Happy graduation day! I’m writing from Madrid on a beautiful, sunny, 75-degree day at our new campus, where 20 students from all over Spain have just completed their studies at our new campus. Their celebration is your celebration, because your prayers and giving have made their training possible. Thank you!
Many of our guests had never seen our campus — and they saw it in great condition, because we’ve been working hard on the renovations since we began moving in. Here again, this is your place — the result of your prayerful generosity!
But I didn’t come straight to Madrid. Far from it! The first half of the year has been jam-packed with ministry! I’m here in Spain by way of Cuba and Portugal, along with news from Venezuela and four other South American countries! I’ll give you a whirlwind tour . . . a high-speed slideshow of God’s work fueled by your love!
Cuba! I met with a friend from 40 years ago. We’d lost track of each other. Now, he wanted to go with me to see what was going on in our ministry.
After days witnessing firsthand the explosive multiplication of churches there, he was struck by the sustainability of the work:
“What I am most amazed about,” he said, “is that if something happens to you, all these folks will keep right on going!”
BINGO! That’s the idea. Keep multiplying the multipliers — way beyond ourselves! It’s the same principle that drives your part in the ministry too: you are multiplying your own personal impact through the innumerable evangelists and church planters you’re raising up and deploying in the mission fields of the world through your generosity!
Portugal! We spent two days of vision-casting and planning with the Portuguese leaders, as we prepared to launch seminary extensions in their country.
I spent a weekend preaching on missions and outreach in churches in Porto, the north region. People were struck by their discovery of “apologetics,” the reasoned presentation of biblical doctrine. Most of these folks never knew that we as God’s people can answer atheists, agnostics, and philosophers with powerful truths.
A group of young university students came up after one session and began asking questions — in English. They were fascinated. They were relentless! We conversed for more than an hour!
And the parents there were stunned to see their kids so deeply engaged in heady issues. (Many were also surprised — and delighted — to realize that their children were fluent in English.)
Seeing how engrossed their university students were in the subject, the leaders of the Portugal churches have now asked us to follow up with an actual course on apologetics.
Up next in Portugal: Our Spain director Unai and a Portuguese pastor named Paulo will coordinate with a group from the U.S. to organize a major June evangelistic campaign in the Porto region. Excitement was already high, and it’s growing!
Meanwhile, the pastors of Portugal have urged us to return anytime, and they’ll arrange special venues for any ministry activities we want to undertake.
I thought of you again and again, seeing how God is honoring your investment in the harvest work. Everywhere we go in the name of the gospel, we’re met with enthusiastic people with one key goal: they’re hoping to see a spiritual breakthrough in their region.
The main takeaway from the long weekend in Portugal — Unai put it this way: we opened up another big chapter for the gospel in the Iberian Peninsula.
Madrid! At the seminary in Madrid, I taught the final two-week course of the school year on preaching. It was a deeply satisfying experience to see students open the Word of God, study well, extract truths relevant to their environment, and do a good job of expositing and applying those biblical truths for their audience.
- It’s thrilling to me, because we are witnessing the fruit of our training. If the learning is only in the students’ heads, they’re like a computer tower filled with a lot of data — but without a monitor or printer to share the information!There in Madrid, I saw how God is turning your generous support into thoroughly trained teachers of the Word, new leaders with a passion for reaching the lost!
One young woman, with top grades, came up to speak with me. The student came to say thank you for all she had learned in her four years. Her thanks go to you!
She told me that she had recently spoken at a women’s meeting. A woman there asked her afterward if she had studied at World Link Seminary. The student said yes. “I knew it,” the other woman replied. “You guys are known for how you explain the Bible so well!”
On this graduation day, I say congratulations not only to our graduates, but to you! It’s a season of joy for us, in our ministry together. We’re multiplying disciples who are bearing fruit beyond our own capacities. It’s happening in multiple settings, in multiple countries! We’re accomplishing what the Lord wants us to accomplish, by His grace!
Pamplona! It’s famous for the “running of the bulls,” but I went there to teach at a weekend family camp. My hosts had asked me to talk about our identity in Christ.
