From the October-December 2006 Issue
Fifteen years in La Mancha
Jose and Virtudes Moreno
La ManchaIt so happens that, by the time you read this article, I will have been pastor of the church in Alcázar de San Juan for fifteen years. This round figure enables us, therefore, to relate in this article what has taken place in those fifteen years and also, in the light of this, to examine the prospects for the future of the work here. I think one word can sum up what has happened here in those years. This word is consolidation.
When my wife and I arrived here in 1991, there was a small church in Alcázar, mainly the God-given fruits of the labours of Demetrio and Jenny Cánovas, and latterly, of Andrew and Vivienne Birch. In these last fifteen years, we have seen the spiritual growth of those who were already here. Some of them have become useful members of the congregation here and, according to their gifts and abilities, now occupy positions of leadership within the church. We have also had our losses, as always, for good and bad reasons. Some, because they moved away to other parts of the country and, sadly, others as a result of church discipline. However, the conversions that have occurred throughout these years have more than compensated for the losses. Indeed, the Lord has doubled the number of the church members in these fifteen years, and this in spite of the fact that some of the new converts have also moved away from this area.
New building
One of the landmarks of this time was the erection of our church building in 1998. Since then the attendance at the Sunday meetings has greatly increased and this has been sustained throughout the years, with one of the features being the regular presence of unbelievers in every Sunday meeting. As quite a number of those who have been saved in these past years were young couples, we now have a good Sunday School and a number of teenagers. We also have several Sunday School teachers who work alongside Virtudes.
Outreach
The work has also developed in the surrounding villages. Pride of place is taken by Campo de Criptana. Five couples come from this village, which is five miles from Alcázar, plus some other individuals, but there are also people coming from Herencia and Villafranca de los Caballeros. In addition, a new work has commenced in Camuñas, fifteen miles from us. There, the Lord has been pleased to save a number of people. A ministry in the local prison in Alcázar is also a regular feature of the life of the church. We are encouraged too by the willingness of the members to engage in witnessing to others, both in their own contacts and as a church. It is very comforting to go out and to be surrounded by teams of church members, particularly for the summer outreach.
Public conferences
As to the future prospects for the work here in evangelistic terms, we can see that much interest is being created by public conferences. We now have three venues for these. First of all, we hold them on our own premises. These are well supported by church members and we also have some people from outside.
Secondly, we hold them in public places. The Lord has enabled us to have a good rapport with the Town Hall, which has resulted in holding public conferences with their cooperation. Actually, one of those lectures called ‘A History of the Evangelical presence in this area from the sixteenth to the twenty-first century’ was published by the Town Hall. This cooperation with us in organizing public conferences is something the local authorities want to see going on in the future.
Thirdly, we have also begun to organize conferences with another Association called Athenaeum. With them we have planned two conferences for this coming autumn. One, on the Narnia Chronicles, on 23rd September, and one on the Da Vinci Code on 25th November. I am responsible for the first conference, and José de Segovia for the second one.
However, these conferences are not restricted to Alcázar. I am scheduled to give the lecture on ‘Don Quijote and the Bible’ in Argamasilla de Alba, a nearby village without a church but with some Christians living there. Future conferences are also planned for Villafranca and Campo de Criptana. Indeed, I am increasingly being asked to give the talks further afield. We have found that such conferences are a very good way to come into contact with people and that, depending on the subject, we usually have good attendances.
Looking to the future
As for the future prospects for the church, as hinted above, the main task is to go on recognizing gifts within the membership to help us see the further building of the Body of Christ in this part of the country. Our prayer is that many more within the fellowship will continue to assume more duties in the day-to-day running of the church. To that end, we would also ask you to continue praying for the church here and indeed for the work of the Gospel throughout this needy land of Spain.
We have much to be thankful for here in Alcázar. We thank the Lord for his work and enabling throughout these years. But we would also like to express our gratitude to those who have enabled us to work here and those who have prayed for us during this period of time. The Lord has been good to us and He alone must be praised. Yet, we long for more. What we have seen is like a drop of water in an ocean. Teeming multitudes remain unconcerned all round and about us. There are very few Evangelical churches in this part of the world. Therefore, we long for a more extensive work of the Holy Spirit in our midst, both in terms of many more conversions and in a greater spiritual maturity among God’s people. To that end, we look to Him who has all authority in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18), and we do it for His glory (Psalm 115:1).