Tag Archives: church planting

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December 6, 2016

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International Missions, Mexico

Northern Mexico Association of General Baptists a New Ministry in Baja California, Mexico

By Eylin Rodriguez

eylin-rodriguezMy name is Eylin Rodriguez. I am 25 years old, born in a Christian family in Honduras. At the age of 13, I moved to the USA by my parents who were already working with General Baptists. Some people can say that being part of a Pastoral family is difficult, I can say that on the contrary, I am blessed to be able to learn from them. I feel truly blessed to be a witness of the work that our Lord has done through many great men and women who have taken on the privilege of expanding the kingdom of God.

At the age of 21, I married Jose Carlos Hernandez, with whom I now have 2 beautiful children. Last year, my husband and I had a long conversation with the director of Sheffield Association of General Baptist Pastor Rene Rodriguez (my father) about the necessity of a new work in Mexico. My family and I decided to make ourselves available to work for the Lord and go wherever he wants to take us, so now here we are in Mexico.

On Saturday October 22, 2016, we had our first meeting in Tijuana Baja California, Mexico. Five Pastors decided to Associate with General Baptists, giving birth to Northern Mexico Association of General Baptists. We also have started a Bible Institute under the guidance of Pastor Rene Rodriguez who is the director and teacher of the Bible Institute in California. We have approximately 30 students, and 3 fully accredited teachers. We are still looking for better locations in all three cities, (Ensenada, Tijuana, and Tecate) since we have students from each location. Up to this date, there’s a total of eight associated churches who have started working with us and ready to carry on the Great Commission. There are more meetings scheduled with Pastors who want to know more of the work of General Baptists. I am honored and thankful for being part of the all the work that has been done through General Baptist International Missions here in Mexico. God Bless you all!

Turning Point pastor Steve Gill
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May 13, 2016

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National Missions

Turning Point Update

Turning Point Church in Bonita Springs, Florida launched in the fall of 2015. We asked Church Planter Steve Gill for an update of the early months of that fresh, new work.

This post was originally published in the 2016 Spring issue of the GB Messenger. Don’t receive the Messenger? You can always catch the latest digital issue on the Messenger website, www.gbMessenger.org

What has been most rewarding?

Seeing new people come to Christ and come to the first church for the first time is pretty rewarding. We are even seeing people who walked away or have given up on the church walk back after being away from for months and even years.

What has been most challenging?

Someone I know once told me that in ministry, ‘all of it is hard work’. Whether you are planting a church, restarting a church or pastoring an established church, it’s all challenging. It’s hard because we are pushing against darkness and darkness always pushes back! But we all know that it’s worth it because we are pointing people to know Christ.

What kind of life change have you seen?

The life change is the most exciting part! We’ve seen people commit their lives to Christ and even 12 people go public in baptism. We’ve already seen families dedicate their kids to Christ! It’s also fun to see people serve together and begin to build relationships with one another. People are starting to talk about Turning Point not as A church in town but as THEIR church.

One church closed in Louisville because their community disappeared in an expansion of the airport authority. They entrusted Turning Point with a large gift. What’s it like to carry that legacy?

It’s a privilege and an honor! In fact, we are grateful not only to that community of believers for their investment, but for many other churches, families, and individuals who have invested their generosity in this work. To all off them, we are proud to not only be a part of a legacy but proud to be have them help us reach people far from God.

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October 19, 2015

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Christian Life, Christian Walk, Family, General Baptists, National Missions, Staying Connected, Staying Strong

An Interview with Gary Baldus – Part 2

This is the last of a two-part post of an interview with Gary Baldus, pastor of New Walk Church in Zephyr Hills, Florida.

General Baptist Ministries asked Gary several questions about his walk with Christ, his calling to ministry and church planting, the personal and ministry connections with General Baptists, and the ongoing work of New Walk Church.

General Baptist Ministries (GBM):  You served as Moderator/Host for the Mission & Ministry Summit in 2013. How did this experience impact you personally? How did it impact New Walk Church?


Gary Baldus (GB):  What an unbelievable experience!  Our church loved it.  They look back on that as one of the coolest things to be involved in that we have ever done by serving all those leaders who traveled to Florida.  It was like a New Walk Event.  We just watched our church rally to the cause. We told them, “We have all these people coming down and these are the General Baptist people who helped us get started.”  They just thought it was awesome that they could serve those people who had invested in New Walk from a distance.

Pastor Gary Baldus

GBM:  As you look to the future what do you see as the greatest challenges for our General Baptist network?

GB:  It all boils down to money and men.  Many are called and few are chosen.  God sifts through people and not all guys are capable to lead church work.  I have people tell me of their call so I give them ministry assignments.  It is not unusual that six months later they are crying because ministry is so hard and they quit.

GBM:  How did your connections with General Baptists aid in the construction of New Walk’s first permanent buildings?

GB:  Our building would not have happened if not for the General Baptist Investment Fund.  This was like when the Kingdom Expansion Campaign was involved at the outset.  This is a faith based thing for us so we had to have someone who believed in us to be the right kind of lender. We are going to spend the next 2-3 years on stabilization and taking care of things to maintain a healthy operational base but if it had not been for a group of people seeing the potential in New Walk we would probably still be in the YMCA setting up and tearing down every time we had a meeting. Continue reading →