Posts Tagged ‘Jim DeWitt’

Growing Healthy Churches

Posted: August 17, 2017 in Christianity, Church Planting, Ministry, Missions, Prayer
Tags: , , , ,
2
The Incubator Church Planters Training
Incubator church planters training

Incubator church planters training

I always get encouraged when I hear one of our pastors refer to a principle that he learned during one of our training events. It means that they are beginning to process and apply what they found helpful to their specific ministry situation.

Last week we had the wonderful opportunity to train some of the pastors and church planters in our incubator church planting training. I love the seeing the guys connect and interact and to begin to think through how they can use the information in their context.

Our prayer is that we will have healthy and growing churches. In order for this to happen, it’s essential that we have well-equipped pastors and leaders.

Christ Centered Biblical Counseling & Conflict
Dave with Pastor Saul Lopez

Dave with Pastor Saul Lopez

The topics we covered during this training session dealt with Gospel Centered Biblical Counseling and Conflict. These are two keys areas that pastors deal with regularly. I enjoyed hearing the interaction as we discussed some of the difficult conversations they are dealing with in the church they serve at.

If you attend one of their churches, don’t worry names were not shared. We just shared the situations, and then how to navigate through the issues they were dealing with in a Christ centered healthy way. There are no copy and paste answers to most situations we face. Prayer is always key and seeking out the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

The enemy of our soul loves to help foment division via conflict. I think it’s one of his primary means of attacking the church. Too often people run from conflict rather than choosing to wade in and work towards reconciliation. We grow as we work through the difficult conversations. This is one of the many reasons learning to deal with conflict is so important.

Join Us In Prayer
Pastor Jorge Aleman leading a session on Christ-centered Biblical Counseling

Pastor Jorge Aleman leading a session on Christ-centered Biblical Counseling

Thank you for standing with us in prayer. These pastors are under a lot of pressure from various sides. They need our prayers to stay strong and to walk closely with the Lord as they look to him for wisdom.

In His Grip, Dave

DiasoLifeOnTheBorder.org

Promoting the Great Commission in the West

Posted: February 2, 2015 in Christianity, Ministry, Ministry Partners, Missions, Prayer
Tags: , , , ,
4
West Coast Missions Conference
The West Coast Missions Conference

The West Coast Missions Conference

This weekend was a blast! Mission to the World (MTW) held their first ever West Coast Missions Conference at one of our favorite churches, Redeemer San Diego.

Dawn and I enjoyed connecting with all the people and telling them about what God is doing on the border and the Baja. We love to tell the story, It makes it extra special when those listening have an interest in missions.

I find that I get challenged in a good way by the other missionaries and those that speak at these conferences.

We loved having our colleagues from the MTW office out on the West coast as well as fellow missionaries. God has blessed us with some outstanding people who are committed to the great commission. What a huge encouragement to serve along the choice servants the Lord has privileged us to work with.

Thankful for Our Team Members & Partners
Jay Kyle, Jim DeWitt, Dave & Dawn, Alina & Verne Marshall at the West Coast Missions Conference

Jay Kyle, Jim DeWitt, Dave & Dawn, Alina & Verne Marshall at the West Coast Missions Conference

Also, two of our team members came for the conference and they will be staying on this week, so we can get some time to pray and plan together. Jim DeWitt and Peter Boling, who are part of our team are here with us now.

Daniel Nuñez from Lo Mejor del Trigo was also able to accompanying us. We are getting ready to work with Daniel and LMT to start their 24th church. Redeemer in San Diego, who hosted the conference will be involved in the building of the new church which is planned for mid-March. Everyone enjoyed getting to know Daniel, which gives me a lot of joy!

Trials & Prayer

The timing of this conference was both good and difficult. It was good, because we the Lord encouraged us as we interacted with new and old friends. It was difficult, because we are in the middle of a painful trial.

I don’t want to say too much on this forum, but our daughter is going through a rough time. It weighs heavy on our hearts. We appreciate your prayers we definitely need them.

In His Grip, Dave

DiasoLifeOnTheBorder.org

 

Equipped for the Harvest!

