Stories from Spain
Alpha Dinner - Madrid, Spain
September 14, 2004

Students for Christ reaches out to both Spanish and international students in Madrid, Spain. International students are somewhat more approachable due to the fact that they are away from their country, family, society, friends, and all the comforts of home. Every semester several international students give their lives to Christ. One of the methods of evangelism used by SFC is something called the Alpha Dinner.  Alpha is an evangelistic outreach that began 26 years ago in London. The evenings include a dinner, a talk on Christianity and discussion time. The discussion is led by Christians and is a time for non-Christians to voice their opinions and ask questions.  The Madrid outreach averages an attendance of 40, including five Chinese Buddhists, one Japanese Buddhist, over five Mormons, some from other religions, and several atheists.  The Alpha's Holy Spirit Encounter Weekend retreat was amazing 31 students attended, and everyone not only enjoyed themselves, but everyone was also challenged in their beliefs. Five Buddhists attended, and all five now say they have no doubt that God exists. Each of these students had no belief in God whatsoever when they began attending Alpha. They are currently deciding what to do with this new belief they now have. The prayer is that they will take Jesus as their personal Savior back with them to China. The Chinese that study in Spain are some of the top student leaders in their country and will have a profound influence as leaders.
 
 
  Church Growth in Pamplona, Spain
August 2, 2004

Missionaries Alister and Lindy Belbin report of continued growth in the church. In the past 3 years the church has grown from "0" to 130. God's love and spirit is drawing people to seek Him, one by one.  Recently, just before a prayer meeting, a young Peruvian man came to the church. "Segundo" had arrived in Spain the previous Sunday. Before leaving to come to Spain he assured his unsaved wife that he was going to give his life to the Lord. Today he did just that. Once he is settled he will send for his wife and two children to join him in Spain.  When the prayer meeting was over, the Belbins found a young lady from Colombia outside the church. "Claudia" had come looking for a church. After meeting some of our folk, she said she will be in church on Sunday. Following a year of almost nightly prayer meetings we are seeing people gathering in, giving their lives to Christ.  While we were at prayer this evening, a group of our youth were outside one of the theatres witnessing to those who had just seen the movie, "The Passion of the Christ."  The Lord has raised up a congregation here, most of whom have come to Spain from Latin America to begin life anew following the collapse of the economy in their home countries. With few resources they are giving sacrificially to the work of the Lord. The first time a focus was made on pledges for giving to missions endeavors, 12.960,00 Euros was pledged with still more to come. What generosity to the work of the Lord from those who are economically suffering.  The Belbins credit these encouraging signs of love for the Lord and the desire in their congregation to see others find Christ to prayer. Meetings for prayer are held nightly Tuesday through Friday. Every Saturday morning there is an evangelism outreach of placing a gospel tract in each of the 100,000 homes in the city.

 
 
   
   
   
   
  Jaen Church Plant

Planting a church is not easy in Spain. No secret formula for success has been found. But this past summer, a team targeted the city of Jaén in which to plant the church of Jesus Christ.  Other churches across Spain were notified of the vision. They were invited to come to Jaén and participate during the month of July. A Spanish pastor, Benito, agreed to head up the work. There was a "school of evangelism" for one whole week so people from the churches could come and learn how to win people to Jesus. Believers from churches all over Spain converged on Jaén. Every night the team of people went out on the streets with open-air preaching, drama, testimonies and music. The listeners were called to turn away from their sin and turn towards God. They were offered Bibles and were prayed for one on one. By the end of the month, 200 Bibles had been given, contacts with 150 people had been made, three home groups were started, one prayer meeting, and a weekly Sunday service was established. Now Benito is discipling around 30 new believers! The congregation and cell groups are going strong and a meeting facility is being readied for use.
 

  
   
   
   
  Subway Evangelism

Okay, so it may not be P.C. (politically correct) or C.C. (culturally correct), but it was what I had in my heart to do. We must “fish” where the fish are, and 2 million people ride the subway daily.I called some friends and we began our descent into the depths of the earth!  The subway is somewhat like an elevator. You try not to talk or look at anyone. This is to my advantage. I filled my lungs with stale, contaminated air and belted out, “Hello, my name is Jacob and I would like to give you all a free postcard.” At that point, my helpers distributed our Gospel tract regarding the recent oil spill in northern Spain.  People are very polite and receive it. I now have 3 minutes. The train will stop. Some will get off, others will get on. This is my chance. “These fine people that are cleaning up the oil spill started with clean white suits, but as you see, they are now all stained. Consider your own life for a minute…” and so on.  How do people respond, you ask? The majority LOOK at me and LISTEN attentively. Some have screamed at me about the war (in Iraq), and a few tell me to be quiet. Some folks want to give me money, others laugh out loud when I denounce the sin they are living in. Once, a lawyer publicly challenged my doctrine. One told me to go back to my own country! Yet the first night we preached 21 times to nearly 700 people.  “How shall they call on Him whom they have not heard?  And how shall they hear without a preacher?” Romans 10:14 		 
   
   
   
 

International Ministry

October 1, 2005

"It is always exciting when someone comes to the Lord for the first time.  Kate, a young woman from England, had never set foot in a church before she visited ours. She was invited by a friend who attends All Nations Christian Fellowship in Puerta de Santa Maria, Spain. Kate and her husband, David, have been attending ever since.  They had no Bible to read so we provided them with one.  Kate has begun reading it through. In a recent service she prayed for God to do something that would make her know that He was real and wanted a relationship with her. As she sang the songs of worship, the Spirit of God came upon her and she began to weep as the Spirit not only made God's presence known to her but also changed her into a new creature. In her own words: “I love coming to church, learning about Jesus, reading the Bible and listening to your sermons.”