Posts Tagged ‘Harbor Network’

A New Season & A New Church

Posted: March 31, 2014 in Christianity, Church Planting, Ministry, Missions, Prayer, San Diego, Tijuana
Tags: , , , , , , ,
2
Baseball & Church Planting
Dave with Pastor Ivan

Dave with Pastor Ivan on the foundation for the new church plant

I’m excited about two events that are going on this week. One is the beginning of baseball season, and second is the building of the new church in Tijuana.

On Tuesday I will be with some church planters to discuss church planting in Southern California and Tijuana. Then after the meeting we’ll go to a baseball game together. That’s like a day made in heaven!

Hope for Valle Verde

As much as I may enjoy baseball, the new church is even better. When you think of all the lives that will be touched, and the people who will be reached for the kingdom in the community of Valle Verde in Tijuana. Wow! What a privilege to play a part in that.

Join Us in Prayer
Meeting on Sunday with some of the people that will be going to build the church in TJ

Meeting on Sunday with some of the people that will be going to build the church in TJ

Pray with us for all the details as we make the final preparations for our trip to Tijuana with a group from the Harbor network of churches on April 5th and 12th. I’m still working on setting up all the van transportation, and getting all the insurance forms filled out. The details aren’t the fun part of the trip for me, but very necessary if we wish to have a successful trip.

Our church planting couple Ivan and Rocio Casados just got back from the church planting assessment center in Monterrey, Mexico. They did very well there, and told me that it was a real blessing for them to be there. Ivan said that they were able to learn more about themselves and church planting through their time in Monterrey.

Thank you Jesus for your good work!

One of the many things that encourages me as we serve here on the border is that the longer we are here the more we learn and we are able to improve. God’s grace enters in and allows us to do an even better work.

Rejoice with us! Pray for a wonderful two weekends and a Spirit  inspired launch of this new church plant.

In His Grip, Dave

DiasoLifeOnTheBorder.org

 

 

A New Journey Begins!

Posted: January 6, 2014 in Bright Spots on the Border, Christianity, Church Planting, Ministry, Ministry Partners, Prayer, Tijuana
Tags: , , , , , ,
2
God’s Continued Work in 2014
Dave with Pastor Ivan, Pastor Jose Luis and Pastor Daniel Nuñez

Dave with Pastor Ivan, Pastor Jose Luis and Pastor Daniel Nuñez on the new church plant site

I’m still reflecting some on all that God did in 2013. The Lord’s mighty deeds encourage my heart, and I hope it will lift your spirits as well.

One of the projects that we began in 2013 that I’m very excited about going into 2014 is a new church plant in Tijuana. We are working with Daniel Nuñez (Lo Mejor del Trigo, “The Best of the Wheat“) and Harbor to start a new work in Valle Verde. The pastor of this new work is Ivan Casados.

We’ve had some set backs in getting this project up and running, but our hope is to get this new church off to a strong start in the next month or so.

Pray For God to Bring Things Together

We appreciate your prayers for pastor Ivan Casados and his wife, Rocio as they lead this new work. Pray God brings all the resources together, so we can move this church plant forward.

One of the reasons that I get stoked about church planting is that as C. Peter Wagner has said,

“Church Planting is the best methodology of evangelism under the sun.”          Church Planting for a Greater Harvest (Ventura, Calif.: Regal Books, 1990), 11.

A Changed Life
Pastor Ivan Casados with the land for the new church site behind him

Pastor Ivan Casados with the land for the new church site behind him

I love the stories of changed lives that come from our church planters.

Ivan shared this story with me lately of someone who his wife, Rocio reached out to. Rocio went out with a group from the church to visit neighbors in the community where they are starting the new church. Rocio met Veronica, and asked her if she could pray for her. Veronica said she was nervous about her upcoming back surgery.

Rocio prayed and Veronica felt God’s peace which gave her strength and carried her through the operation. Through the witness of Rocio and the prayer and loving support of the church Veronica gave her life to Jesus. Then her husband, Saul and her son, Samuel came to Christ. Now they are becoming an integral part of the church.