Posted: September 5, 2014 in Christianity, Church Planting, Ministry, Ministry Partners, Missions, Prayer, Video
Tags: , , , , , ,
2
Church planting incubator

Church planting incubator

Last week I was in Monterrey, Mexico with pastor Ivan Casados from Tijuana and MTW colleague, Jim DeWitt among others. It was an exciting time going through the church planting incubator.

I felt like it was the beginning of the realization of a dream that I’ve had for the Border and the Baja. I desire to work with our team to see church planters trained and equipped so that they are better prepared to plant a church.

What a thrill to have the most recent church planter that we’ve partnered with Ivan Casados going through the training. We hope to be able to bring this training to other church planters we are working with in Tijuana, but this was a wonderful first step!

I’m so thankful for our partners with Lo Mejor del Trigo. God is blessing their efforts and our partnership as they work towards planting 50 churches.

While we were in Monterrey Jim DeWitt put together a video with the help of one of our other colleagues Jarett Hall. Here it is for your enjoyment.

God is doing wonderful things on the Border, the Baja and Beyond! Rejoice with us!

In His Grip, Dave

DiasoLifeOnTheBorder.org

God Moves in Los Cabos

Posted: May 2, 2014 in Christianity, Ministry, Missions, Prayer
Tags: , , , , , , , ,
8
The Lord Works Through Us
Dave with Peter Boling, Larry Trotter and Jim DeWitt in Los Cabos

Dave with Peter Boling, Larry Trotter and Jim DeWitt in Los Cabos

I’m writing this post from Mexico City, a place that was home to us for almost 10 years. I arrived here from Los Cabos on Wednesday.

Many memories come flooding back while I’m here, but today I’m going to focus on what I was doing in Los Cabos. In my last post I wrote about our gospel advancement meetings with the our partners from the Mexican National Church. Those meetings gave me hope for the future in the Baja.

Praying & Planning for the Advance of the Gospel
Jim leading us through a planning exercise

Jim leading us through a planning exercise

After we finished I met for two and a half days with our regional San Diego – Baja team, which is made up of Peter Boling, Jim DeWitt and me. The region we work in is spread out, we don’t get much face to face time, so it was wonderful to have time together to get to know one another better, and to be able to work together.

We focused on refining our mission, vision, values and goals for our team. Even though that might not sound like much fun, the Lord blessed our time. Every one in the group left feeling more encouraged. Do we have any obstacles ahead of us? Yes, but nonetheless we also have some outstanding opportunities to make a difference for the kingdom as we work together.

I must admit that the work we did was at times exhausting. It’s hard to try to create something new. It’s not easy to work for transformation of such a large region. We know God has to bring the increase. We serve a big God. This truth gives us hope.

Join Us In Prayer
The two sides of Los Cabos.

The two sides of Los Cabos.

The three of us recognize that even our best plans will come to nothing, if we don’t put Christ first. Prayer has to be one of the keys to our ministry as we trust the Lord to bring the results.

All of us also believe that building a strong relationship between us and those we are working with as well is key. One of the ways to develop a better deeper relationship to spend time together not only working, but having a good time together.

We took advantage of the beauty of Los Cabos and went out on a boat one of the afternoons. It was so relaxing and just an all around good time to enjoy one another’s company. We also saw the needy areas in Los Cabos, the areas the tourists don’t see.

Hear Our Prayer

Our prayer for San Diego – Baja and beyond is that God’s Spirit will blow through this region and touch the hearts of the people  so that we will see 1000’s come to Christ and changed by the gospel. O Lord, make it so! As it is in heaven, may it be on earth! Thy kingdom come.

In His Grip, Dave

DiasoLifeOnTheBorder.org

Taking Jesus to the Streets – Day 2

Posted: June 8, 2012 in Christianity, Church Planting, Ministry, Missions, Prayer, San Diego, Team Members
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
9
Our neighborhood evangelistic team - Dave, Jim, Zach and Ray

Our neighborhood evangelistic team – Dave, Jim DeWitt, Zach Lutz and Ray Call

We enjoyed another great day in City Heights. It is invigorating to interact with people in the community as we walked the streets and shared the love of Christ.

Many shared their fear of crime and violence in the city. They lacked trust, and they didn’t know their neighbors well. The people are concerned for their family and for their well-being.

