A Tale of Two Men and Two Churches

There's two guys that I've worked with a lot in ministry who would love to become full time missionaries.

One of them helped me start a church in Colombia's capital city of Bogota, and the other helped me start a church in Colombia's main border city of Cucuta.

Both of them were key in working with Lina, Alejandra, and I in starting a church in Duitama, and then they each went off to seminary and left the 3 of us behind to hold our fledgling church together as Alejandra and I simultaneously tried to keep The Refuge Church afloat in Cucuta. 

One of them got a full ride to study at Emmaus Bible College in the States, and the other got a scholarship to get a Bible degree in Medellin, Colombia; and both of them have recently finished their studies, and now have their whole lives ahead of them. 

One of them gutted it out and traveled with me on a few occasions into Venezuela, and the other enjoyed all the luxuries of traveling with me on a couple of occasions in the States. Both of them have suffered tremendously in witnessing their parents' separation, and each of them has surely considered marriage a lot themselves. 

One of them tries to prohibit women from teaching the Bible to other men; the other encourages it; but they both teach the Word of God extremely well themselves.  One of them will likely get commended as a missionary from a Brethren assembly in Wisconsin and be financially set for life - and the other will likely have to lay aside his dreams of full time ministry and work his whole way through another degree and then hope for another half-way decent job in the future that will bi-vocationally sustain him in the ministry somehow.

It would be awesome if Alejandra and I could keep planting and leading churches with both of these guys in the future, but at the same time, we know that we don't have too much to offer them.

We have two churches that are awesome but don't generate tons of income. One of those churches rents two very enviable buildings that are ostentatiously/glaringly crying out to be used at their full potential. The other church rents a space in a very pleasant restaurant every Sunday but could likewise accommodate twice the number of people currently attending its meetings.  One of those churches has really good preachers and the other doesn't, but both of them have amazing musicians.

One of the churches is made up of a lot of Venezuelan immigrants, and the other consists of a high percentage of former drug addicts and alcoholics, yet both of them have learned that following Christ isn't all about themselves.

They each study the Bible expositively, remember the Lord frequently through the Breaking of Bread, pray earnestly every Friday night, and reach out to the community intentionally, but also have a few pretty complicated issues that they deal with from time to time.

Alejandra and I love both churches as if they were our own children (and it would also be cool if maybe some day we really did have our own children 🙂); and we respect and admire both the guys that I've just been talking about, and wouldn't want to work with anyone else any more than them. Nevertheless, it's God that orcastrates everything, and it's His Spirit that will direct both Juanes and Samuel every step of the way.

After Jesus rose from the dead, there was a time when Peter asked Jesus about John, and Jesus said, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me" (John 21:22)... More than financial independence or traveling in Venezuela as opposed to the States - these disciples' time on Earth and the way in which they died varied enormously! Even so, the only thing that mattered was that they both followed Jesus in whatever way he wanted them to... And thanks to their obedience, the church as we know it today, continues to exist.

Regardlesss of what happens with these two men, Alejandra and I will keep looking to Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). - Sam and Alejandra Killins