Pray for many more people like Veronica and Saul to come to know the Savior, and see their lives transformed. We’d love to see the Lord do a mighty work through this church in 2014 and beyond!

In His Grip, Dave

DiasoLifeOnTheBorder.org

Rejoicing in God’s Grace

Posted: December 29, 2013 in Bright Spots on the Border, Christianity, Church Planting, Journey, Ministry, Ministry Partners, Missions, Prayer, Reflections & Musings, San Diego, Tijuana
Tags: , , , , , , , ,
2
Pastor Daniel Nuñez with his wife, Yolanda

Pastor Daniel Nuñez with his wife, Yolanda (Daniel is the leader of Lo Mejor del Trigo)

As 2013 draws to a close, it causes me to reflect on all the wonderful works our Lord has done in the past year.

I believe this has been one of the most fruitful and most fulfilling years for Dawn and me in our 25 years of marriage. We couldn’t wait to move to the border, and dig into the ministry on the San Diego – Tijuana border.

It’s been even better than we imagined!

Not everything has been perfect. We’ve experienced some challenges and setbacks as well, but overall it’s been an outstanding time of ministry.

Rejoicing with our Wonderful Partners
Worship at Christmas in City Heights

Worship at Harbor Mid-Cities, Christmas in City Heights

God has given us wonderful partners to serve with here. We love working with Harbor and it’s network of churches north of the border. South of the Border we have a great and growing relationship with Lo Mejor del Trigo and their network of churches. The Lord has opened up some new doors for us as well with the National Presbyterian Church of Mexico.

Rejoicing in the Fruit God has Given
feeding the homeless at El Bordo

feeding the homeless at El Bordo with Pastor Leo and his wife Gloria

Through our partnership with these ministries we’ve seen more than 100 come to Christ in the churches we are directly involved with. Untold hundreds of homeless have been fed and cared for. The poor and unfortunate families have been given hot meals in the name of Christ. Those that were once addicted to drugs have found a Christ-centered drug rehab, and they are healing.

One of the exciting things is that these ministries will only get stronger in 2014. The Lord will extend the reach of the church through his people.

What a privilege it is for Dawn and me to be a part of all that God is doing. That is why we are rejoicing in God’s grace.

In my upcoming posts I’d like to highlight in some more specific ways that we’ve seen God work in 2013. Today I wanted to cast the vision, and give an overview of our Lord’s mighty deeds. We truly see his heart for the border as we live and serve here.

Dave and Dawn - thankful for the Lord's renewing work on the border

Dave and Dawn – thankful for the Lord’s renewing work on the border

Rejoicing in Christ’s Call

Thank you Jesus for calling us to serve you here, and for moving in such a powerful way. We do cry  out and ask you to continue to touch the hearts of men, women and children so that we will see your kingdom extended on the earth.

Consider a Year-End Gift

If you are looking for a fantastic way to give, please consider making a year-end gift to our ministry on the border. You can give online by clicking on this link: https://donations.mtw.org/donate/AddDesignation.aspx?No=11717

In His Grace, Dave

DiasoLifeOnTheBorder.org

Related articles

The Gospel Goes Forth in Tijuana!

Posted: November 5, 2012 in Bright Spots on the Border, Christianity, Church Planting, Ministry, Ministry Partners, Missions, Prayer, San Diego, Tijuana
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
4
Pastor Rodrigo & Daniel Nuñez leading the new church

Pastor Rodrigo & Pastor Daniel Nuñez leading the new church

Yesterday Lo Mejor Del Trigo (LMT) launched a new church plant in the neighborhood of Pipila. Pipila is in eastern Tijuana.

Harbor helped build the church. God gave us the opportunity to go out into the community to invite people to come and see. Then we shared testimonies and a short gospel presentation. It was a privilege to be a part of this new work, and to see the Lord’s Spirit moving in this place.

It was also such a blessing to work with so many who wanted to help build this church!

Pastor Rodrigo led the first service yesterday. A number of people came to celebrate. It’s so encouraging to see the gospel going forth in this community. The new birth of a church. We pray that the church will help to bring about spiritual, cultural and social renewal to the community of Pipila.

