It’s so exciting to see when an influential leader has an “Ah-ha moment”! As we, the CPD, become more and more aware of the opportunities around the world to bring Gospel access to people who have never heard the name Jesus, my prayer is that we would engage these opportunities head-on with enthusiasm and generosity. I hope you enjoy another “eye-opening” update from our recent Vision Trip to Mexicali. Happy reading….

To the ends of the earth,

Tim Agnello

Recently, Brentwood Neighborhood Church, Trinity Alliance Church, and Price Chapel went on a Vision Trip to Mexicali. The story is from Sergio Gonzalez of Brentwood Neighborhood Church:

Hello! I wanted to share with you our experience at the Mexicali Base. We were a group of 12 people that came from churches in Redding, Utah, and of course, right here in Brentwood, CA.  

We all met at the airport in San Diego and after a quick lunch got into our rental vans and headed to Mexicali. As we drove past city after city heading further inland, the landscape went from luscious green rolling hills to high and dry mountain range full of boulders that transitioned to a flat low-lying desert terrain. Once we arrived in Mexicali, we then proceeded to drive to the outskirts of town where the Base is located.

Mexicali Base

The Mexicali Base is all about building relationships with ministries that will partner with the local churches. Our approach is not to have a ministry come with a “Look what I can do” enabling approach, but rather a “Look what WE can do“ team-building relationship. 

Buddhist monks chanting in the temple in front of a Buddha statue

God is moving in a Southeast Asian Creative Access Country (CAC)

Our ministry efforts are growing and God is giving us favor in this very difficult, restricted, predominantly Buddhist and Animistic country! Our Alliance workers, in partnership with indigenous leaders, are rescuing girls from human trafficking and exploitation and have made safe houses for them with full counseling, care and presenting the Gospel. Many are coming to Christ!!

We have also created a beauty shop business where they are trained to have meaningful jobs that keeps them off the streets and into a good Christian environment. We also started a jewelry business where they make jewelry to sell to tourists, locals and some jewelry is even being shipped and sold overseas – God is blessing us richly!!

We have some great new work going on with unreached people groups, unreached villages, and remote areas. Alliance News shared this update from Syna Lao, an Alliance international worker serving in Cambodia a few months back about God's work happening in Anlong Veng province.

It's been so exciting to see several of our CPD churches visit this specific location in the field. Our district has a strong connection with this new ministry and we didn't want you to miss these amazing reports. I will be traveling to Cambodia soon, so check out my prayer request at the bottom of the page.

THE HARVEST IS RIPE, BUT THE WORKERS ARE FEW

Alliance News

I'm super excited to give you an update on our initiative to engage the Guarajio Tribe in the mountains of Mexico. Please watch the video and read the message below from Brenda Granados, one of our leaders from Alliance Mexico, then enjoy the video she sent - We've made contact!!

We would like to highlight one of our most recent church plants in the Sacramento area. The new church is called, Hope City Church - and it's only seven months old!

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.