A JESUS Film Harvest Partners team from the Church of the Nazarene in Washington, USA, visited the Guatemala North Peten District to join in district community ministries, and to help plant a new church in the El Esfuerzo II neighborhood in La Libertad from 11 to 17 July.

The community event was hosted by the Nazarene Youth International, Nazarene Missions International, Nazarene Compassionate Ministries, Sunday School and Discipleship Ministries, and Evangelism ministries in Guatemala. The team worked in the missional zone under the leadership of local church planter Martin Chen.

There they held evangelistic activities for children, youth, and adults. The team also held presentations with puppets and clowns, hosted a Project Gol soccer camp, and held a children’s party for the community. Throughout the event, the team shared the JESUS film over the course of three nights where 49 people gave their lives to the Lord.

“We see how the people are thirsty for the gospel and need hope and comfort in the midst of their material shortages," said Roger Lemus, North Central Area Evangelism coordinator. "It was a great blessing.”

The JESUS film team also worked on the construction of a new school in the community.

In a different sector of the El Esfuerzo neighborhood, District Superintendent Francisco Quej had the privilege of inaugurating the Noah’s Ark Church of the Nazarene with 37 founding members 15 July. The JESUS film team and Regional Evangelism Coordinator Bernie Slingerland attended the celebration.

“In this zone, the communities experience violent storms with winds up to 70 km/hour," said Guadalupe Francisca de Chen, pastor of the new church plant. "In one of those storms, there were many houses, most of them made of aluminum sheets and wood, whose roofs were blown off, causing material loss. Despite the storm, this church, which only has one structure made of synthetic fabric and some tubes, was not blown away by the storm. It remained solid thanks to God.” 

The community believes this testimony is a evidence of the faithfulness of God and to the prosperous future of the Noah’s Ark Church of the Nazarene.

-- Church of the Nazarene Mesoamerica