Published Thu, Oct 09, 25.
Written by Jared Duran.

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Making Room

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"...you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit."

Ephesians 2:19-22

 

Hey everyone! Over the last month, there has been a lot going on here in Mendoza at the church! There are a lot of exciting opportunities coming up for partnerships with other churches and ministries, as well as the start of some really important conversations about our goals and priorities in this season as leaders in this community. God has continued to put on my heart the centrality of prayer and dependence on Him and His leadership over our ideas and strategies, and we have continued to move in this direction! We are still dedicating time before our Sunday night meetings to pray, and we have also started a weekly English-speaking gathering focused on fasting, prayer, and worship. Our goal is that prayer would be the heartbeat of everything we do. That the focus would be not on what we can do, but on what God can do.

 

 

We have also been making progress towards preparing the new space for our English-speaking community to use. The whole project is moving much more slowly than we were originally hoping, but we are still definitely getting closer to having this space ready to use! All the demo work is done, and we should be making some major progress this week!

 

 

Throughout the whole story of the Scriptures, there is a recurring theme that whatever is fully given over to God, He fills with His presence. First, the tabernacle, as it's made holy and fully consecrated to God, is filled powerfully with God's Spirit. This happens again with the construction and dedication of the temple by Solomon. Then, at the start of the book of Acts, the disciples gather together in prayer and wait on God. In this Holy space of waiting and prayer, as they offer themselves to God, they are filled with His empowering Presence for the sake of the Gospel. 

 

In both our times of prayer and as we prepare a physical space to be devoted to God and His Church, we are clearing spaces in our lives and community for God to come and fill. This not only happens at a community level but also at a very practical personal level. The more space God is given in our hearts and lives, the more we will be able to see and experience His kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven. Jesus said it like this.

 

"...he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it."

Mark 8:34-35

 

Please be praying for:

• Pastor Mark and Karina as they lead this community

• Discernment in vision and direction for the church (especially as it relates to discipleship and partnering with other groups)

• My continued Spanish learning process

• Fresh personal experience of the Gospel for each member of our community