Dear praying friends, family, and churches:

Greetings from the Andrews Family in Spain.  Much has happened since our last Prayer Letter so I will get started right away.  In the last prayer letter I asked everyone to pray for Stefan.  He is the man who was walking by the church building and saw the Escaparate (window with information) and came in to join us for a service.  My father-in-law and I talked with him and spent time with him any chance we got.  After about 8 weeks, Stefan came to my father-in-law and I and said he was reading the Bible that week and he came upon a verse where the Lord said, “... come to Me...”.  He told us that he gave his life to the Lord. We praise the Lord for this.  We have been able to have discipleship classes with him and he has been growing each week.  We are scheduled to baptize him sometime in October.  It is amazing because we have seen such a change in his life. 

Each week the Lord brings new people to the church.  It is exciting to see people walk through the door that we have never met, nor had contact with.  We have worked hard at getting the Gospel out, making contacts, and letting people know who we are.  However, many of the people that have come are not a result of any of the “things” that we have been doing.  To me, this is great.  Many might say that God sees our faithfulness in obeying Him and blesses accordingly.  I can agree with this to a certain extent, but for me, it is a reminder that it is God who is working in this ministry.  It is His ministry; not ours. It is not my ability to make contacts, setup a website, produce a DVD, preach a good sermon that brings people and keeps people.  It is God working in this ministry and in the hearts of the people that brings them and keeps them.  Does that mean we sit back and do nothing because God will do all the work?  Of course not.  We work hard in obeying what God has commanded us to do, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”

We have so many different aspects of our ministry and things we are trying to do to get the Gospel to the people here that I can only focus on one or two in any given prayer letter.  I want to praise the Lord for how he has used our media ministry, specifically the internet.  We set up a website several months ago called www.estudialabiblia.com (Study the Bible) for the purpose of giving the people, who watch the DVD that we are giving out, a place to go and get more answers.  On the website there are articles and information that can help them learn more about God, the Bible, Salvation through Christ, etc.  We also have a place where they can request a Bible and when they do, we will personally deliver it to them.  The website took off much more then I ever imagined.  Spanish speaking people from all over the world have found the website, read the information, watched the video, and even requested Bibles. 

Eduardo found our website because he was searching for God and the truth.  He typed into the google search engine, “What is the true religion?”  After typing that in, the first website to pop up was ours.  He read the info, watched the video, and requested a Bible.  I got the request and realized that where he lived was about an hour away from where we live.  It seemed a little far but I thought to myself at least we can get him a Bible and share the Gospel with him even if we never see him again.  So my father-in-law and I made the journey and had a great visit.  To make a long story short, he ended up driving an hour one-way to come to a special service we had 2 weeks later and at the end of the service he raised his hand when the question was asked, “Who would like to give their lives to the Lord?”  We praise the Lord for how he works through every means possible.  I would love to write more, but I am running out of space.  :)  Please subscribe to our blog if you haven't already www.thatallmayknow.net/subscribe so you can read all the details of how God is working in our ministry and in our lives.

I wanted to remind everyone of some good Christian Music.  My wife, (Deanna) Brother-in-law, (David Velasquez) and Sister-in-law (Deborah Velasquez) have recorded 2 CD's, one in English and one in Spanish.  They did a great job and the music is just beautiful.  Most of all, the message of the songs are uplifting and glorifying to the Lord.  If you haven't purchased your copy, please head over to their website and make your purchase.  They are still offering a special if you buy 2 or 3 CD's.  They also offer discounts for missionaries, churches or book store who want to buy in bulk (10 or more).  So check out the site, listen to samples, read their testimonies and indulge yourself with Christ-honor, uplifting, Christian music!

www.alltheglory.org

Written by: Scott Newton

#2: Spain has been without a major Gospel preaching movement for at least 1600 years.

AD 33-70: Christianity came very early to the Peninsula. According to some ancient writers such as Clement Of Rome & Eusebius, St. Paul visited Spain (see Romans 15).

AD 70-711When the Visigoths, whose leaders professed Arianism (the denial of the divinity of Christ), invaded the peninsula, Christianity had been fairly firmly established for around 240 years, and had held its own councils and used a liturgy different from that of Rome, known later as the Hispanic Rite.

There were more than likely many true believers in this church, however, they had from AD 70 been corrupted through following the teachings of the Didache, supposedly a summation of the Apostles teaching.

The majority of this document was a paraphrase of biblical text, but here is the hook at the end:

16:2 “But be ye gathered together frequently, seeking what is suitable for your souls; for the whole time of your faith shall profit you not, unless ye be found perfect in the last time.”

Early writings confirm that this movement clearly taught a grace+works salvation. Not Gospel.

