Greetings in Christ Jesus,

We pray that you and your family are truly blessed.  These last few months have been exciting as the Jubilee Church plant continues to grow and mature. Our team in the Pachuca Project rejoices that the Lord gives us the privilege to be a part of His ministry in Mexico.

You might notice that we have a new logo!  We also have an exciting transition to announce.  On January 1 2010, IMPACTO Latino will become a ministry under the umbrella of New Mission Systems International.  The Board of IMPACTO Latino, along with the missionaries, have been in discussions with NMSI for over a year. IMPACTO’s Board of Directors approved this transition at its meeting on November 14, 2009.

The IMPACTO Latino Board will move to the role of Advisory Board for the Alvarado, Duggins and Greer families and for the National Ministry Workers, Jorge and Juanita Del Angel. The IMPACTO Board will continue to be counselors and accountability partners for us and our projects.

There are some wonderful blessings for the ministry of IMPACTO and it’s missionaries in moving to NMSI:

• NMSI has a effective support staff that will help with newsletters and other promotional needs.
• The financial staff of NMSI will take over deposits and receipting of funds, moving from the volunteer system that has been administrating our financial area.  (The treasurer of IMPACTO had indicated that as he approaches retirement a transition would be needed.)
• The projects of IMPACTO will also have a wider potential donor base as NMSI promotes special projects to a broad audience.
• As new families are added to the IMPACTO’s ministries and projects, they will have had effective pre-field training and assessment by the NMSI process of affiliation.
• The families of IMPACTO will now be covered under the NMSI group insurance program. Medical insurance covering our families in the United States and in Mexico had become a major challenge but will now be covered worldwide under the NMSI group policy.
• NMSI has a high priority for community and missionary care and our missionary team will have resources and the counsel of experienced mentors. Eric & Dee Duggins, as missionaries of almost 30 years experience, have been invited to participate in NMSI mentoring program in Latin America.
  

Though this transition does mean adjustments in several areas for the IMPACTO missionaries, it does not mean a change of vision and focus. The Pachuca Project will continue its church planting projects and church planting will remain the priority of the missionaries and National Ministry Workers who are part of the project.

The missionaries of IMPACTO will continue to be dependent on your prayers and your financial support. Each family will have to work to add support partners to cover community responsibilities that will be part of NMSI, so we are grateful for your faithful partnership with us. Starting in January 2010 we would ask that you send all financial support to the following address:

Checks can be made to: NMSI

Mailing Address: New Mission Systems International • P.O. Box 547 • Fort Myers, FL 33902

In the memo part of the check or in a note that accompanies the check, please indicate the family or project you are giving to in a way similar to:

IMPACTO – Alvarado Family
IMPACTO – Del Angel Family
IMPACTO – Duggins Family
IMPACTO – Greer Family
IMPACTO – Jubilee Land Purchase

This will make sure that the contributions are credited to the correct accounts. Contributions will be receipted by NMSI. NMSI is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, a member of ECFA, and has Charity Navigator’s highest rating.

If you have questions, you can contact NMSI directly at 239-337-4336 and ask for the financial area. Also, Marvin and Elaine Schultz, Treasurer of IMPACTO Latino, would be available to also answer any questions during this transition period at 317-578-2005 (afternoon and evening). Of course, you are welcome to contact us directly if you have any questions. Please remember that the IMPACTO Latino website will continue to function and this information will be available there at impactolatino.org and you may also want to check out the New Mission Systems International website at nmsi.org.

We are grateful for the partnership we have with you and we excited at what we are doing together in Pachuca, Mexico.

In Christ Jesus,

Sergio & Holly Alvarado

Eric & Dee Duggins

Luke & Lindsay Greer

The Pachuca Project Team

State of Hidalgo, MEXICO

After months of hard work, Jubilee’s youth group and New Life’s youth group were able to get enough money together to go on our annual youth retreat. On the November 13th, we took 34 youth and leaders, to the Christian Youth Conference and Retreat in central Mexico. It was amazing to see everything that happened and the excitement the youth showed while we were there.