The church is full for it's inaugural celebration service!

The church is full for it’s inaugural celebration service!

Thanks for being a part of the expansion of the kingdom of God in TJ. The Lord uses your prayer and support to strengthen and to move this ministry forward. Yet in many ways we know the battle is just beginning, so we must not grow weary in doing good for God’s glory!

The church is built on the rock, which is Christ Jesus our Lord. He is our hope. He is the one we lift up high and proclaim to the nations. Amen and Amen!

In His Grip

DiasoLifeOnTheBorder.org

Jesus Shines Brightly in Tijuana!

Posted: October 31, 2012 in Bright Spots on the Border, Christianity, Church Planting, Ministry, Ministry Partners, Missions, Prayer, San Diego, Tijuana
Tags: , , , , , , , ,
1
Phases of Church building

Phases of Church building

Jesus shines brightly as the church grows and the gospel goes forth in Tijuana!

This last Saturday a number of people and ministries came together to build a church in eastern Tijuana, in an area called Pipila. My son, David Diaso Jr., and I went down with a group of friends from Harbor Church. We built the church for the ministry of “Lo Mejor Del Trigo,” (The Best of the Wheat). Baja Christian Ministries coordinated the building of the church.

When we lived in Mexico City we helped a number of churches build their church buildings. We loved it then, and we love it now! This was different from our experiences in Mexico City, in that through the system we use here we are able to build the church over two weekends.

This last weekend we got the walls and roof up, and started some of the electrical work. This coming Saturday we will work on finishing up the inside of the church, and painting. We will also help the church launch their outreach in the community.

Pastor Rodrigo with his wife, Nancy and their children

Pastor Rodrigo with his wife, Nancy and their children

Then this Sunday afternoon at 3 PM the church will hold their first service. Pastor Rodrigo will lead the ministry at the church.

It’s a different way of doing ministry and outreach than I’ve done before, but the Lord is using it in a mighty way. This is the 16th or 17th church (I have a hard time keeping up!) that Daniel Nuñez has started. His vision is to start 50 churches in 20 years.

Pray with us that the Lord will not only allow him to reach this God-given vision, but to exceed it! Pray as well for our safety and the Lord’s rich blessing as we head down again this weekend.

David Jr., Issaid Arechiga and I will be going into TJ on Friday night to meet with the Lo Mejor Del Trigo pastors for their monthly meeting. The rest of the group will join us Saturday morning.

In His Grip, Dave

DiasoLifeOnTheBorder.org

A New Church is Born!

Posted: October 27, 2012 in Bright Spots on the Border, Christianity, Church Planting, Ministry, Ministry Partners, Missions, Prayer, San Diego, Tijuana
Tags: , , , , , , ,
3
A group of us at the new church plant site in eastern Tijuana

A group of us at the new church plant site in eastern Tijuana – in about a week there will be a church on this site!

Saturday morning we will head down to eastern Tijuana to start phase one of building a new church!

I’m thrilled to be a part of this! It’s an added bonus that my oldest son, David Jr. will be joining us.

Please be in prayer for us as we head across the border at 8:30 AM with 25 people from the Harbor Church Network. It should be a good time. Pray for our safety, and that we work in a unified fashion as we seek to present the gospel in word and deed.

We will be working with Daniel Nuñez and Lo Mejor del Trigo. I’m looking forward to connecting with the people and meeting the pastor of this church site.

Thanks so much for encouraging us and standing with us in prayer!

In His Grip, Dave

DiasoLifeOnTheBorder.org

A Second New Birth in TJ!

Posted: October 16, 2012 in Bright Spots on the Border, Christianity, Church Planting, Ministry, Ministry Partners, Missions, Prayer, San Diego, Tijuana
Tags: , , , , , ,
1
A group of us visited the new church plant site in eastern Tijuana

A group of us visited the new church plant site in eastern Tijuana

It’s so encouraging to see how the Lord is blessing the first church that Harbor partnered with Lo Mejor del Trigo and Daniel Nuñez on. Later this month, October 27th and November 3rd we will again partner with pastor Daniel and his church planting movement to start a new church in eastern Tijuana.

