Patience + Persistence = A Strong Church; Mexican church grows in the face of revolution and poverty

By: Kenneth D. MacHarg – Missionary Journalist

Ocosingo, Mexico—Building a church takes time and patience. Just ask Pastor Manuel Dominguez and his family.

Beginning over thirty years ago, Manuel and his wife Lidia began the slow process of establishing and building a Baptist congregation in this impoverished southeastern corner of Mexico. Little by little, using worship and Bible studies, evangelistic efforts and Bible clubs as well as a lot of personal ministry, they built a strong, vital church of several hundred people.

And now, a second generation of the Dominguez family, their daughter Mayna and her husband Ruly Cruz are poised to move the congregation ahead into a new century.

Marxist Guerrillas Still Wield Influence

But arriving at this point has not been easy. In 1994 the Zapatista Liberation Army, a shadowy guerrilla group, emerged in Ocosingo and surrounding towns sparking military conflict that lasted for several months.

While now largely a political movement, the Zapatistas still wield influence in the beautiful Chiapas state where Ocosingo is located. Witness a sign posted across the road from a military base: “We control the state of Chiapas where the people rule and the government obeys.”

While the security situation interrupted their work for a while, it did not stop a long history of ministry from this dedicated couple.

After graduating from the Rio Grande Bible College where they met, the couple settled in Lidia’s home state of Chiapas to begin reaching out to both the Spanish and indigenous populations. Through an extensive Bible Club network that they still operate in Ocosingo and vicinity they are able to reach children and adults with the gospel.

Lidia first began working with the clubs when she graduated two years ahead of Manuel. “Some missionaries came here and started the clubs,” she explains. “Then they had to leave so when we married we took over the work.”

Today the couple operates at least five clubs throughout the community for children and adults, plus another in a small town outside of Ocosingo where Manuel is also the pastor of an indigenous congregation. “More or less, we have around 90 people in the clubs,” Manuel says.

“Many children come to the church via this ministry,” Manuel says. “And they bring their parents.”

As a result, the church is growing. “We have bought the house next door to the church to expand our Sunday school,” Lidia explains as she shows two visitors through the building. “We want to build a fellowship hall for wedding receptions and social events.”

“We also need to build a baptismal pool,” Manuel adds. “We used to baptize all of our new believers in the river, but the rivers are too polluted now to do that.”

The expanded facilities, which will also include a new sports field, will almost double the size of the present church property and building.

Looking to the Future

Meanwhile, Mayna and Ruly are looking to the future and new problems in troubled Chiapas.

“We are facing a problem with gangs here,” Ruly explains. “One of the prisons in the state is filled with gang members. But, here in Ocosingo they aren’t a problem yet. We want to work to prevent this from becoming a center of gang activity.”

Ruly says that he and Mayna want to work with youth and university students to prevent them from becoming involved in violent gangs. “Many of them come from dysfunctional families and they are turning either to the gangs or to the church to find a family.”

So, each weekend they provide classes and fellowship groups for young people to offer an alternative to acceptance by gang members on the street.

And, that work is paying off. The young couple says that some members who are studying in universities away from home and have been tempted to become part of a gang are, instead, returning home on weekends to be a part of the church groups because they offer a message and an atmosphere that they find exciting and meaningful.

But, Ruly and Mayna feel that they need more to offer an effective ministry. “We are in prayer for the development of a camp where young people can go and be a part of a Christian family,” Mayna says.

They have led the church to purchase a large piece of land outside of the city which they are hoping to develop over the next few years with cabins, meeting rooms, soccer fields and a dining hall.

Ruly says that the development will cost around $200,000. And, when the money is raised, they will be seeking North American work groups who will be willing to travel to Chiapas to help build the facilities.

All four members of the family are missionaries with the Lancaster, Pennsylvania-based BCM International (Bible Centered Ministries). The agency supports more than 700 full-time missionaries serving in 50 different countries.

Patience and Persistence Continues to Build Churches

Looking back, Manuel reflects on his and Lidia’s faithfulness and dedication to one church in an out-of-the way and largely ignored corner of Mexico. “We have spent more than 30 years in ministry here. It has been a blessing to us,” he affirms.

And, as Manuel looks ahead, he sees those blessing continuing through the ministry of his daughter and her husband as they pick up the reigns and build for ministry to a new generation of Mexican believers.

To contribute to the ministry in Ocosingo or for more information on BCM International, write to: BCM International, 309 Colonial Drive, PO Box 249, Akron, PA, 17501-0249 or via email to info@bcmintl.org.