Snapshot: The Latin America Network Conference
“When you come together, you want to go together.” This has been happening in varying degrees across all of Campus Outreach, and over the past eighteen months, network conferences have driven this forward. In September, CO SERVE held the Latin America Network Conference, the final of seven conferences, for SERVE missionaries from Monterrey and Guadalajara, Mexico; Lima, Peru; and Belo Horizonte, Brazil, to come together to connect, encourage, and learn from one another.
This 5-day conference was the first time for all the Latin American Network staff to be together. They talked about commonalities between ministries and the cultures they are working in. They encouraged one another, worshipped together, and had time to refocus and recenter their hearts on Christ. A team from First Bible Church in Alabama provided childcare and VBS activities for the children, allowing mothers to participate in the conference sessions!
Kent Bailey, CO SERVE Executive Director, says it this way: “Connection creates collaboration. That is what we see happening over and over as these Networks meet, understand their common challenges, and begin to help one another. This conference was no exception. To God’s glory, a network was birthed in the time the staff had together and will hopefully grow to bear great fruit.”
Read what other staff in attendance had to say:
"My time at the LATAM conference was both a refreshment and a challenge. A refreshment in celebrating with the other regions what God is doing amongst us. It was the first time that, as a region, we got to feel part of something bigger than us, seeing what God is doing in the other places in LATAM. It was also a good challenge to feel the weight and responsibility to help each other and be there for one another as one network." –Rodrigo Puebla
“I went from not knowing that we had a LATAM network to deeply connecting with fellow co-laborers for the Gospel in various countries. This conference was one of the major highlights of 2023 for me.” — Gloria Obeng-Amoako
“It was refreshing and encouraging for me to see different people from different contexts doing the same thing: reaching out to college students for God's glory.” —Rodrigo Jiminez
“It was so encouraging to hear testimonies from each location and even to carry the burden together of each unique challenge the teams are facing in their cities.” –Jeff Dowdy
“Being reminded of God's greatness and the certainty of our future with Him, even in the face of current challenges, was deeply meaningful to me. As a mother, I felt thankful for the opportunity to fully engage in the entire conference, knowing that my child was loved and cared for.” –Priscila Albuquerque