I recently posted a video about the church plant in Rosarito. Leo Nevarez shares his testimony on the video. The Lord is doing an outstanding work through pastor Leo and the church there.

It’s amazing that in just a few months we are ready to start a second church in Tijuana. The Lord is providing the funds and the planter to begin this new work.

A few of us visited the new site a couple of weeks ago. It’s in a busy and populated part of the city. I can’t wait to see what the Lord will do through this work.

Join us in prayer as we recruit people to help build the church, and as that the Lord opens doors for the planter and his team as they share the good news of the gospel.

In His Grip, Dave

DiasoLifeOnTheBorder.org

P.S. Harbor Mid-City just opened a Facebook page – check it out here…

Beat the Drum for the Border

Posted: October 2, 2012 in Christianity, Church Planting, God's Leading, Ministry, Missions, Potential Team Members, Prayer, San Diego, Team Members, Tijuana
Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
1

We are praying for the Lord to bring the missing pieces!

On my last post, Lord, Build Our Team I shared about our time in Atlanta meeting new people who have an interest in missions. Dawn and I are trying to encourage them to take a look at the border ministry. Obviously, the Lord is the one that has to work in their hearts to call them. Yet we must play our part. We our beating the drum and calling out so that people will be aware of the tremendous needs we have on the San Diego – Tijuana border.

We believe the Lord will raise up workers to join us and serve with us. The hard part is waiting, and I know that it’s dangerous to pray for patience. 🙂 I will stick to praying for more laborers.

This morning during our staff meeting with our friends from Harbor and Campus Outreach I shared about our trip, and our attempt to mobilize new workers to join us. I admitted that I felt some pressure to do a good job in describing the crying need here. I definitely still need the gospel in my life each day.

One of our friends at the meeting, Mark, asked, “What are the needs you have? What type of people are you recruiting?” That was a marvelous question. It made me think about who we need, so that we will be a more effective productive team.

It made me think, “I need to get the word out about what we are looking for. This will enable people to pray for us, and it could even help stir up some interest.”

So here I am late at night, writing on my blog. I do want to list here the type of needs we have. Please do pray with and for the Lord to hear our cry for workers. After all, he did command to pray for more laborers in Matthew 9:37 & 38,

“Then he said to his disciples, The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers in his harvest.”

Our needs for the San Diego – Tijuana border:

  1. Church planters and church planting facilitator – Both Mexicans or Latinos and Americans
  2. People with a heart for and gifted in evangelism and disciple making
  3. Someone to coordinate community development/mercy ministries:
    1. Facilitate and teach English as a Second Language (ESL)
    2. Homeless, orphans, sex-trafficking
    3. Construction
    4. Medical Missions
    5. Coordinate short-term mission teams
    6. Business as Mission (BAM) initiatives – businesses to support pastors and help the community.
  4. Administrative gifts
  5. Teaching/Training/Education
  6. An Intern coordinator – someone to minister to, recruit for and direct our internship program

Dawn & Davev

I hope that gives you a better idea of what our needs are, and how you can pray for us. “O Lord, Build Our Team!”

In His Grip, Dave

DiasoLifeOnTheBorder.org

A Changed Life and A Celebration in Rosarito!

Posted: June 15, 2012 in Bright Spots on the Border, Christianity, Church Planting, Ministry, Ministry Partners, Missions, San Diego, Tijuana
Tags: , , , , , , , ,
4
Pastor Leo (far right) & Luis sharing with Marvin

Pastor Leo (far right) & Luis sharing with Marvin

It was so encouraging to be with Pastor Leo Nevarez, and to hear him tell his story. Addicted to drugs and strung out, he was headed in the wrong direction. God in His grace reached out and redeemed him out of that lifestyle.

He married Gloria and neither he nor his wife knew Christ. They were struggling as a young family, and headed down the wrong path. Someone invited them to church, and they said they were going to have Birria (a spicy Mexican meat stew). He thought well I don’t really want to go to church, but I’ll go for the Birria.

