In this report, I have the joyful opportunity to tell you about the ways that God is answering your prayers for Oxapampa. Already in the first weeks of this new year, the Lord has responded to prayer for opportunities to encourage other churches to be active in the work of missions and evangelism. I was asked to preach to two churches gathered in one building up in the mountains, and I taught on the urgency of evangelism. This town is called Maria Teresa and is in the community of Pusapno. It was a small meeting in terms of numbers but it was a great meeting in terms of the resolutions that came out of it.
These two congregations in the mountains saw the importance of committing themselves to the work of making disciples. In particular, the pastor of one of the congregations, Jaime, testified about how the Holy Spirit had exhorted his heart through the preaching to be more active in evangelism. He resolved to devote himself, along with his congregation, to more seriously commit themselves to the cause of the gospel.
Jaime asked me if I would help them by teaching them how to evangelize. At first, he was thinking more about strategies and methods regarding how to talk to people. However, I told him that the problem was not so much how we speak, but what we speak. That is, the doctrine is more important than the method. I showed him that the Bible emphasizes the doctrinal aspect of the content of the gospel more than the practical aspect of strategies and methods in announcing the gospel. Pastor Jaime understood and agreed with the two congregations that this was the great need that they had—to better understand the gospel that they desire to preach in the Name of Christ.
To this end, we decided that we would all meet together twice each week for six weeks to study the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. I will be preparing Bible studies that focus on the foundational themes of the gospel. We will do this with both congregations at the church building in Maria Teresa. In all, there are about 20 people that faithfully attend these two congregations. I ask you to pray, my brothers and sisters, for these studies in the mountains.
