When we invited three busy executive pastors and a university ministry director to experience our ministries in Mexico, their first question was understandable: why should they sacrifice a week away from their work and families? After all, missions isn't new to them. They send missionaries from their churches and university, support and send interns during the summer, and are long-time financial partners with our ministries.
When Isabel Miller recently joined our Marketplace Ministries team in Mexico, she already knew Spanish. So, why should she spend time living with a Mexican family when the important tasks of ministry and serving those around her were being left undone? Here are Isabel's reflections on how God went before her to help her learn the deeper lessons of connecting with the people and culture there.
Isabel Miller is currently raising support to join our Marketplace Ministries team in Mexico City, a team that teaches business owners to live out their faith in the workplace with the goal of making disciples and alleviating poverty through entrepreneurship. Here she shares the story of one graduate of the program who is making a lasting difference in the communities he serves.
In summer of 2021, CMF launched a Marketplace Ministry in Mexico City in partnership with an organization called Sinapis, that empowers “entrepreneurs professionally and spiritually using training and a global support network so they can grow to the next level and transform the world around them”. Sinapis focuses on small and growing businesses, creating new job growth in communities.
She’s a four-year veteran of the Globalscope Canvas team in Birmingham, England, and Taylor Batte planned to continue with the ministry “until I felt called to something else.” But then that “something else” came along, and Taylor will spend next year helping pioneer a Globalscope-style space to develop a community of young professionals in her city.
Olivia Shank grew up on stories from her great-aunt, who was a nurse-missionary in Thailand. By age 4, she had decided that missions is her life path. After a few twists and turns along the way, she’ll be serving with a Marketplace Ministries team in Mexico City, helping to create a business academy that integrates Kingdom principles with business training for Mexican entrepreneurs.