Though the formal church building in Pampa San Miguel is new, the Monte Sion Church, as a body of workers serving the community, is not. The ministry of the church really began 10 years ago in the home of Pastor Bonifacio as a ‘happy hour’ for the children of the community. Though the community appears small upon entering, there are approximately 5000 families in Pampa San Miguel with many children. Brother Bonifacio saw a need to organize some type of program for the many children, so he opened his home and began with 50 children once per week in a happy hour, where they participated in activities, games, worship, and Bible lessons. Pastor Bonifacio, his family, and his team worked like this for almost 10 years until Stadia and Compassion arrived to build a church and start child survival and sponsorship programs in the community.

When the sponsorship program began, the Monte Sion Church enrolled 50 children, but when the kids began to attend the project, they arrived with their friends and siblings and there were 150 in total. Now, a little more than a year later, they have approximately 400 children enrolled. Knowing that this new program was being offered through the Evangelical Church, some parents were initially reluctant to send their children, but interest and curiosity got the best of them, and they wanted to know what the program was teaching, so they began to send their children. The children carried these lessons home, and thus through the children, the lessons and teachings have begun to impact entire families who are now attending the church. Since its beginning, 60 youth and young adults have been baptized into the family of God, and there is regular attendance of 30-40 adolescents in the youth service, 60-70 children in the Sunday School program, and 60-70 adults in the Sunday night services. Pastor Bonifacio states, “The people are content. They see the construction, they see the work with the children, and they say, ‘This is good. The children are being fed, the adults are being fed, they are learning, and this is good.’ The community is very content.”

PRAYER REQUESTS

• Pray that the leaders would all be of one heart 
• Pray that the parents would be more open the Gospel 
• Pray for the children, that they would be protected from sickness and abuse in the home 
• Pray for the church and project staff, that God would provide them with the necessary strength to continue working to reach the families of Pampa San Miguel 
• Pray that the church would continue to grow and advance and never reach a place of contentment 
• Pray that youth involved in gangs would be liberated