Planting Churches in Remote Communities

Ninety minutes on a plane. Four hours on a 50-year-old school bus. Twenty-five hours on a motorboat.

That’s how long it took Resonate Global Mission missionaries and partner ministry leaders to reach a remote community in Central America where they planted a church. It’s one of six that they’ve started recently.

“This is one of the most isolated regions in the Western Hemisphere,” shared John, whose name is changed to protect identity because sharing the gospel in this region can make him a target for persecution. 

Despite the risks of sharing the good news of Jesus, John works with one of Resonate’s ministry partners to witness in this region. “People were hearing about Jesus and the hope that he brings, and they were thirsting to know more, but the resources to bring churches to more communities were simply not there. I so desperately wanted to see the hope of Christ brought to all of these communities,” he said.

These remote communities are populated by native people groups, and many of the residents are subsistence farmers or they work on large plantations. These communities have no electricity, sewer system, or clean, running water. If someone is hurt or sick, it can take up to two and a half days by boat to reach medical care. The transportation alone costs a month’s worth of wages per person. As a result, people there are more likely than most to die from minor wounds and illnesses.

It is also very difficult for people outside of these communities to reach them and share the gospel, disciple believers, and plant churches.

Because of the unique circumstances in these communities, traditional church planting—sending a pastor, providing a rich variety of music, constructing a nice building—isn’t as effective there. So John searched for a method that would help to spread the gospel in these communities. He found “Training for Trainers,” a method developed in Asia that is used to disciple and equip believers, who then share the gospel and disciple other believers, and so on.

“I quickly felt the Spirit showing that this can provide a great way forward for the communities we are aiming to work in. It focuses on relationships, discipleship, personal evangelism, small groups, and more,” shared John.

After pitching this idea to Resonate by applying for a grant, John received the funds to launch this project and reach the communities he had in mind. The funds also helped to cover John’s extensive travel to the region to lead training sessions. In addition, the funds provided transportation for key pastors and leaders from the region who would take the training and then work at planting churches.

Six pastors participated in the first training and learned how to effectively disciple and evangelize within their communities. While many of these pastors were familiar with preaching, they weren’t familiar with facilitating small groups—which is key for spreading the gospel in this context. 

“We taught them the importance of facilitation and helped them learn to ask questions, listen, and lead groups,” said John.

From this training, the pastors started churches in four communities. Two pastors relaunched their churches. The church that hosted the training had been planted years ago but had plateaued at 60 members. When the pastor started implementing the training, the church more than doubled in membership within six months!

In one community where John recently visited, the pastor and his family had been leading a small church on their front porch but were struggling to reach others. After the training, they started three small groups, two of which were with people who weren’t attending worship with the church. The church grew and was no longer able to meet on the pastor’s porch. They built a small pavilion where they could gather for worship and Bible studies.

“When we worshiped there, the pavilion was full, and I counted another 55 people standing outside the pavilion,” shared John. The church has now acquired land to construct a permanent church.

Within weeks of implementing the training, several of the churches celebrated believers’ choosing to follow Christ and be baptized!

“I firmly believe we can have churches in all of these communities in the next five to seven years instead of in 30 years,” said John.

Will you please pray for these communities?

• Pray that believers will continue to grow through the small groups and share their faith with others so that the gospel may continue to spread.
• Ask God to provide for the physical needs of these communities. Pray that these churches will be able to help share the love of Christ in tangible ways.
• Pray that churches will start up in more communities and that more people will come to know the hope and grace of Jesus.