We took one of the largest groups that went, which was very motivating. But the best thing was to see the unity of our group and their positive attitudes. They had a great time and showed that they loved the Lord and that was why they were there. We were able to take a couple new people that expressed their need to accept Christ as their Lord and Savior. We are in the process of talking and doing studies with them so they understand the entire meaning of what Christ did and what He asks of us.

Also, our youth were able to make new friends with Christians from other churches in other cities. One of our main goals for them is to meet other Christian youth and realize that they are not alone on this road. We also knew it would be a great opportunity for them to meet others who were Christian because most of them have only been Christians for a couple of years of less so this was a blessing to see. It was exciting to see many of our young people at their first Christian conference. They had a blast and we enjoyed watching them have so much fun and deepen their relationship with each other and with Christ.

THE PLAN
Jubilee Christian Church, (Iglesia Cristiana El Jubileo) is moving into an exciting new campaign to purchase its own church facility.

After much prayer, Jubilee’s church leadership is convinced that this is God’s leading. Already, the people of Jubilee Christian Church are working and sacrificing to help pay for the major project.

The land owner has been generous to us and is excited about a church buying his property. He has offered Jubilee an incredible price and the opportunity to pay over three years.

We are asking you, supporting churches, to prayerfully consider partnering with us to help with the purchase this land and the construction of a building.

The purchase of this property and the construction of a facility is an important step in accomplishing our ultimate goal of Jubilee becoming an entirely nationalized congregation.

WHAT PARTNERSHIP MEANS FOR YOU
Partnership with the IMPACTO Latino mission is not just financial. It is purposeful, prayerful, and personal.

Purposeful. We believe that missions support should bring mutual blessing to the receiver and to the giver. As missionaries, we actively communicate what’s happening on the field through frequent emails, web posts, and mailings. When we’re Stateside, we’re eager to get together with you over coffee or in a Sunday School class and share what God’s doing in Latin America.

Prayerful. We consider prayer to be one the most effective and important forms of mutual support that God has given all of us as Christians. That’s why anyone can sign-up to receive our prayer updates from our website. Got a prayer request? Let us know, and our churches here in Mexico will lift you up in prayer.

Personal. We encourage a personal relationship with all of our supporters. We love it when they come down and see what’s happening and participate in what God is doing. We host multiple short-term groups every year, and they do everything from plumbing to preaching.

On November 8th, the Jubilee church plant held a special celebration on the land that will someday become their own.

The celebration was exciting — the weather was incredible, the worship and music was great, the teaching from Eric was just right, and most of all, the people were excited. Holding the celebration on the land helped to make the project more personal for everyone.

After the service, we all headed back to the rented building to share tacos. The fellowship was authentic, and there was an energy and hopefulness about what God is doing with the young congregation.

Right now, the church is working hard to gather funds for the down-payment on the land. Please pray for all of the cell groups and the projects that they are doing — selling food and crafts, and offering services like car washes and babysitting.

_____
Learn more about Jubilee’s land and building project.

It’s our goal that all the members of the church plants in Pachuca be members of cell groups that meet throughout the city. As each of these groups grows, they “multiply” by becoming two groups. Recently, we’ve had two cells multiply.

The Tulipanes Cell group was reaching 25 people on Wednesday evenings. The group leaders, Agustin and Pilar, had done a wonderful job as the cell pastors, but the size of the cell was well beyond its 14-member goal. On Wednesday, October 14, we held a “multiplication party” at the Duggins home. Almost all 25 people were there and it was a wonderful night. Eric shared about the principles of the cells and the importance of multiplying, giving more room to expand the outreach of the Jubilee church. We ended the evening with cookout and pitch-in dinner.

The new cell started on October 21 and was led by Luke Greer. Luke and Lindsay will be the Assistant Cell Pastors and will cover the cell during the Duggins trip to the United States in November for the IMPACTO Latino board meeting and the National Missionary Convention.

