For the past five years, Jon and Laura have served as lead missionaries for To Every Tribe in Oaxaca, Mexico. The heart of their ministry is to walk alongside the local church in a platform community. Here, they support, strengthen, and mobilize believers to plant new churches among the least-reached language and people groups in this diverse, mountainous state. Historically, this church practiced an unhealthy form of Pentecostalism, resulting in unbiblical habits and little grounding in Scripture. But as trust was built, Jon began leading weekly Bible studies with the church leaders, working together to exegete the Scriptures and prepare expositional sermons. As a result, God is transforming the church and its congregation, rooting them in the Bible and the gospel of salvation by grace through faith in Christ. Today, this body serves as a key partner for church planting across the region.
Over the last four years, the Lord has kept a steady hand on the hearts of the Oaxacan people. You can see this clearly in a small community of 1,800 people known as Village Q, located about an hour outside the city. Initially, there was no local church, no written or audio Bible translated into their native language, and only 12 known believers. Knowing it was crucial to establish trust during the early stages of their ministry there, Laura began teaching English at a local preschool. This created a natural avenue to build relationships and allowed the community to become familiar with her, Jon, and their children.
During this season, Jon and Laura connected with a local pastor named Amos, who shared that a few members of his congregation were planning to start a Bible study with a single individual in Village Q. Jon was then invited to join and lead the group. That initial visit quickly opened doors to deeper relationships, allowing Jon and Laura to walk alongside families—celebrating their greatest joys and bearing each other’s sorrows. Today, that weekly Bible study has grown from just one person to approximately 25 believers and non-believers. The community has shared that they keep returning because of the genuine, Christ-like love they experience and the group’s dedication to reading God’s Word publicly.
This is only a small glimpse into the ongoing ministry in Oaxaca. As Jon and Laura continue to build relationships and share the gospel, their prayer is for hearts to be transformed by the love of Christ. They long for the people of Oaxaca to come to know the Lord and live lives that bring honor to Him rather than to themselves. They also hold onto the hope of seeing the Bible translated into the local language, in both written and audio formats. It is amazing to think that it all started with a single, faithful step of obedience. Praise God for what He has already done!