It was a real joy to talk to them. The Lord taught us some good things as we listened to them, and attempted to learn from them. Jesus opened our eyes and hearts as we were in the community .

Crime and security are big concerns in the neighborhood of City Heights. Doors and windows usually have protective bars covering them. Some said there was a big need to help families with children. They felt this was a way that the church could help.

Jose selling Candy in City HeightsJose selling Candy in City Heights

Jose selling Candy in City Heights

Continue to pray with us that the Lord’s Spirit breaks forth, and transforms the community. O God, touch their hearts, and change their lives.

Our next stop for prayer is on Monday we will go into Tijuana, and hopefully in the surrounding community. Plans for that are still coming together, so we appreciate your prayers as the Lord brings all the loose ends together.

In His Grip, Dave

P.S. Pray for us as we go on a men’s retreat this weekend with the men from Harbor Mid-City, and World Impact.

DiasoLifeontheBorder.org

Walking the Streets for Jesus

Posted: June 7, 2012 in Christianity, Church Planting, Ministry, Missions, Prayer, San Diego, Team Members
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
3
A lot of bars on doors and windows in City Heights

A lot of bars on doors and windows in City Heights

Yesterday and today I am walking the streets in City Heights. Jim DeWitt, Ray Call, Zach Lutz and I are taking it to the streets for Jesus. We are praying for the community and inviting the people we meet to come to our ESL classes.

I enjoyed getting out and meeting the people. I saw a lot of fear in their eyes as they live in a tough neighborhood and are trying to make it. Most of the people we met spoke Spanish, so as we interacted with them in Spanish their eyes would light up. They enjoyed chatting with us.

We met two painters, both named Juan. We met Antonio who drives a truck loaded with candy. He sells candy as he drives around the neighborhood. Two young mothers, Blanca and Lizbeth were walking their babies in strollers. They were wary of us at first, but they warmed up to us as we asked about their little ones.

There is some suspicion, some distrust at first. They are wondering what we are up to? What is our angle? But they do warm up when they see we aren’t selling anything, and a number of them have a genuine interest in learning English.

Our prayer is that we will be a light in the community. That the love of Christ will emanate from us. We pray that they will join us for the ESL classes on Fridays, and that they will grow to know and love the Savior.

Pray with us that many respond as we take Jesus to the Streets!

In His Grip, Dave

DiasoLifeontheBorder.org

New Ministry Launch Almost Here!

Posted: March 10, 2012 in Bright Spots on the Border, Christianity, Church Planting, Ministry, Ministry Partners, Missions, Prayer, San Diego, Tijuana
Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
14

Ray and Michele Call

ESL training starts in two weeks, March 23-24. We are stoked about launching this outreach with Harbor Mid City. Ray Call and I met with our good friend from Harbor, Edgardo Avila a couple of days ago. Edgardo is very positive about the training. He spoke highly of Ray, as Ray is doing most of work to organize the training. It’s thrilling to see God work, and open up doors for us here on the border!

Yesterday, Ray and I met with Jim DeWitt for a team meeting. All of us are super encouraged by this opportunity the Lord has given us. We believe prayer is key to the event, and the ensuing classes that will start-up on Friday, April 13. Please do join us in praying that all the loose ends come together.

Here’s some specific prayer requests:

  1. Dave with Pastor Edgardo Avila, A Key Ministry Partner. He leads the Spanish Speaking Church at Harbor Mid City

    We need 1 administrator, and ideally 6 teachers for the training and classes. Right now we have at least 4 teachers, and some other people who have expressed interest!

  2. Ray as he organizes the training on March 23-24, and prepares for the launch of the classes.
  3. Ray’s health – he’s been having some health issues for more than a month. Pray for healing and wholeness.
  4. Kristy Holliday will be leading the ESL training.
  5. That the Lord will bring a good group to come learn English starting on April 13.
  6. We pray that the course will serve the people who come by improving their English skills. We are also praying that many will come to know Christ through this outreach.
  7. Unity for the team as they prepare, and the classes start-up.
  8. Tomorrow, March 11, I’ll be preaching at Calvary Presbyterian in Glendale, California.

