w
e are so happy to welcome you once again to our beloved Colombia! We are expecting to have an extraordinary week, where the presence of God will transform our lives and His Spirit will renew our being as He brings a great revival that will transform our churches and nations.
When we ask for His kingdom to come, we are declaring that we are submitting to His perfect will, leaving ours aside. We are acknowledging that we cannot take upon ourselves the responsibility of the ministry, our calling or family in our own strengths. We need to be clothed in the power of the Almighty.
We understand that every conference is a divine appointment with the Holy Spirit, a time to receive a specific word from God to guide us the rest of the year. We experienced this in We Are The Light 2017 all around the world. We witnessed every nation stand up and conquer, determined to be light in the midst of darkness, bringing growth and multiplication to every congregation like never before.
“For the kingdom of God does not consist in words but in power.” 1 Corinthians 4:20
We are fully convinced that the Lord will allow us to experience the fullness of His love. power and presence this week as we cry out for His kingdom to be established in our lives.
This is what Jesus Himself prayed to the Father, giving us the model. When He began His ministry here on earth, Jesus knew He had come to this world with a specific mission. He was to establish God’s kingdom in every place and every heart.
Jesus experienced the power of God’s kingdom in His ministry when He traveled the region of Galilee. He went teaching in the synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people., as is stated in Matthew 4:23. When the kingdom of God is established, miracles happen, chains are broken, and the heavens are opened to conquer everything we desire through the blood of Jesus. The glory of God will surely visit us this week and the power of the kingdom of God will be released over every life. The fullness of His Holy Spirit will be put on display as it transforms you into a useful instrument in the hands of the Father. You will leave ready to take salvation, restoration, and deliverance to families, cities and entire nations. Together we declare, YOUR KINGDOM COME!
Pastors Cesar & Claudia Castellanos
I
have met many people who desire to serve God in ministry. They’ve worked hard, paid the price, yet have not been able to grow or shape the character of Christ into others. The G12 Vision teaches clear and practical principles that allow any person to win souls, have fruit that remains and multiply it. It also produces committed disciples who are shaped with the Word of God and Christian principles. This is why I want to share this new handbook with you, which I have titled, “The ABC’s of the G12 Vision”. I wrote it to tell you about the beginning stages and building blocks of the Vision, and to teach you how to receive it and apply it correctly. I also wanted to share the experiences that have shaped the G12 family around the world. In the times we are living, we cannot accept neutrality, and it is now when the church needs to be more active than ever. I firmly believe it is the moment to advance, conquer and win entire nations for the Lord. It is your responsibility to fulfill the Lord’s Great Commission, to run as fast as you can with the Vision and share it with others. My heart’s desire is that through this new book you would find what’s been missing to develop your calling and fulfill the ministry the Lord has entrusted to you.
@CESARCASTE /CESARCASTELLANOS12 @CESARCASTELLANOS WWW.CESARCASTELLANOS.NET
“It is your responsibility to fulfill the Lord’s Great Commission, to run as fast as you can with the Vision and share it with others”
AVAILABLE NOW
Contents Pages 8-9
The sound of revival Pages 14-15
I am a Leader Pages 16-17
The little of many is enough Pages 18-20
35 Years, It all started with a dream
Presidents: Pastors César & Claudia Castellanos Directors: Julián & Lorena Gamba Executive: Elkin Gamba Production: G12 MEDIA Art Directors: Andrea Nuñez y Esteban Rios Creative Director: Luisa Ariza Contributing Writers: Paola Sánchez, Yekaterina Pachón, Johanna Álvarez & Leonardo González Graphic designers: Andrés Villamil, Diego Cifuentes, Jessica Garzón, Andrés Ochoa, Camila Moreno & Santiago Rincon. Finished and Prepress: Daniel Durán Photography: Federico Rodríguez, Adrian Gamba & Yesid Pineda Translation: Rich Harding & Nadia Mora
Pages 24-30
The vision in the world Pages36-38
Philippines
Pages 40-41
The story of a startup church Pages 42-43
Changes that brings growth
Special Guests
Colombia: Janeth de Barrios Johanna Castellanos UK: Wes & Adriana Richards Sweden: Lennart & Carolina Torebring Singapore: Lawrence Khong Philipines: Oriel & Geraldine Ballano Chile: Rafael & Jenny Pérez South Korea: Lee Seung Bang Hawaii: Art & Kuna Sepulveda Spain: José Luis & Esra Barrios
Acknowledgment
Misión Carismática Internacional G12 Congresos & Convenciones Fundación Un Solo Corazón G12 Editores SAS Recursos G12 Vision Art Generación 12 Music G12 Worship Generación12 Geraçao 12 Generación 12 Kids G12 Radio
Pages 44-45
A digital church Pages 46-47
The articles and the content, style and opinions expressed within them, reflect the implementation of the G12 Vision around the world. Similarly, they relate the experiences of leaders passionate about making the love of Jesus known in different cities and nations.
