The Latin America District Conference (LAMB) held its convention Saturday, Feb. 17, at Grace Point at La Grulla (Texas), with 45 people attending the workshops and 95 present for the evening worship service.
The convention’s theme was “Building up the body of Christ,” based on Ephesians 4:11-12.
“Our goal for this year’s conference was to provide each church in attendance practical resources that would edify the individual for the good of the whole church,” says LAMB district minister Aaron Hernandez. “The workshops, led by Don Morris and Jon Wiebe, were current, practical and applicable. The speakers provided actionable next steps that would lead toward greater kingdom impact. I believe that this year’s conference was a step in the right direction toward a future harvest of more focused and intentional leaders.”
Two workshops highlighted the event.
Jon Wiebe, president of MB Foundation, presented “Stewardship is discipleship,” discussing from a biblical perspective the importance of money in regard to discipleship.
Wiebe mapped the stages of a person’s financial journey, from financially unhealthy to a Christ-centered relationship with money, acknowledging that people often move between stages as a result of their circumstances. The ultimate goal is to focus on Christ and please God with regard to finances, he said.
USMB national director Don Morris presented a second workshop, “Stepping up to the plate.” Morris shared that 20 percent of the people in a church do 80 percent of the work. The purpose of the workshop was to help churches encourage more people to become involved in serving. The seminar focused on developing listening teams in churches that seek to understand where people are coming from.
Morris says both workshops were well-received.
“People attending both workshops commented that the two dovetailed well, with one being about our discipleship concerning the use of money and the other one concerning the use of our time and spiritual gifts,” he says.
After the workshops, a traditional Mexican dinner was served. During the evening service, the Grace Point at La Grulla worship team led worship, and Hernandez and district chairman Moi Tagle led attendees in prayer.
Guest speaker Jorge Maisonet from Reynosa, Mexico, spoke about “Building up the body of Christ” using the convention’s theme verses for his text. Communion was served after the message.
Morris prayed for the MB pastors present, concluding the convention.
Janae Rempel Shafer is the Christian Leader associate editor and joined the CL staff in 2017. Shafer is an award-winning writer, receiving multiple awards from the Kansas Press Association and Evangelical Press Association. A Tabor graduate with a degree in communications and religious studies, she and her husband, Austin, attend Ridgepoint Church in Wichita, Kansas.
