What does it look like for all the dots to connect between the local church, short-term missions, and pastoral training – particularly on a rural scale? A SEPE student, SEPE International group leader, and local ministry administrator answer that very question in this article, as they reflect on the general medicine and odontology brigade that paved the way for a church plant to be born in the mountains of Siguatepeque, HN.
Coming up on a five-year relationship with SEPE International, New Life Bible Church has offered dental services to hundreds of needy Hondurans in partnership with Clínica Betania, a mercy ministry of Iglesia Bautista Betania.
“When we were looking at trying to advance our missions vision and our missions giving and our missions experience in New Life Bible Church, we wanted to do something that would enable us to be able to take trips to some different countries and get some other-country experiences,” Pastor Rick Thomas of NLBC says.
In June of 2024, they took the opportunity to do just that, but in a slightly different capacity than they had been accustomed to in years past.
Job Gámez, a fourth-year seminary student who had been working in the mountainous community of Potrerillos, started a subsistence farm as a means of reaching the surrounding farmers with the gospel, and it had been on his heart for some time to start a church plant there.
NLBC had connected with Job a year prior, so when they heard about the possibility of collaborating with him and the clinic to provide general medical and dental care to the community in the context of church planting, they jumped on the opportunity.
The result? Nothing short of remarkable.
“After the brigade, we invited the community to a church service,” Job says. “Even though only one person came the first week, God has since been growing the church.”
“Four months later, we have seen new families join each month. We now have a weekly service, a children’s ministry running alongside the main service, and a growing need for a separate building for adults and kids.”
Job is grateful that the investment of this small but faithful church in Pueblo, CO ultimately made it possible to put his ministry on the map for the sake of the gospel.
“The surrounding communities now know where we are and recognize that this place is where they can find hope for both their physical and spiritual needs,” he says.
For the administrator of the clinic, Jorge Maradiaga, the collaboration between SEPE International, New Life Bible Church, Job Gámez, and Clínica Betania functioned in exactly the way he always hopes for.
To be sure, seeing the happy faces of patients being cared for brings him joy.
“But more than that,” Jorge says, “what I like the most is that by helping others in terms of health, … automatically we also have the great opportunity to introduce them to the gospel, which is the most important part for us.”
For Pastor Rick, the two-day brigade was profitable both in terms of fellowship and spiritual impact.
“It was really nice to spend that time with [Job] and to hear his vision and to see his vision and to come alongside him and be a part of that,” he says.
“Since we’ve been here, we continue to see our relationships with the people of the seminary, as well as with Betania Clinic and the church, to continue to get closer.”
The ripple effect of this long-term relationship is accomplishing precisely what NLBC set out to do in the first place – equip a mission-minded generation.
“I would say that, as far as our view, it just continues to encourage us that the Lord can use short-term missions to impact people, and I would say especially young people,” he says. “Our desire is to train up new believers/younger people for the work of Christ.”
“This is a very friendly venue to be able to introduce people to third-world cultures – to ministry/evangelism in less than ideal situations – but still very safe. It’s continued to encourage me, which I can take back to the leadership of our church, that this is a good fit for us.”
Most of all, he is excited about what the partnership with SEPE International means for the future of rural ministry.
“Our vision goes beyond Siguatepeque up into other areas that are not as reached, and so to us – to me – we are seeing a beginning of that extension out into other places, and that is just pure joy. It is a great encouragement to see the Lord making things in that direction.”
