38 years in mexico by Jerry Barron   Find out more about the ministry of Free Will Baptist Home Missions at www.homemissions.net.

When I graduated from Free Will Baptist Bible College in 1970, Julie and I were appointed by the Home Missions Board to start a new work in Guadalajara, the second largest city in Mexico. We returned to our home state of California to begin raising support.

In August 1970, we arrived in Edinburg, Texas, with our boys Myron and Tony to start nine months of language school. The studies were intense, but by God’s amazing grace, we graduated and returned to California to be commissioned at Sherwood Forest FWB Church. In June 1971, we left for Guadalajara, 1,200 miles south of the border.

When we arrived in Mexico, we rented a house and began to hold services. God blessed, people were saved, and a church was established. We purchased land and constructed a nice building. All this was done because Free Will Baptists prayed and supported us.

While in Guadalajara, Julie and I were blessed with two more children, our son Timothy and daughter Jerra. I thank God for my wife! Mexico is not an easy place to live, and to give birth in a foreign country was quite an experience.

The church grew and flourished. As we look back, we thank God for the many Christian workers who came out of Guadalajara. Four young men answered the call to preach, and three young ladies became pastors’ wives. Gonzalo, one of those four “preacher boys,” has been pastoring his home church for 28 years!

In time, God made it possible for us to start churches in Guerrero, Oaxaca Oh, and currently San Luis, a large city in the state of Sonora. We followed the same simple plan. We rented a house and started having services. God has blessed the church, and precious souls have been saved. We bought property and built the First FWB Church of San Luis.

Again, we thank God for the young men from the San Luis church who have answered the call to preach. The first was Jose. He was saved when he was 19 years old. He went to seminary, married, and returned to San Luis to pastor his home church. However, a year into the pastorate, Jose became ill and was diagnosed with cancer. Six months later, he went to be with the Lord. That was a hard time for us because Jose was our son in the Lord.

Through the many years of church planting, we have been blessed with many wonderful friends. God is good. He saved another young man named Enrique. He attended seminary, married, and now serves as co-pastor of the San Luis church. Two other young men from the church are also attending seminary. Chindo is finishing up his second year and has begun to preach. Eddie is a first-year student, and it is our hope that God will call him into the ministry as well.

Julie and I are so thankful that the Lord has given us more than 36 years of ministry here in Mexico. We give God the honor and glory for all that has been accomplished! It is His work and our great privilege to serve Him. We truly appreciate the part that Free Will Baptists have played by supporting us throughout our ministry.

About the Writer: Jerry and Julie Barron have been home missionaries in Mexico for 36 years. To learn more about the ministry of Free Will Baptist Home Missions, visit www.homemissions.net.