Monterrey, Mexico

Monterrey, Mexico

Pastor Julio Ceron and wife Sylvia, Ali and
Christopher Alvarado

Ali Alvarez is an Every Nation missionary serving in our new church plant in Monterrey, Mexico. The following is our interview with her about her missionary experience:

Can you tell us about your outreach in Monterrey?
I’m currently helping to plant our first church in Monterrey, Mexico with Pastor Julio Cerón and the Mexico team using my exhortation, administration and coaching gifts to serve and equip the believers God has so graciously given us in this nation from the university campus and the surrounding community.

Our intention and focus to reach the people in Monterrey has been to observe and understand the culture and to connect and build relationships with students, families and professionals by doing life together. We endeavor to serve them with their various needs and introduce them to Jesus Christ in the process.
Hugo is an example of one relationship that was started through our campus bible study. He was invited by his girlfriend and he attended for a few months intently listening and participating through the lessons in the purple book. In the process, his life was touched with the power of the gospel and when he finally understood God’s love for him, he became a follower of Jesus and was baptized in June 2008.

Anna Maria water baptism

Ana Maria is a devout Catholic, very curious but also very cautious to learn the scriptures. We kindly and patiently answered her many challenging questions during the past 6 months. Ana Maria has received emotional healing and was baptized together with her husband in June this year.

Can you tell us about the culture and the spiritual climate in Mexico?
The culture is beautiful, relational and multi-faceted and I believe now is a historical time to reach out and make disciples in this great nation. Mexico is in a fierce battle for her soul with various factions like organized crime and communism wanting to rule and control. The people are very open to the gospel because of their many social and economic struggles.

Barbeque Dance

What creative strategies do you use to effectively reach out to students?
Pastor Greg Mitchell from Canada refers to discipleship as “relational development”. In Monterrey this is the only strategy that works. These students are largely upper middle class from all over the nation and tend to be mistrusting. We purposed to be servant leaders in the campus and have been reaching them by serving their primary need for family while they are away from home.  We genuinely become interested in their lives and then allow God to help us start the discipleship process.

What are the biggest challenges you face as a missionary?
I think the greatest challenges are financial and human resources. The harvest is plentiful and we need more laborers to help us reach this great potential harvest of young leaders.

What keeps you motivated and passionate to win students for Christ?
The truth that Jesus Christ loves them and that He does not want them to perish but to have eternal life. I think my generation has great hope and faith that God will raise up great leaders like Moses, Joshua, David, Daniel, Nehemiah, Esther and Paul from the campuses of the world. I’m also very motivated by the reality that I only have one life and one chance on this earth to make disciples of Jesus Christ.

What encouragement and advice can you give to other missionaries who have a heart for the nations?
My encouragement is to take time to know the culture and the people they are called to reach without any pre-conceived ideas. To invest time building genuine relationships and to trust God to connect them to those He is calling to Himself. Jesus built authentic relationships throughout His ministry and we need to take the time to do the same. Do not be discouraged with the financial strain in full time ministry work and do not give up when the going gets rough. Never forget His Great Commission promise that He is always with them and that their labor of love is never in vain.