AD 711-1478 With the invasion by the Moors at the beginning of the 8th century, Christians suffered greatly. The Catholics who lived under the Moorish domination became known as Mozarabic Christians. By the end of the 15th century when the Reconquest of the peninsula from the Muslims was completed, the Mozarabic Christians had been subjected to the Roman liturgy and strict papal jurisdiction.

THE REFORMATION 16TH CENTURY SPAIN

However, it was not until the 16th Century that some people, interested in the writings of Luther, started to share a different Christianity among the Spaniards.

At the beginning, Spanish protestantism was accepted among the noble and high classes, due to their interest in reading the Bible. There were important reformers in Spain, such as Juan de Valdés, Francisco de Enzinas and three ex-monks, Casiodoro de Reina, Cipriano de Valera y Antonio del Corro. Reina & Valera were the first ones to translate the Bible into Spanish, with the support of Oxford university. (AD 1569)

However, soon after the entry of the reformation movements from Europe, the Inquisition made sure they would not succeed. The majority of Spanish protestants went into hiding, died, or left the country.

PROTESTANTS LIVE AS OUTCASTS DURING 17TH AND 18TH CENTURIES

During the following two centuries (17th and 18th) any attempt to reformation within Spain and the catholic church was stopped, or had to go underground. Yet, from some historical records from the Inquisition itself, we do know that protestants continued translating the Bible into Spanish and Basque and made it available to people. Others, who were exiled, continued translating Christian literature; while others who remained in Spain died in the hands of the inquisitors. There were 3499 court cases against Lutherans in Spain and Italy during that time, which is 7,1 % of all the inquisition cases recorded.

During the 18th and beginning of 19th Centuries, economic and military relations with England eased off the pressure over the foreign protestants in the country, allowing them to have freedom of conscience, though not freedom of practice.

The Second Republic (1931-1936)

During 1931 and 1936, under the auspice of the second republic, there was freedom of religion once more in the country which allowed growth. These 5 years, added to the 6 years of the first republic, made a total of 11 years of religious freedom in the whole history of Spain.

First stage of intolerance (1939-1966)

The civil war and the regimen afterwards, were devastating against the protestant churches, even though protestants had not taken positions in the war. At the end of the war, there were only 7000 protestants left. Most churches had been raided, along with schools and cemeteries. Some others were burned down or closed by the authorities.

It is estimated that over 80% of the churches were closed down.

THE CONSTITUTION OF 1978

After the death of Franco, Spain moved on to monarchy and democracy, reaching a crucial moment in 1978, when the country adopted a new constitution. King Juan Carlos I was in favor of democracy and religious freedom.

MODERN DAY SPAIN

Spain now enjoys religious freedom, and God is starting to move in big ways. Pray that the Lord of the Harvest will send forth more laborers, Spain is white unto harvest!

Spaniards have been the victims of a self-serving and greedy religion that offers no hope and no relationship with God for centuries, and they are increasingly distrustful of church. Here is an interesting article by Gallup on church attendance…

The scope of the influence of religion and the church on Spaniards’ lives remains difficult to characterize. While most Spaniards identify themselves as Roman Catholic, only 43% say religion is an important part of their daily lives, and less than a third tell Gallup they have attended a place of worship in the last seven days.

Blog post taken from Project Southwest Europe - Scott Newton

Ron Maggard is a fellow missionary and a good friend of mine.  The Lord used him to play a significant role in my christian growth while I was at Beacon Baptist Church.  He wrote an article that goes along with our Ministry Philosophy that we have been posting.  Enjoy!

I wanted to ask everyone to pray for the Sedgwick Family.  They are friends of mine from Beacon Baptist Church.  I trusted Christ as my Savior at Beacon and like so many of the wonderful families in the church, the Sedgwick family was a great example to me as a new babe in Christ.

Their son, Jacob who is stationed in Afghanistan, was shot in the chest this morning.  He is being flown to a hospital in Germany and is in Stable condition.  Please pray for him and his family as they go through this difficult time. 

Scott Newton is a church planting missionary to Spain.  He is currently on deputation raising his support.  You can visit Scott's website and blog to learn more about he and his family.  Scott started a topic on his blog called, "10 Things Every Christian Should Know About Spain."  We have asked Scott if we could re-post the topic here on our blog and he agreed.  We are now collaborating together on the "10 Things Every Christian Should Know About Spain."  Here is the first:

10 Things Every Christian Should Know About Spain(#1) - By Scott Newton

1: Spain is approximately 1.5 % evangelical Christian.

Spain has a population of 46 million, with approximately 600,000 Evangelical/Protestant church-members (FEREDE). Over half of these are members of Pentecostal churches which teach a perverted form of the Gospel that tells people that their salvation is dependent upon their continued faithfulness.

This leaves at best around 300,000 church members of various gospel-preaching churches. To put that in perspective, there are approximately 1 million Muslims in Spain, and 9.2 million who claim no religion (CIS, 2009).

