We wanted to take a moment to extend our heartfelt gratitude to each and every one of you for your prayers during the recent four-session training at our local church on "Biblical Conviction with Biblical Compassion in Conversations about Sexuality.” The impact of your prayers extends far beyond the confines of the church walls (as you will read in the testimonies of some of those present) through the equipping of others with tools to engage in meaningful conversations about such a crucial topic.
Here are some testimonies from these four weeks of equipping:
"Dear pastors and brothers, from Cordoba, Argentina, we greet you and we want to convey our deep gratitude for your prayers in support of Gilbert and Virginia. Thank you for supporting them because they have edified the church through the training that they presented and through their classes. They have also opened our eyes and shown a reality that is so important to address, but always in the light of the Word of God and with that love that must characterize the church. So, thank you so much for the prayerful support. We receive it with deep gratitude, knowing that this is enrichment and formation for the church. Not only ours locally, but also for all the churches that are also going to be part of these trainings. Thanks a lot. God bless you." Pastor Boris Masalyka, Centro Christian Church, Cordoba, Argentina
"In these four classes, we have received guidance and instruction from the Lord regarding the biblical basis on issues concerning sexuality. We were struck by the different unbiblical thoughts and positions held within some Christian denominations. Personally, I was very moved by a phrase that Virginia constantly repeated and had to do with entering into a circle of love and acceptance with people broken in the area of sexuality but always delineating and marking what is sin for God. She made it very clear that biblical compassion does not sacrifice biblical conviction. I'm passing on the teachings and insights of these four classes to the other classrooms I'm in charge of in the institute that I am leading." Griselda Ricca. Director of the Jeruel Bible Institute. UAD. Argentina
"We want to thank God for this time that we have been able to share with Virginia and Gilbert Contreras in our congregation, who, during this month, were teaching about Biblical Conviction with Biblical Compassion. It has been challenging and enriching for the church to receive all this training for adults, youth, and church leaders. We sincerely appreciate all this time they have shared with us." Flavia Ramello, Leader of Adult Bible School
"What I can say is that it has brought light to many things, to my life above all, and it is helping me to answer questions as well. I organized ideas because sometimes you think you know what you're going to respond when you are confronted with topics such as homosexuality, pro-gay theology, etc. Still, you run out of arguments when you are challenged with these topics. On the other hand, that roleplay sketch of debate (on how to respond to pro-gay theology) that I had to do gave me the biblical arguments and the practice of how to answer well. In fact, this very week, I was able to reproduce everything I said here in the sketch to a co-worker who confronted me on this topic. This training brought a lot of light into my life. It was very good training. I loved it." José Camaño, deacon and youth leader of 30+ years old
Here is a brief video testimony on our CALL to Prayer for this event:
Together, reaching the lost by training the found