Some 250 district leaders were trained through Challenge 2022, an event that is part of the regional evangelism strategy to involve church planters, district evangelism coordinators, and district superintendents in the planting of new churches and in active evangelism.
“Being able to see firsthand a large number of options and resources available to us for evangelism made me dream of the great things that God has for the Central District of Costa Rica,” said Andrés Fernández, district evangelism coordinator. “Being able to share with leaders from other districts and listen to their experiences fills my heart with hope.”
So far, the regional Evangelism team has carried out Challenge trainings in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic.
During this time, the leaders received training on new methods of evangelism, how to start new preaching points (or churches), and how to lead acquaintances to knowledge of the gospel.
In addition, each participant received a Lightstream, an electronic device that generates a Wi-Fi network that allows anyone within an estimated 12-meter range to access 64 gigabytes of content about the gospel of Jesus.
Some materials contained in the Lightstream are the JESUS film, Magdalena, and Evangelism with Passion, among others. Through the device, people can contact church leaders or members by messaging or get more information from the materials provided.
According to Jerson Chupina, a member of the regional evangelism team, they still hope to bring this training to the Caribbean and Haiti fields. The trainings are part of the region’s four-year strategy to take the message of Jesus to all people, in all nations.
Javier Charris, Panamanian pastor and event attendee, shared that the event was very motivating and reinforced his desire to continue fulfilling the Great Commission.
“What caught my attention the most was the great variety of ways in which today we can announce the gospel to all the people who live without hope and without salvation,” Charris said. “With so many technological tools, there is no excuse not to preach the gospel.”
He hopes that together with his district, Panama Occidente, they can utilize this vision to help the district grow and spread the gospel.