Many times people assume that a first-world country like Spain, in a continent that we associate with great spiritual movements of the past, would have no great need of a Gospel preaching movement. That assumption is terribly terribly wrong.

Would you pray that God will raise up more laborers for Spain, and that He would use our ministry and that of every other missionary in Spain to lift high the name of Christ?

The other day I asked for prayer for our special family day.  It was our desire that God would work in a great way, not just to give us numbers, but to work in the heart of each individual that would come.  We prayed for people to hear the Gospel, for God to be glorified, and for people to be edified.

All in all it was a tremendous day.  We had 41 people in total, our highest day yet.  However, a number really doesn’t mean anything.  The largest church in the USA averages 43,500 people per week but if the true Gospel isn’t being preached, if the Word of God is not being taught, what’s in a number?  If the people are only hearing men’s philosophies and not the Word of God, what’s in a number?  The number of people that came to our service is not what is important.  What is important is that each person has a soul that needs God and the teaching of His Word.

What’s important is that Robertson and Laura came...a couple who we have been working with who are struggling to make ends meet.  Laura has confessed that she is not a Christian.  They need forgiveness for their sins and to meet the Lord Jesus Christ.

What’s important is that Eduardo came.  Eduardo found us through our website www.estudialabiblia.com and requested a Bible.  Even though Eduardo lives an hour away from us, we decided to go and give the Bible to him and at least give him a clear presentation of the Gospel even if we never saw him again.  Even with the distance, he came.  Eduardo is struggling to find work, having problems with his wife, and really, really searching for the truth.  This morning Eduardo raised his hand expressing his desire to give his life to the Lord.

What’s important is the owner of our building came with her mother and daughter.  There is a good chance that they have never heard the message of Salvation that we find in scriptures and this was their first time.  They were able to listen to songs that talk of God’s amazing love.  They were able to hear the testimony of Alberto Puente, a Spaniard who was saved years ago in Spain under my father-in-laws ministry and is now in the ministry serving the Lord.  They were able to experience a Bible message about Family and Faith.

No, the number “41” is not important.  What is important are the lives and the souls that make up that number.  The ones who were able to catch a glimpse of God’s awesome love through the preaching and teaching of His word.  Many of those precious souls remind me of myself at age 19 when I first walked into Beacon Baptist Church and heard a clear message from God’s Word.  May the Lord work in their hearts as he did mine and may they return time and time again to hear the life changing message that we can only find in God’s Holy Word.

Thank you for praying.  God answered all my prayers and much more.

This coming Sunday we are having a special day.  The theme will be on the Family.  We haven’t done a huge campaign, just simply made invitations for all of our current contacts.  If they all decide to come, this will be more then we can handle in our present location.

I was at the church on Thursday making up some packets of information to give to the first time visitors that will come on Sunday.  While I was waiting for the envelopes to finish printing, I decided to go and pray for the people who might come.  I remembered the verse in 1 John that says if we ask anything according to His will, He will hear us.  I was not asking for numbers.  I was not asking for Him to make it an exciting day.  I didn’t ask Him to fulfill our desires.  Not that these things can't be according to His will at times, but I wanted to ask Him for what I know for sure is His will according to the Word of God.  Here is what I asked for:

1. That the people who come would hear the Gospel and be taught the things of God. - Matthew 28:19 - 20
2. That the Christians would hear the Word and apply it to their lives - James 1:22
3. That Christ would be glorified and those that don’t know him would see that He is Worthy - Revelation 4:11; Revelation 5:9; Revelation 5:12
4. That people would be saved - 2 Peter 3:9
5. That the Word of God would do it's work in the hearts and lives of whoever hears the Word.  - 2 Tim. 3:16
   

Would you help us pray for this special day?

Watch the Video or read about it below.

I wanted to give you an update on how God is working through this DVD Project. We have been able to give out 23,329 Gospel DVD's.  If we calculate that there are 3 people per household that means we have given 69,987 people a chance to hear a clear presentation of the Gospel.  Our goal is to saturate our city with this DVD.  The DVD has a gospel presentation, clearly given for those who have never heard it.

So far we have had over 2,000 pageviews per month on the website that we have created.  This means that many who have received the DVD have watched the whole presentation until the end where the website is displayed and then accessed the website for more information.  It is every church's desire that in the lifespan of their ministry every person in their area or city will come through the church doors at least one time so they can hear a clear Gospel presentation.  However, we all realize that in the life of our ministry, only a small percentage of the people in our town or city will ever walk through those doors.  So what we have done is given the people of our city a chance to have the preacher come to them.  In the comfort of their own home, they can watch and hear a sound biblical message on salvation.

Please pray with us as we endeavor to finish getting DVD's to the rest of our city.  Also help us pray about our next project, " a Bible in every home."  Just as the title suggests, we want to get a Bible in every home in our city.  Thank you for your prayers and support.