Praying for Spiritual Growth

Dear Friends and Family,

This season in the church plant in Tafalla has been a special moment of seeing growth and a desire to learn and serve.

As we entered winter, the colder weather and some resulting health problems for our host home made the logistics for the Bible study in Peralta more complicated. We made a decision to return to having the Bible study in the church building in Tafalla during this period. It has been an exciting moment as we have a consistent group that comes having read the text and prepared to discuss their findings. In general, the study is a time to go deeper into the text from Sunday. As questions have arisen, however, we have dedicated that time to focus on different topics. For example, this week we focused on Mark 13 which took us into End Times topics. It is exciting to see some of the believers dig deeper in the Bible to really see the roots of what they believe.

• Please pray for the group as they continue to study and seek to know the Lord deeper.

In January, Sharon presented to the congregation a desire to start a rotation in teaching the children’s Sunday school class. We asked the group to pray about the opportunity to serve and to let us know the following week. The idea was that Sharon would continue to prepare the materials and that the volunteers would carry it out. The next week three women came forward with a desire to participate. It was a huge blessing to see their excitement about the possibility of serving in this area.

• Please pray for this group and for their encouragement as they have stepped out to serve.

The men’s group continues to meet monthly for a time to study Scripture together and encourage each other. The desire is that some of the men will soon begin to share some devotional thoughts as part of the Sunday services. There is a lot of interest in this, although consistency has been complicated.

• Please pray with us for this group as they set aside time to study and apply God’s Word.

In addition, the church group proposed the idea of having a once-a-month activity which would be an opportunity to invite others to come to. We started with a hike in Tafalla, followed by a picnic and then an open-air service in the park. The weather was perfect and we had a great turn-out. Then in December, we showed the movie “Why the Nativity?” produced by Dr. Jeremiah and Turning Point ministries. In January, we had a topical study in the church. For February, in a week and a half, we will be showing the film “Overcomer.” Then as we enter spring, we are once again looking to having more outdoor type activities.

• Please pray for the body in Tafalla as we seek opportunities to reach out to others around us.

As a church, we are studying through the book of Acts. We have been amazed by God’s grace and how it is taught and lived out in the early church. God continues to teach and challenge us to live like people who have experienced His grace and likewise have applied His grace to our relationships and reactions. As we study through Acts, we are praying that the group in Tafalla would catch a vision of the importance of not merely being recipients of God’s grace but also reflections of His grace.

• Please pray with us that as believers we would live reflecting grace in such a way that our lives point others to the Giver of grace.

Thank you for joining with us in praying for the various aspects of ministry here in the middle zone of Navarra.

With our love in Christ,
Dan and Sharon Leatherwood