Another cell also just recently multiplied. The Chacon Cell, meeting at the Jubilee Church building, multiplied by several of the ladies beginning a Women’s cell also on Wednesdays. The original cell continues on Tuesday.

12 cells now meet as part of the Jubilee cell ministry!

October is about over and an amazing amount of things have happened. A visitation group came from the Harborside Christian Church, Clearwater, Florida came and just a few days after they leave, on October 30-31, Dee Duggins will be leading with Juanita Del Angel in a Women’s Retreat for the Jubilee Church. In the week following we will be getting ready for a special worship service on November 8. This service will be held on the land that the Jubilee church would like to purchase for a future church building. These weeks will be an exciting and full before our departure to the United States.

On November 9 the Duggins will be driving to the border and will begin a four-week road trip to visit with supporting congregations from Dallas to Indiana. Since Eric is the IMPACTO team director, they will also be attending the IMPACTO Latino board meeting in Lexington, Kentucky on November 14. During this meeting, the board will be dealing with 2010 budgets and goals and there are a host of other very important decisions that this year’s November meeting will be dealing with. It should be a very long day!

November 19-21 the Duggins will be in Peoria, Illinois to attend the National Missionary Convention. IMPACTO Latino will have a booth at the convention; so if you or your congregation is planning on being there, look us up!

The remaining time, until December 4, the Duggins will mix some family time and church reports. They will be with family for a few days around Thanks-giving and will begin the drive back to Mexico on November 30, passing through Dallas again where we will visit with a new supporting congregation, Compass Christian Church. They will arrive again in Pachuca on December 4 and hit the floor running to get ready for the annual Evaluation and Planning Retreat of the Elders and Staff of the Jubilee Church.

We would ask that you keep the Duggins in your prayers during this very long road trip. And keep the Greers, Alvarados, and Del Angels in your prayers as they attend to the myriad of ministry responsibilities in Pachuca.

The first all-church Family Retreat was held Friday through Sunday, September 11-13. One hundred nineteen adults, youth and children spent two nights at small hotel about an hour from Pachuca. Some drove to the retreat hotel and another group came in the rented bus that arrived about 6 pm on Friday evening. The retreat started with the evening meal, and then the adults and youth moved to the dining room for the showing of the movie Fireproof. Many left that evening with tears and a sense of hope for their own family.

The next two days the group from the Community Christian Church of Baltimore led the workshops on the principles of loving relationships. They did a wonderful job and so did the members of Jubilee’s translating team. While the adults attended their workshops, the youth and children took part in programs designed especially for them.

Not all the time was spent in workshops. During the hours of free time many swam or seemed to keep a constant game of soccer going. On Saturday evening many participated in a special song and prayer time that was a great blessing.

Sunday morning Sergio and Holly Alvarado organized a group of youth to return to Pachuca and lead a worship service at the Jubilee building for those that were not able to go to the retreat. 47 people participated at the celebration service there, and afterward Sergio and Holly with their youth returned to the retreat.

Since the church rented the entire hotel, the staff was flexible with us about the check-out time, allowing us to use the facility until 6 pm on Sunday evening. We loaded the bus, collected tables, chairs and children’s materials, and then all arrived back in Pachuca about 7 o’clock Sunday evening.

Many of our Jubilee people expressed their joy at the lessons of the teachings and the good family time they had with spouses and kids. We hope to plan another family retreat in the early part of 2011.

Thank-you, Community Christian Church of Baltimore and Jubilee Church of Pachuca for making this year’s retreat a possibility and such a success!

August 2 was an exciting day at the Jubilee church in Pachuca. For weeks the cell (small group) pastors worked with people who attended their cells and had expressed interest in being baptized. As the day approached we started to realize that this could be the largest group of baptismal candidates since the beginning of the Jubilee church. When Sunday morning arrived, 18 people came forward to give their confession of faith during the combined Sunday worship. Two additional individuals were unable to be there and will be baptized later.