Maybe it’s a topic you feel you know well. We all know about the “new birth” we experience when we come to Christ.
But many don’t have a clear definition of the new nature . . . the new conduct . . . the new relationship to the various groups we have to deal with in our world.
The camp’s theme was “Don’t forget who you are.” How can we live our new life in Christ always remembering to demonstrate it — not only to our own personal family, and to our family in Christ, but also to the world around us?
I taught from First Peter all weekend long, Friday through Sunday. It was a wonderful, joyful, meaningful time for all. It’s great when you wrap up and people ask you to keep going!
But this was not “glorification of the worm,” as Howard Hendricks called flattery for pastors. No, these folks wanted more teaching because they were really grappling with the practical issues of living for Christ in their context, in the Basque region.
We were all sad to see this weekend come to an end — but we’re hoping for more opportunities in the future.
Finally, we hurriedly drove back to Madrid for graduation in our new venue — running down a long checklist of important items before the big weekend, including evaluating each student’s preaching. But at the same time, on the other side of the ocean . . .
Venezuela! Our Venezuela director Alex was making preparations for another graduation — 86 students were completing their studies there!
There were so many graduates, in fact, that a big church couldn’t house the great numbers coming to see their relatives graduate.
But emboldened by the Spirit, Alex decided to aim high: he asked the mayor to let us conduct our graduation in the city’s palatial central theatre (see it at youtu.be/LJDC32hbfY4).
Such a thing had never been allowed before — in fact, such a request had never been made before! But the mayor said yes, the theatre would be occupied with arts events on weekends, but the graduation could take place on any weekday — free of charge! Hallelujah!
Yes, Venezuela is getting a lot of bad press these days, but there’s wonderful press about what God is doing there! This summer, we’re approaching a total of 1,000 churches planted!
But Venezuela is only the beginning of a much larger South American outreach. I received a tremendous thank-you message — with thanks to you — from a church leader ministering to the Warao people of the Orinoco Delta region, in the far reaches of northeastern Venezuela.
Leading the Warao to faith in Christ may be the start of something big, because the Warao population extends into neighboring countries: Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, and Suriname.
The church leader wanted us to know how hugely grateful he is that we’re willing to help him reach the people of that region. They’re eager for their young people to be trained in the Scriptures and in doctrine so that they can quickly launch outreaches. News travels fast through the Warao’s well-established cultural networks!
Where next? Where will all this lead? Only God knows. But our part is simply to keep saying yes to the Lord. What God is doing through you and me together, I find deeply moving. I would never have dreamed that we could be used by God to go into such wild, far-flung places in the name of the gospel and see such fruit produced! I think God is in this!
I myself am evidence of God’s amazing grace, His endless love for people in need. I fled Guatemala and came to Mexico City, where I found myself downtown, in a gas station, sleeping on scraps of cardboard on the floor of the restroom. Ten years later, I was back on that street — but standing on the terrace of the presidential suite at the Intercontinental Hotel, directly across from that same gas station.
How could such a change happen? It is no credit to me — no “glorification of the worm.” The Lord simply proved to me that He would lead us if we would follow, and powered by His grace and our obedience, we can go places we never dreamed!
Fueled by this promise, we are blessed to see masses hearing the gospel and entering into an eternal, life-giving relationship with the Savior.
Thank you for being such a part of it. Thank you for your faith. Thank you for living for Him and loving Him. Let’s carry on. Let’s finish strong. Let’s be faithful to Him and receive the crown of all those who are coming to faith through our joint effort in ministry.
Rejoicing in His service,
Dr. Manny Fernandez
P.S. Right after I returned from Cuba, I had the privilege of speaking at my mother-in-law’s memorial. She lived 100 years! Even in hospice care, she sought to live life to the fullest. It was a reminder to my wife Glenda and me that we can all possess a hunger for life—no matter our age! Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life,” and I praise God for that truth. I challenge you to think about your life and the resources that God has entrusted to you. We rejoice in every gift that comes to World Link—especially during summer months when giving can soften. I hope to hear from you soon. Thank you! God bless you!