Pages 48-49
G12 Vision © 2018 - All rights reserved. Total or partial reproduction of this magazine in any form (including covers, graphics and photos) - printed, electronic, audiovisual or otherwise - is prohibited without prior written permission from the publisher.
How to find the answerd through prayer? Taking the torch Pages 50-51
Una generación conectada?
Some photos were acquired with rights from Shutterstock, Inc. Copyright ©. All Scripture quotations are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright© 2011. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. Free annual distribution ISSN_ 2357-5123-01 Printed in Colombia, January 2018 CALLE 22C No. 31-01 PBX_ (571)_745 73 73 Bogotá, Colombia contacto@g12media.net
www.g12.co/en www.mci12.com www.recursosg12.com
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Visiรณn
In the beginning of 2017, God stirred my heart to create a worship group that would reflect what He is doing in G12. God gave me this Word, “and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14). Based on this rhema, God allowed me to understand that the United States is in need of a revival from the inside out, from the depths of her heart. Worship has the power to accomplish this. Since January, we’ve met with different worship leaders from California and Miami to pray and write songs. We got together three times throughout the year, and saw how every time, the songs came more easily. With this Word in mind, we asked the Holy Spirit to be the One guiding the steps and lyrics so that the fire would ignite the hearts. This is how in August of 2017, we recorded 12 songs live in the G12 conference in Los Angeles. We can say that the glory of God was in that place and the people really connected through this worship. This new production will be released soon, so be on the lookout!
Lau, my sister, Sara’s husband, and I had talked about starting a worship team with the leaders in Brazil who were involved and committed with their calling in ministry. Our only desire was for this group to reflect the spirit of the Vision in this nation. That is how we started working on this dream, with the support of musicians in Colombia. One of the first rhemas the Lord gave us is in Isaiah 55:8-9, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.”. This Word brought a clear direction as to what this project would be. In February of 2017. I traveled to Brazil for a month with my husband and daughters. While we were there, Pastor Laudijair Guerra’s church was hosting a youth camp. We took advantage of the opportunity and got together with Lau, Josh Howard and some other musicians from the church. That is where the song, “Teus Caminhos” (Your Ways) came from. After this, we started the process of forming the band; joining musicians from Colombia with vocalists from Brazil. We see
that God is raising up a team of worshippers who love Him with all their heart. We continued working on creative ideas and on the rest of the production, with a big goal in mind: to record in July of that year during Brazil’s annual conference. We released the band’s first single, “Teus Caminhos” in October of 2017, followed by “A Nuvem da Tua Gloria” (The Cloud of Your Glory) in the month of November. We want to release the full album next February, with original songs from Generacion 12, and new songs, as well.
