I'm so thrilled to be sharing this very first report from Alliance Mexico about the progress we are making with the Guarajios tribe, deep in the mountains of Mexico. As many of you know, God has given us a wonderful opportunity to go after this unengaged, unreached people group by partnering with our extended Alliance family in Mexico - what a privilege it is, to be teamed for such a thing as this!

Thanks to your generous support and partnership from the CPD, in November one of our long-term dreams finally came true! For more than twenty years Pastor Tomas Bencomo, President of Alliance Mexico, has dreamed of reaching the Guarajio tribe. The Guarajio tribe is an ethnic group that exists between the border of three Mexican states: Chihuahua, Sonora, and Sinaloa. It is an unreached ethnic group where the gospel has never been preached. Finally, in mid-November, the day came when five of us got into a truck knowing where we wanted to go, but not knowing if we were coming back.

So excited to give you an update on our progress engaging the unreached people group known as The Guarajios in the mountains of Central Mexico. Over this past summer, I trolled the CPD family looking for potential partners to engage and support this new endeavor along with Alliance Mexico.

Praise God - we got several churches and also several individuals from the family who felt called to jump in! 

You'll see the pictures of the truck we helped purchase and filled it with supplies to make an impact as they hike out into the mountains, hopefully to initiate our first contact with the native tribe where they actually live.

The truck and the team left last week, so be in prayer that we will have a successful first trip. We will keep you updated and let you know how it went when they return in a couple weeks.

Thanks so much for partnering and praying for this brand new work!!

I am repeatedly amazed at our CPD churches - the way we are engaging the ends of the earth and impacting a lost world in the name of JESUS. Please enjoy reading the latest update below from Josh Blair, lead pastor at The Rising Church in Utah. What a wonderful thing God continues to do in the jungles of Cambodia through the churches of the CPD. LOVE IT!

Thanks, Tim

Last fall we had the privilege of traveling to Cambodia with Tim Agnello on a Vision Trip. Vision Trips are designed to give Pastors in the Central Pacific District (CPD) a ‘boots on the ground’ experience of what our family of churches is doing around the globe. The CPD has a few strategic partnerships, Cambodia being one of them.

As our Central Pacific District churches are holding their Great Commission Day on a Sunday in May or June, we have an great opportunity to share the message, encourage each other, and give to support Christ's Great Commission.

What an amazing family we are a part of - a movement called of God to bring the name of Jesus to the unreached peoples of the world! What a high calling - one that we can only accomplish by working together! I would like to encourage us to lean in to Great Commission Day (info below) and make a statement saying, "We push ahead, we won't shrink back, we send our blessing around the world so that all may hear the Good News of Jesus Christ!" Let's be RIDICULOUSLY GENEROUS!! 

Some of our pastors have been asking lately, "How does my church choose a Global Partnership?"  The best approach to finding the right partnership for your church is to start by asking yourself a couple of questions, like:

- Do we know any Alliance workers already that we would like to connect with or support?

- Do we already have a place or region of the world in mind where the Alliance is working that we would like to connect with or go see?

- Do we have a type of ministry or project in mind that our church would like to be a part of overseas?

As your church starts to pray and discuss connecting with our Alliance work globally, these questions will be helpful as you think through what it means to engage in Global Partnerships!

Here are 7 things that many of our C&MA churches are doing to increase engagement with Alliance missions. 

The Senior Pastor

The senior pastor is ‘leaning in’ to Alliance missions. He is passionate about the church being a Christ Centered, Acts 1:8, Family. He proclaims the global mission of the church and gives opportunities up front to promote and pray for Alliance missions. The senior/lead pastor diligently seeks God along with his leaders to discern where in the world to focus or partner. He is passionate about giving people an opportunity to glorify God and impact the world through the churches mission's ministries.

At the Central Pacific District we like to share insightful and inspiring content from our members, friends, and influencers. Please read the story below from Associate Pastor Tim Dunfield of South Hills Church in Henderson, Nevada and their recent mission trip to Mexicali.

In wanting to always provide fresh resources to our pastors and missions leaders here in the CPD, I am pleased to give you some new tools for promoting Alliance Missions in your churches - all year long!

First, in addition to the many videos provided here, we now have access to many one-minute missions videos of our work around the world. To access these videos click here to see Alliance Snap Shots.

If increased engagement is the goal for Alliance global missions promotion, how do we measure it? The following five elements may be considered as indicators of engagement:

It has been amazing to see the response to Alliance Global Missions over the past couple of years. In 2016 alone, I have taken over 20 CPD churches on Vision Trips to Mexico, The Middle East and to Cambodia. How wonderful that so many of you are engaging in meaningful ways financially and by sending teams to work alongside our IWs on the field!