Im BAAAACK!!!

Hello all. I have decided to start blogging again in an effort to get the word out to everyone about a very exciting opportunity that I have coming up this August. I will be going on a 7 day mission trip with a team of 17 other people to Guatemala City, Guatemala. While there, we will be working with two missionaries already serving God in that area. I am thrilled to meet these people, experience their culture and show God’s love to them.

While there we will be involved in many ministry related activities at the Shalom Baptist Church, such as helping work with children and youth, and assisting the women’s and adult ministries.

I will be blogging about the events that lead up to this trip and about the experiences I have while I am there. I hope that you will follow along and enjoy with me.

Here is a little bit of the history of the Shalom Baptist Church that I know so far...
Shalom Baptist Church was founded by Pastor Alvaro Perdomo Sosa in 1991. It was the vision of Pastor Perdomo and about a dozen or more people to start a church in zone 18 in Guatemala City to glorify God and meet the spiritual and physical needs of the community.

While today Shalom is the largest, fastest-growing Baptist Church in Guatemala, her beginnings were very meager. This was Alvaro’s first pastorate, and most of the congregation had never been in any leadership role. Before officially forming a church, this group met and prayed for months to see if this was really God’s design for them.

On their next scheduled home Bible study, they decided that if they had 10 in attendance, then it was God’s will for them to become a church. If not, then they would accept His will and look for another ministry in which they could be involved. When the meeting began, they only had a handful of people. Then, as it often does in Guatemala the power went out, so they went outside to sing and pray. It was reaching nearly midnight, and the group was ready to accept that God was closing their doors. During their final prayer, a couple arrived who had been lost and searching for the Bible study for hours. With eleven in attendance, God confirmed their calling and Shalom’s doors would never be in danger of closing again.

Early in their formation, God also opened doors and created a vision to work with children and youth. Due to malnutrition, lack of health care and low life expectancy, Guatemala is young country with over 50% of the population being 18 years old or younger. On one Sunday service, Shalom had made sandwiches to feed the congregation when worship ended. A few children walked by and inquired about the food. Shalom told them, “You can have one sandwich now, or you can come back with a friend and receive two.” This was the start of Shalom’s children’s ministry which would later develop into our Christian school, our after-school Carpenter’s Kids program, Children’s Church, nursery, Engadi youth ministry, Fusion young adult ministry, Karate ministry, children’s medical partnerships with Vanderbilt and other hospitals, and a host of other programs touching the lives of young people.

Today, Shalom is a 24/7-type of ministry with thousands participating or being touched by our ministries on a weekly basis. In her 10th year, Shalom Baptist School has an average of 750 students. Our medical and dental clinics see 300-350 daily. Our after-school programs and evening worship services serve hundreds in the community. As of April 2008, our ministries have witnessed nearly 400 people accept the Lord as their personal Savior since the first of the year. We are proud, not of what we’ve accomplished, but that our Lord has chosen to use Shalom to reach, heal and save his people.

Shalom, though very blessed, is not without her challenges. Most of our congregation is well below the poverty line, and as many as 70% of our families are single-parent homes. We deal with gang threats, drugs, abuse and other serious social and family issues that make ministry seem impossible at times. With great obstacles and few resources, God continues to work and provide in one of Guatemala’s most needy communities.

Stay tuned for more...