After the Sunday worship we all headed to the small water park where Jubilee previously had held baptisms. That afternoon, six different cell and zone pastors baptized people with about 160 people stretched around the pool to celebrate these new births! After the last baptism everyone rejoiced, and we all headed for the picnic area to begin the fiesta. Each of the cells organized to bring different taco stuffings, and with plenty of beans, rice and salads, and the congregation spread out on the grass or at tables to fellowship over some very good food. Earlier the youth cells had prepared the desserts and then served their many different delicious offerings.

During the 2½ years since the Jubilee church became a congregation its members have been faithful in sharing their faith. Eighty-four of the 190 people now participating at the church are new Christians whom the Jubilee leaders have baptized.

The work continues as the church begins to disciple the 18 new believers as well as others that have become part of Jubilee’s community. The discipling classes and leadership classes will start August 16 and continue for 12 weeks. Please pray for us as we move forward with our new brothers and sisters!

What an amazing week! About 60 parents and family members watched the closing program on Friday, July 24 as 73 kids recited memory verses and sang songs with choreography and hand motions. Prizes were given to the kids who had the most friends join them at the VBS. As we worked on the attendance numbers we realized that only about 20 of the kids that participated in this year’s VBS were from the Jubilee Church. About 53 kids were visitors and from the nearby neighborhood.

The VBS theme, “Summer Camp 2009”, was carried out through a story time, crafts, Bible verse memorization and an English class. Also Juanita Del Angel led a wonderful activities class each day. The camp Bible story focused on the Book of Ester and on the last day of the activities time each group prepared a royal meal for a visiting “King”. Five wonderful ladies served the daily snacks and knitted in the kitchen while they waited for each group to arrive.

Dee Duggins once again did a wonderful job as director of the VBS. The VBS ran like clockwork. Dee organized 40 workers that prepared and decorated their classes as well as about 25 youth from the Youth Zone that moved kids around the building to each of the five activity areas. Holly Alvarado also did a fantastic job leading the music as well as the opening and closing times each day. The song session at times looked like an exercise class! Dee Duggins also announced that after 25 years of leading VBS at Church Plants she feels it’s time to turn over the reins to younger members of the team. Holly Alvarado will be next year’s director for the Jubilee church VBS.

Everyone was exhausted after this wonderful week, but the work doesn’t end there. The new church plant, New Life, will have their first VBS next week and have asked many from the Jubilee Church to help. Many of those that participated at the Jubilee VBS will help with the VBS at New Life.

We also would like to thank the McDonough Christian Church of Georgia who came to help with this year’s VBS. The group of nine servants was a wonderful blessing during this very busy week. The McDonough church also helped extensively with the costs of the VBS.

We are also grateful to the First Church of Christ of Painesville, Ohio for their help with another VBS planned for an area called “Providencia.” A group from the Painesville congregation was coming to Pachuca but ended up having to postpone that trip till next year. However, they blessed Jubilee with a donation that will help with the costs at the Providencia VBS.

After two Sundays of suspended worship services because of the H1N1 virus in Mexico, the Jubilee Church met again on May 17. Already planned before the medical alert in the State of Hidalgo, the second celebration also fulfilled the requirement set by the State government of churches to only fill their meeting places to a level of 50%. We approached Sunday not really sure what the congregation’s response would be. Before the suspension, the church was reaching 160 at the Sunday celebration. Still, with two weeks of difficult communications and the suspension of cell/small groups and worship services we were hopeful that both members and those that had been visiting would return. We were very excited then that the Sunday celebrations were a great success. We counted 181, but we estimate that 20 people stayed for both celebrations.

Jubilee is holding a junior church during the first service and a children’s Sunday school during the second service. Leadership training classes as well as other classes will be taught at each service. In June, Christian Principles of Counseling will be taught at the 9:30 service and How To Defend Your Faith will be taught at the 11:30 service.

Please continue to pray for Jubilee through this transition and as we continue to grow!