Something God has ministered to me regarding the Word in 2 Chronicles 14 is the power there is in humbling ourselves in His presence, to fall prostrate with that humble attitude and seek His face, understanding that we are nothing without Him. I have understood that the act of humbling ourselves before God is closely related to fasting. That is why in this time, we have had periods of fasting as a church and band, desiring to go back to our original state. In other words, go back to that first love and passion for God’s presence. “Worship leads us to repentance in our own lives, as well as for our nation.” Our prayer is that every song would result in genuine repentance, that the spirit of prayer and forgiveness of sins would be released in every person and nation. We pray that the
outpouring of His Spirit and healing would fall on every life. We know that when worship is genuine, it is heard by God and is able to reach the heavens. So, our prayer as a worship team is that heaven would truly come to earth and God’s kingdom would be established among us. We have seen something different in our most recent concerts, the Holy Spirit’s move has been very evident and tangible. That is what we desire as we write the songs, that it wouldn’t be just music, but that every person would have an experience with the presence of God. Our desire is to record Generacion 12’s new album in the first trimester of this year and release it around July.
B
eing able to witness the unfolding of my parents’ ministry has allowed me to understand the power there is in just one cell group. It is in the cell group where we can put into practice every step of the Vision. When we look at the life of Jesus, we see how He started by calling three men. Then, little by little, He added to that group which He was forming to consolidate His team of 12.
I started my first cell group when I was a teenager, and have never stopped having one since. This is where I learned many pastoral principles, it has been the playing field for me to answer my calling and let the Holy Spirit shape His character in me. I am still learning today, and am continually being formed by the Lord. When I married Eliemerson, we made the decision to always host a cell group in our home, it was our commitment to the Lord. It doesn’t matter where we live, the doors of our home will be opened to preach His Word!
I am a Leader is a planner designed to help new leaders start their cell group in the best way. The planner challenges us to grow and learn throughout a 10-week period, as I share step by step, the most important principles I have learned to see success in the cell group. The first four weeks are to prepare for the opening of the cell group. The other six weeks, you will develop creative ideas to have fruitful cell groups. Each week has a rhema word for the leader, a brief explanation, homework and specific challenges focused on strengthening your leadership. You will find space in the margins so you can take notes as you prepare your cell group. You can jot down your specific challenges, timelines, goals, drafts for the teachings and activities, etc. Remember that our goal is to have the best cell group, which is why it’s important to work hard every week to reach that great result. To accomplish this, every goal needs to be specific and measurable, must have a deadline, and must be written down. In I am a Leader, you will find the necessary tools to put all of this into practice. I have seen many women wake up to their call in ministry through their cell group. They have reached their objectives in a very creative and innovative way, with I am a Leader in their hand.
In 2 Samuel 6:10-11, we are inspired by Obed’s example, a man who opened the doors of his home to welcome the ark of God. The ark was in his house for three months and his entire home was greatly blessed. The greatest part in all this, was that his family got involved serving in the house of God.
There were three elements in the ark of the God that must also be in every cell group:
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The tablets of the law represent the Word of God.
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The manna is witnessing God’s daily provision for us.
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The rod of Aaron that flourished is us bearing fruit.
Pastor Johanna Castellanos
On the midnight of Friday, 31st of March of last year, the population of Mocoa, state capital of Putumayo, located in the southwestern region of Colombia, lived one of the most painful events in their history. Heavy rains provoked the overflowing of the Mocoa, Mulato and Sangoyaco rivers, generating a landslide that wiped out everything in its way. It destroyed 17 neighborhoods, resulted in more than 250 casualties, hundreds of wounded people, countless disappeared, and around 45,000 victims left without a house, furniture and clothes. Can you imagine what it would be like to wake up and there be nothing left around you? Without a doubt, what happened in Mocoa was a tragedy that grieved the whole nation. After this episode, our non-profit organization, Un Solo Corazon, did not delay to extend a hand to those who needed humanitarian aid. With the valuable management carried out by the manager of the Iglesia Misión Carismática Internacional, together with the National and International MCI ministries, we launched our campaign, “Todos con Mocoa”. Our goal with this project was not to merely take supplies, but hope, restoration and faith through the preaching of the gospel.
