Bible Institute for the training of indigenous ministers, IBEM (Instituto Bíblico para las Etnias Mexicanas) in special classes to prepare them for their 2022-2023 school year. This school is opening up ministerial training to many who were unable to attend traditional Bible Institutes due to barriers of language or distance. In April of this year, Noah and Melanie opened a new extension of IBEM in Teponaxtla where 10 students are studying.

Yes, there are some pretty exciting things happening in Oaxaca and you can be a part!

  • First, you can pray! Pray for the students and faculty of CAMAD and IBEM.
  • Second, you can give. CAMAD is in construction! Their academic and administrative building is taking shape. Use the link, http://s1.ag.org/137r, to navigate to our giving page and select “40” under “Advanced Giving Options” to help advance the work.
  • Finally, you can go! While in Oaxaca we met with the directors of the grade school, Centro Educativo Vida Nueva. They are looking for college graduates to help direct their students through their Bible-based, English curriculum. It’s an impactful way to give a year and pray about a lifetime of service in missions. Follow this link, http://s1.ag.org/oaxaca, to find out more!

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A Journey of 1557 Miles…

June 11, 2022 in Devotional, Missions by Dave | Permalink

…begins with a single step.

Long trips are daunting. Not only is the distance a concern, but there’s the element of the unknown as well. How much time will it take? What route will we follow? What will we encounter along the way? Trying to answer all of these questions at once is overwhelming, but as we take one step at a time, planning, packing, and traveling the distance, we eventually reach our destination.

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This was our road trip experience, May 25th-26th from Mexico City to Springfield, MO. We traveled those 1,557 miles over 29 hours to be on hand for the first in-person Missionary Training event since 2019. Although we hadn’t driven the road before, we found that preparation, planning, and diligence carried the three of us (Dave, Kelly, and our dog, Kaixin) safely to our journey’s end.

As we enter into these next weeks of training, we find that it is helpful to think of a missionary’s career in these terms. The thought of sharing the gospel and discipling a person from another culture and language group can seem like an impossibility, but as we embrace the process–planning, preparing, and diligently applying ourselves to the lifelong task of entering into the people group that we seek to influence, we find that we make significant progress.

Our task in the coming weeks is to guide a new group of missionaries just beginning their journey of approaching the people groups that they have been called to serve. During that time, we’ll work as facilitators, encouraging them to reflect on the concepts many of them will be considering for the very first time.  We’ll also help them understand how those ideas work in the Latin American Caribbean context where they will labor.

Thanks for your participation in positioning us in support of these global workers at this critical time of formation. Pray for them as they embark on this journey and for us as we continue on ours.

Note: this post is just a portion of what we share in our quarterly newsletter. If you’d like more information from the Godzwas or would like to print this update, take a look at the full PDF version of our quarterly newsletter or, better still, sign up to receive our newsletters direct to your inbox!

Photo Captions:

  1. We enjoyed some incredible views on our trip from Mexico City to Springfield, MO. Unfortunately, photos just don’t do justice to the beauty of Mexico. 
  2. Continuing our journey of formation, we took the Gospel for Secular Peoples course led by our friends Shawn and Deb. Dave’s brother, Mike, joined us for dinner.
  3. The LAC Leadership Team met in Branson in preparation for Missionary Training.

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We’ve Arrived!

October 9, 2021 in Mexico, Missions, Progress by Dave | Permalink

Since July of 2019, we have been looking forward to saying that phrase. Although we took on our role as Area Directors at that time, there was an anticipation of the day when our leadership would not be remote, when we would actually be living in the country of Mexico. That anticipation took us through our year of itineration until June of 2020 and sustained us during the pandemic that seemed to swallow up the months that followed. Finally, however, we can say, “We’ve arrived in Mexico City!”

Yes, on September 28th, at 6:00 AM, we were met by members of our small group from Central Assembly of God to help us check in our five action packers, our dog, and ourselves to American Airlines flight 3822. Then, after some tough good-byes to our kids, we were on our way by 8:22 AM and on the ground in Mexico City by 1:00 PM. A trip of 1,435 miles in half a day!

Early morning goodbyes in Springfield, MO and Parque Alameda del Sur, Fuente de los Coyotes, Coyoacán, Cuidad de México

Now, if you’ve followed our ministry for the past few years, you may have noticed a change of venue for us in Mexico. For 13 years, our base of operations was the city of Merida on the Yucatan peninsula. Now, however, because of our role as area directors, we’ve relocated to Mexico City, home to a population of 9.2 million in the city proper and 21.8 million in the greater metropolitan area. It’s also strategic for us as it is the location of the national offices of the Assemblies of God of Mexico, a direct flight to any of our missionaries throughout the country, and an international travel hub.

We’re living in Coyoacan (translated from the Nahuatl language as “place of the coyotes”), a neighborhood south of the city center that was the original capital of Hernan Cortez’s governorship of New Spain and the home of creatives such as Octavio Paz, the author of the Labyrinth of Solitude, and artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo. From our location, we’re roughly a 4-mile walk from the Floating Gardens of Xochimilco to the east and a 10k away from the nation’s largest university, UNAM, where over 350,000 students attend classes.

We’re excited to be starting this new chapter of our lives and ministry, but our arrival is not without its share of challenges, like our adaptation to life in the big city now as empty nesters or our kids’ abrupt entrance into adulthood. Still, we know that with your prayers and continued support, we’ll not only survive but thrive in this new role and new setting.

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