We are in the process of training our national leaders in a more effective church planting process called DMD (Disciples Making Disciples), which has been used to plant thousands of new house churches around the world, in the last 12 years. This process is more effective because the progression of starting a new work, to creating new disciples who train more disciples, to planting new multiplying house churches is simpler, easier to understand, easier to implement in a new area, and also when training others in how to take the DMD process where God has called them to evangelize and plant new churches.  We have had great response from our national church partners who have gone through the training and implemented the DMD process in their ministries and their churches.

 We have begun setting up regional trainings in each country to train more leaders and create more trainers in DMD.  Though this process will not be completed in 2016, in the last year we have made great strides which we know will make a huge difference in the numbers people evangelized - some by mission teams, but more importantly by their own countrymen who will have been trained in how to share their faith and start house churches, so they can grow in their faith together.

We are blessed with committed church partners who recruit teams to travel to Costa Rica and to catalyze the church planting process there.  The challenge we face once they leave is following up and discipling new believers to become active disciples of Jesus Christ who not only grow in their own faith, but who can share their faith with others and draw them in to a relationship with Jesus as well.  We are trying to develop follow up teams and the reporting needed to insure that new believers are being discipled and new churches are planted.

We are also training pastors and leaders in how to work together to impact the social issues that divide and threaten their communities.  Community Transformation (CT) is a strategy the comes from the book of Nehemiah, and teaches pastors how to work together, to develop plans and strategies that will meet the greatest needs in their communities and to ignite the power of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of the members of their churches to serve together as the body of Christ.  CT is also very important in helping new house churches gain the trust and support of their communities, so the new churches survive, grow and become a vital part of their local communities.

We need additional financial support to:

• Bring DMD and CT training to national leaders at regional locations, followed by US mission teams
• Provide new training materials, in Spanish, which will also be able to be used to train new missionaries in the field
• Recruit and train national trainers who can work year around to train Costa Rican and Central American leaders in DMD and CT
• For Patti and I to spend more time on the ground in Costa Rica and Central America, without teams, but working side-by-side with nationals in discipleship and follow up
• Train special "follow up teams" who will remain behind in each location, after the American expeditions have left, to train and lead nationals into the field to follow up with new believers, to start new small groups and plant new churches

Without additional support, we will run out of money and the process will slow way down and eventually stop preparing the new disciples and leaders that we need to reach Costa Rica, Central America and the rest of the world, with the gospel.  The traditional Catholic faith is not going to help anyone get to heaven!  We need to reach all of these countries with the life saving story of Christ and the gospel, or they will perish.  Please help us create evangelism, discipleship and church planting movements that train and empower the nationals to reach their own countries for Christ and God's glory.