He and his wife went, and they liked the church. God gripped their hearts, and they came to Christ. Interesting the things God uses to draw people to himself.

Now the Lord uses pastor Leo’s background in drugs to minister in the community. He can tell when someone has a drug problem, and he knows how to love on these people. Even while I was out sharing with him and the evangelism team he found a small bag of crystal meth. He opened it up and poured it out on the street, stomping on it.

He said there were a lot of addicts that live in the community around the church. As we walked the streets I could tell that he had a keen sense as to whether the young people we talked to were into drugs or not.

As I shared in my last post when we went out pastor Leo and Luis had the chance to minister to Marvin, who was high on something. Marvin was ripe fruit. He was ready to receive help.

Isn’t it great how the Lord uses our broken past for His glory?

Here’s a short video clip on the Harbor – Lo Mejor Del Trigo church plant in Rosarito. Thrilled to see all the joy expressed in this new work:

Praise God for His great work in the City!

In His Grip, Dave

DiasoLifeontheBorder.org

The Kingdom is a True Mystery – A Wonderful, Marvelous Mystery

Posted: June 4, 2012 in Bright Spots on the Border, Christianity, Church Planting, Ministry, Ministry Partners, Missions, Prayer, Reflections & Musings, San Diego, Tijuana
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
8
Pastor Leo Navarez receiving the keys to the new church

Pastor Leo Navarez receiving the keys to the new church

In my last few posts I’ve written about the new church plant in Rosarito, Mexico led by our friends, pastor Daniel Nuñez and pastor Leo Navarez. Daniel is the leader of Lo Mejor del Trigo (The Best of the Wheat) movement in Tijuana and beyond. Leo is the pastor of the church in Rosarito, which is Lo Mejor del Trigo’s 14th church! Praise the Lord for how He is moving through this ministry.

As I’ve thought about this church plant it’s reminded me of the kingdom of God. It’s reminded me of Jesus teaching on how the kingdom of God grows. In part it’s a mystery. It’s something God does as the gospel goes forth. The kingdom of heaven is a powerful and dynamic movement of the Spirit.

Jesus said in His teachings in Matthew 13:31-32,

“… The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in it branches.”

The kingdom of heaven is a beautiful thing. The Lord brings together sometimes unrelated parts to bring about expansive growth. If we look, if we pay attention, we can see the seed scattered. Then we begin to see these smallest of seeds bear fruit. They grow into something big and unexpected.

Hannah, Dawn and Dave with Yolanda and Daniel Nuñez in Rosarito - south of TJ

Hannah, Dawn and Dave with Yolanda and Daniel Nuñez in Rosarito – south of TJ

Some of the things I’m already seeing even as the church in Rosarito just celebrated their first service this past Sunday are:

  1. Pastor Leo remembering that his family owned some land in Rosarito, and realizing they could use that land to build the church.
  2. The Lord bringing two ministries together – Harbor Presbyterian Church and Lo Mejor del Trigo to plant this church.
  3. A mexican woman, Billy, at Harbor Mid-City who saw the video that Danny Kim put together. She got so excited, because she has family that live in Rosarito. She planned to invite all of them to the church. I’m anxious to hear what happened. How many came?
  4. A friend from one of our supporting churches just wrote me when he saw my letter about the new church in Rosarito. He said their church has been involved in a ministry to build homes for the homeless in Rosarito, but they didn’t have a church to connect them with. This new church could be an answer!
  5. Only time will tell of all the wonderful things that the Lord will do through this church. I’m thrilled to see all these different moving parts come together. Small seed growing!

I love the way God works, so encouraging to watch. Tell me, how have you seen God at work? How have you seen Him take something small, the smallest seed to bear much fruit?

Let’s Praise Him together for His mighty work!

In His Grip, Dave

P.S. I’d appreciate your prayers as we do prayer walks this week and next week in San Diego and Tijuana. Pray the Lord will give us His eyes to see!

DiasoLifeontheBorder.org

Older Entries