Jonathan Lopez first came to SEPE Honduras as an unsuspecting short-term mission participant in 2023. As he served in the local church and community for six weeks, the Lord began to work in his life to consider coming on staff at SEPE International. Read more about his journey to become our Assistant Director, developing our STM programs in the new SEPE Mexico location.
Before 2023, Jonathan had never seriously considered foreign missions. While attending The Master’s University, however, he caught wind of a Global Outreach (GO) team to Honduras that needed another member.
“I didn’t really have a desire to come at first, but then after talking to people about it, praying about it, I just began to have an excitement, and I was so excited to come and ready to serve.”
Little did he know, that moment would change the trajectory of his life.
A NEW PERSPECTIVE
As he served in Honduras, building relationships with Honduran youth, teaching devotionals at an educational nonprofit, and evangelizing in nearby communities, he gleaned much wisdom from the local pastors he was ministering alongside that would serve to solidify the principles guiding him on the path ahead.
“I was evangelizing with Luis,” he says, referring to a third-year SEPE student from Peru, “and the way he evangelized was very thought out – very meticulous in the questions he was asking. I think seeing him doing that has helped me to put in my head … what evangelizing is.”
As he worked with Noé, a SEPE graduate pastoring a church plant in the community of Ocho de Mayo, he saw a passion for ministry on display.
“He sees [ministry] to individuals rather than to a congregation or to a group of people,” Jonathan says. “So even though he has a little church, he still prepares his sermon as if he’s going to preach to hundreds. Even if it’s for five people who show up, he’s still there…trying to love them, pastor them the best he can – just being faithful to the Lord.”
Misael, a graduate from SEPE and the Spiritual Development Director at Just One International, was another guiding influence.
“The way he sees it, if he can teach the kids to love the Lord, to do everything to the glory of the Lord, then it’s going to change the future of Honduras,” Jonathan says.
“That future-mindedness is going to stay with me.”
As he continued interacting with these role models of power, passion, and precision in connection with SEPE International’s ministry, he started to catch the vision.
“When I first got here, I was like, ‘This isn’t really missions work – this is just community service,’” he says.
“But then being here longer, … I understood how our money works for the seminary and how the seminary supports the students.”
The multiplying effect of SEPE International’s partnership with pastoral training and church planting suddenly became clear.
“Seeing how MEDA is connected with different churches and seeing how those churches are doing their own thing, it’s really shown me how the church is the body, with hands, feet and all that, because I can see one church doing this in this area and another church in another area,” he says.
A NEW ROLE
Before long, the president and director of SEPE International reached out to him about the opportunity to serve on staff at SEPE International, after which he returned to Honduras over the summer of 2024 to learn the ropes.
As of this month, he heads to Nogales, MX to start a new chapter at SEPE International.
“My role…directly supports pastoral training, which I believe is the strongest and quickest way to edify churches and plant new ones so that disciples would be made for God’s glory,” he says. “I am also excited to connect ministries in the U.S. to churches in Mexico so that short-term missions might be accomplished efficiently in a country that desperately needs the true gospel.”
Jonathan’s new position complements his already existing background in the Spanish language and theological education.
“I grew up in a Spanish-speaking family,” he says. “Thankfully, I naturally picked up both English and Spanish, and this will be a great help for me in Mexico.”
“After the Lord saved me at 17 years old, I had the urge to begin studying the Scriptures more deeply with the intention of teaching them at my local church,” he says.
Jonathan has been teaching and leading the youth group in his small local church in south Los Angeles for the past four years. It was there that, he says, “I realized I was under-prepared, and that was another piece of the puzzle that led me to TMU.”
He is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in biblical studies with an emphasis in theology at The Master’s University and is set to graduate this year.
“I believe what I learned at TMU will help me analyze the spiritual needs in Mexico,” he says. “I will be able to understand the pastor’s biblical visions for the congregations and communities.”
As he makes the move from CA to MX, Jonathan couldn’t be more enthusiastic about the opportunities.
“I want to learn as much as I can about the communities in Nogales and meet as many locals as possible,” he says. “I am specifically excited to aid in the renovation of the seminary. Some classrooms and dorms need a facelift. I think pastors who dedicate their lives to the Lord’s service deserve well-constructed spaces to learn and study, so I am excited to serve the men in this area.”
Rubber is meeting the road in unprecedented ways, as he makes first steps in a pioneering role.
“I am in constant communication with others from all over the U.S. and the globe,” he says. “I have come to realize that this is a much bigger operation than I expected, and it’s a good thing!”
“I appreciate the camaraderie between all the people that make up SEPE because their goal is God’s goal: to make disciples of all nations. The churches that come alongside SEPE also radiate the joy of serving the Lord and celebrate the service of His people on a global scale.”
What started as a short-term mission trip to Honduras and the thought, “I can try and see how it goes,” has now become a long-term commitment to the fulfillment of the Great Commission in Mexico.
“The future came quicker than expected,” Jonathan says, “but I am glad the Lord let me serve Him in Honduras and will now let me serve Him in Mexico. It is an undeserved blessing bestowed upon an undeserving sinner.”
As Jonathan looks forward to applying the relational skills and theological knowledge he’s acquired in a cross-cultural context, he has a word to share with those who are waiting on the Lord’s direction in their life:
I once asked Pastor Larry Loden [Pastor of Grace Community Fellowship in Texas] how God brought him to be a pastor. He responded with something along the lines of, “just riding the wave of Providence.” If anyone is waiting for the Lord to reveal His will for one’s future, I would say to keep serving and trusting Him. Do not forget under any circumstance that He has everything under control. If you commit yourself to faithful service in a local church and community, then He will fulfill His good purpose in you.
Ask me how I got this position; my response is that I’m just riding the wave of Providence.