Thanks for standing with us in prayer!

In His Grip, Dave

DiasoLifeontheBorder.org

Finally Some Good News From Mexico & Prayer Needs

Posted: February 17, 2012 in Bright Spots on the Border, Prayer, Team Members
Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
13

The US/Mexico Border

A friend of mine sent me this encouraging report from The Christian Post about what God is doing in Mexico. “When missionaries and pastors serving in Mexico discuss drug violence, a common theme emerges. People are suffering and dying in terrible ways, they say, but the fear this creates is driving unprecedented numbers of Mexicans – especially teens and twenty-somethings – into the arms of Christ.”

There’s so much bad news being reported about Mexico, it is refreshing to see how God is using these trials to drive people to Christ! We’ve prayed for this.

One missionary state’s in the same article, “The Enemy uses deception through the media to paint a bleak, horrible, hopeless picture of Mexico, which isn’t a true one. There’s a tremendous uprising of youth coming to Jesus. Seeds that were planted year after year are coming to fruition. The time of harvest is now.” Keep praying with us for more harvest. Read more of the article here …

We are starting to see God open more doors for us on the border. As we move forward we meet opposition. We know that we need prayer support. We are getting ready to launch ESL training March 23-24, so that we can use ESL as an outreach with Harbor Mid-City starting April 13.

Ray and Michele Call

Here’s some of our requests:

  1. Pray for the Call family as they serve with us. Their family has endured a lot of change and transition moving 5 times over the last 5 years.
  2. Ray Call’s chronic health problems. Healing and maintenance. Pray specifically that this will not interrupt Ray’s effectiveness for God’s glory, but that He may use his weakness for His glory.
  3. For the ESL launch we need six teachers, one administrator/coordinator, one snack coordinator, volunteers to interact with those that come to learn English, Students to learn English and pray for Kristy Holliday who is coming to lead the ESL training March 23-24.
  4. Pray for Michele Call as she home schools five children.
  5. Pray for Ray and Michele as they work on improving their Spanish, so that they will be more effective on the border.
  6. We are praying for direction in areas of evangelism as we seek to strengthen Harbor Mid City’s outreach to Hispanics.
  7. Continue to pray for Dawn and me regarding the sale of our house. We need wisdom as to whether we should consider renting the house.

  8. Jim DeWitt, Dave, Daniel Nuñez, Bill Yarbrough and Ray Call in TJ

    Pray for our new associate member, Jim DeWitt, as he helps us with administration and training.

  9. All three of us need more financial support: the Calls, Jim DeWitt, and Dawn and me. We are close, but it’s slowed down a little lately, so we need perseverance, encouragement and wisdom as we move forward.
  10. Praise the Lord for the team unity that we have, and that our team is growing. I just talked to a woman earlier this week that is going to begin the process to join MTW, and become a part of our team. That’s a huge answer to prayer.

Thanks for upholding us in prayer!

In His Grip, Dave

DiasoLifeontheBorder.org

A Call to Prayer – Will You Join us?

Posted: January 17, 2012 in Journey, Ministry, Prayer
Tags: , , , , , ,
2

Ray and Michele Call

One of the goals I have for this year is that the Lord would raise up at least 200 friends who would pray regularly for our San Diego – Tijuana BEAMM team. My hope is that we will have people sign up to pray for us each day, and others who will pray with us at least once a week.

Ray and Michele Call are on this team with us, so we want to work together in asking all our friends to commit to praying for us. Another friend with Mission to the World, Jim DeWitt is helping us to recruit prayer partners as well as implementing a plan to let people know how they can pray for us.

Dave with Jim DeWitt in Tijuana

We not only want to share our prayer needs with you, but we want to celebrate what God is doing. In my last post I shared how the Lord is working in my friend, Issaid’s life. It makes me tear up when I think of God’s faithfulness to Issaid and his family. It also gets me super excited to see how the Lord is using our friend and ministry partner, Stephen Phelan in Issaid’s life.

I asked you to pray for Brian and Anna Peterson. Well, God answered! Anna is now home with her family. She came close to dying while she had complications giving birth. Then there were concerns about brain damage, but the Lord has intervened and shown his mercy to the Petersons in healing Anna. They could use your continued prayer as it will take some time for Anna to fully recover.

