By John Pieters in Mexico City

“For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost?” Luke 14:28

Since August, we have been inviting neighbors in "Jardines" (our section of Los Héroes) to music and English classes with the hope of getting to know them and having the chance to open a Bible study in their homes. It was discouraging to see students slowly petering out and there were weeks that we had no students at all. And yet, we kept showing up.

As a ministry team we have been going through a Bible Study called “Experiencing God,” an excellent resource that moves us to look diligently for where God is already at work and join him in what He is doing! A few weeks ago, without someone from the team to go with her, Tracey asked Samantha, one of the moms whose kids attended VBS, to accompany her to find the address of the VBS families to personally invite them to the classes we offer. Here God surprised us! It turns out Samantha had been a local representative for the previous ruling political party, and she knew practically everyone in the neighborhood. Not only did they visit the names on Tracey’s list, but this new ally introduced her to many other neighbors, advocating and endorsing the excellence of our music and English classes.

Failure is not Final! 

After many weeks of faithfully showing up to empty music and English classes, we’ve seen a surge in interest and attendance over the last three weeks. Word is getting out and new students come each week. Along with that, members of our sister church, One More 4 Christ, have heard exciting things are happening and now come to participate and help us reach out community with the classes.

What we’ve learned…

As we encourage our sister church to reach out to the community, we see how God is reaching out to ours and bringing people to help us touch lives for Christ. As others help us in Jardines, they catch a renewed vision of what it means for them to do the same in their neighborhood. God teaches us to work together in the places where we live and in the new places where he is at work.