DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 2018

Lay Shepherd Training

·Services at Iglesia Bautista Cristiana

·Couples' Retreat

·Vow Renewals

We were thrilled to be invited again this year to speak at Iglesia Bautista Cristiana (IBC) and their couples' retreat! We reconnected with the church family and the couples who had been on the previous retreat and were blessed to see how the Lord had used our time last year to impact this body of believers. During our trip we had opportunities to speak at the church and the couples' retreat and attend a vow renewal for four couples from the church.

Our trip began at IBC where we taught split sessions for the men and the women. During our sessions, we taught how godly husbands and wives are to minister to each other and to other couples. We also enjoyed discussions on what this looks like in everyday life and how to work through difficult circumstances.

We then traveled to the church's couples' retreat for three days of training and one-on-one relationship-building. We focused on how the Lord uses our different personalities to reach our spouses and other couples for His glory. We were so encouraged by the 53 couples, 100+ men and women, who attended and their hearts to learn!

One special moment of the trip was the vow renewal for four couples of the church. In the video above, these husbands and wives publicly committed themselves, yet again, to each other before God and their church family. We praise the Lord for these tender moments, standing together as couples and individuals to face this life's struggles head on with God's help. We cannot wait to see how God uses this trip in our lives and the lives of those we have opportunity to impact.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 2017

lay shepherd training

·Services at Iglesia Bautista Cristiana

·Leadership Conference

·Couples' Retreat

Time and time again, we have seen how the Lord knits together our hearts with fellow believers around the world, and this group of believers is no exception. In 2015, our team headed to Iglesia Bautista Cristiana for a Nehemiah Project. There, we met Pastor Pedro and wife Natacha (pictured first on right), Pastor Yadín and wife Mirna (pictured second) and their hungry-for-God church family. Since our trip, we were also able to host a few IBC couples, including Pastor Yadín and his wife, who came to the States for a leadership conference. The impact of our time together was deeply felt between our ministry and theirs, leading to the opportunity for us to travel back to the DR this spring.

On this trip, we introduced Lay Shepherd Training, teaching Christians to shepherd each other by coming alongside and helping one another according to God's Word. To begin, we introduced Lay Shepherding to the church family at the Wednesday night church service. The next evening, the church hosted a leadership conference for us to further teach Lay Shepherding to 30-35 brothers and sisters in Christ, as disciples in the church. Finally, we joined 54 couples for a relaxing, yet spiritually challenging couples' retreat where we dove deeper into being a Lay Shepherd as man and wife.

This trip presented new opportunities for the church with first time men-only and women-only sessions. Many men, women, and couples made the decision to stay accountable to each other as Lay Shepherds, even in the first men's session where the only place to meet was the pool! Even so, the hearts of the people were hungry for training, and the Lord blessed our time of training beyond our highest expectations. We praise God for allowing us to witness their growth and we are excited to see how God uses this week in years to come in the lives of the faithful men and women at IBC.