Here’s how you can help!

If you would be willing to commit to praying daily, weekly or monthly for us let me know. I first post on my blog, and then broadcast it on Facebook, Twitter and our Facebook group “Pray for the Diasos“. My plan is to use all these social media networks to send out updates, and let friends know how to pray for us.

You can let Dawn, me, Ray or Michele know that you would like to pray for us by sending us a note. We appreciate any and all type of prayer. If you could specify whether it’s a daily, weekly or other that would be a tremendous help.

You can find our prayer requests on the prayer page on this blog. I will also send out prayer requests on my posts, and email updates.

The border in some ways is like a war zone, at least on the Mexican side. We need friends to intercede on our behalf. Our enemy wants to discourage us, and distract us from doing our work.

Dave & Dawn at the San Diego Harbor

Please pray for both our family and the Calls as we have experienced constant trouble with our cars recently. We had two cars die in 2011. The Call’s had to replace their transmission while on a long trip in October. Since they’ve returned both of their cars have continually been in the shop. They also had a car accident over the holidays.

Thanks for joining us on the journey, and standing with us in prayer.

In His Grip, Dave

DiasoLifeontheBorder.org

My Last Post of 2011 – Praising the Lord for His Many Blessings!

Posted: December 31, 2011 in Bright Spots on the Border, Journey, Ministry
Tags: , , , , , , , ,
2
Happy New Year from the Diaso family

Happy New Year from the Diaso family

This is my last post for 2011. Hard to believe another year has passed us by. I started this blog in January of 2011. At first I was fearful that I would be able to keep up with it, or that I would enjoy it. The blog itself has been a huge blessing, as it allows us to let people know what is going on in our life and ministry. It is also great that our friends can interact with us through the blog. I thank the Lord for our blog: DiasoLifeontheBorder.org.

I also thank the Lord for the many friends that he has given us to encourage us along the way. I wrote some posts about our champions. And more champions!

Just a couple of days ago I got together for coffee with one of my champions, John McKeever. John strengthens me as he gives me perspective. He helps me to remember how far we have come. Believe it or not sometimes I do get down. I think about all we have left to do rather than what God has already done. John was one of the friends that encouraged me to start my blog, and to work on my email prayer updates. Thank you John!

Dawn and I have a number of champions, and by mentioning a few I realize that I’m leaving out a number of people who have spurred us on. I’m grateful for all of our champions. David Quintanar, who I wrote about earlier in the year has been a huge encouragement to me. Dick Gascho, who’s been a great friend and coach to me over the last few years. He also helps me to keep things in perspective, and to work on setting achievable goals. Dawn also has some great friends that come alongside her. Then there are many families that hearten us along the way. Thanks to all of you who have stood with us, strengthened us, encouraged us, motivated us, cheered us on and believed in us during this long journey!

David, Jr., Dave, Daniel, Bill and Ray

Another huge ministry highlight for us in 2011 was the Living in Grace conference we held in Tijuana in November. More people looked at our blog on the day we launched our ministry in Tijuana than any day of the year. It was so good to have my friend and colleague, Bill Yarbrough with us leading the conference. It was wonderful to hook up with Daniel Nuñez and the great people he has connected with in his ministry. I enjoyed being able to have my son, David Jr. join us for part of the conference. A good friend and co-worker, Jim DeWitt flew in for the conference, and to learn more about our ministry on the border. BEAMM teammate and friend, Ray Call helped out. We had a great group.

I pray this will be the first of many such ministry events where we will see the gospel go forth, and be a blessing to other ministries. I’m so encouraged by Daniel Nuñez. He’s a gifted and godly leader that’s doing a great work in TJ.

Dawn and I appreciate your prayers for David Jr. We learned on Friday that he will need surgery for a torn meniscus. Now we have to figure out when and where. He leaves for college on January 9. Never a dull moment with our family.

Thank you so much for loving us, and for taking an interest in our lives and our ministry. It’s been a great year! I can’t wait to see what the Lord will do in 2012. Happy New Year!

In His Grip, Dave

DiasoLifeontheBorder.org

Older Entries