We firmly believed that the little of many would be enough to achieve our great goal of raising 100 million Colombian pesos; 100% of the proceeds would be given to the families affected. It was impacting to see the people approaching the donation booths with supplies in their hands, and see the youth and children help with warm smiles. The young givers inspired and awakened the desire to help in many people. - “They are people who need the help of their fellow Colombians, for it is better to give than to receive”. - these were the words declared by a woman who carried her grain of sand to contribute to the cause. Because the church has understood this principle of the kingdom, we were able to collect more than 3 tons of supplies such as water, tents, blankets, non-perishable food items and cleaning supplies. Without a doubt, that was the opportunity to put on display the character of Jesus and serve in an efficient way, working as a real team; with one heart and one spirit. There is gratitude in our heart for every missionary, leader, and caring family that through their support, made it possible for more than 3000 families to be blessed with the donations received. The little of many was enough to help rebuild Mocoa.
It all started when a dream was sown in the heart of a great man, the dream to conquer an entire nation. It was a dream linked to faith that allowed Pastor Cesar Castellanos to visualize then what today is a reality. He was able to see an army rise up, not to conquer just one nation, but determined to reach every corner of the world. As a soldier, he prepared for battle and as an athlete, he ran with the gospel. His dream to be a father of many nations began with his family. Each member has given us the best and reflects who He is. Just like every dream is tested in the midst of difficulty, the dark day came. But the moment which we thought was the defeat of a ministry, a church stood up in prayer and set out
“
“
to conquest. Today, we can see through our Pastor Cesar the miracle of life and the power of God. Because of his obedience, we have been able to conquer our auditoriums and see families serving the Lord, growing in their purpose and reaching their generations for God. As a church, we can only give thanks for the life of our pastor, because we are all part of his dreams. His perseverance raised us up to conquer and his faith has made us see the impossible.
PASTOR CÉSAR In February of 1983, I was sitting on the beach, surrounded by the beautiful scenery, when I heard the voice of God tell me, “Dream with a big church because the dreams are the language of My Spirit. The church that you will pastor will be as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore that the multitudes will no be able to be numbered”.
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I found myself looking at the sand when the Lord asked me, “What are you looking at?” I answered, “Lord, I see hundreds of thousands of people.” He replied, “That, and much more, I will give you if you are in my perfect will.” From that conversation the dream of Mision Carismatica Internacional was born. Without a doubt, it would mark the destiny of my entire life. It has been 35 years of walking in the promise of God, of seeing generations transformed by the love of Jesus, of being an influence in Colombia and the nations of the earth. Countless experiences have shaped our story, but there are some that have definitely impacted our church. The first of these was a visit from the prophet Randy MacMillan. His prophecy has not been taken lightly, it wasn’t just a moment that stayed in the past. Through every word we received, God was outlining our ministry. When I heard the prophet say that before experiencing the great growth promised to this church, we would endure a moment of testing, I thought that part of the prophecy would not be fulfilled. But May 25th, 1997, as we were leaving our Sunday service, we found ourselves facing an adversity we would have never imagined. That assasination attempt, not only attacked the integrity of our family, but the leadership. Regardless, it was from that moment that we began to experience the development in the ministry unprecedented, not just at a local level, but global as well.
In the same way, we give thanks to God for the life of Dr. David Yonggi Cho. Through his book, The Fourth Dimension, we have been inspired by the Holy Spirit and challenged to go back to the original, to return to the language of dreams and visions. As the years go by, his teaching has been shared with every member of the church; teachings that have allowed some dreams to resurrect and have raised us up to conquer the new challenges God has prepared for this new year. We understood from the beginning that if we wanted to do something supernatural, we needed to connect with those who have known that supernatural God.
Visión
Without a doubt, every moment lived was already written in God’s agenda. I think to talk about what God has done in MCI these 35 years is to talk about this great man of God, with whom we are completely grateful for his sensitivity to the Holy Spirit’s timing.
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It has been 35 years of having our eyes on the Word, 35 years of faithfulness to the calling, 35 years of raising homes protected by God, of shaping the best leaders, of impacting every area of influence in our country and go beyond the limits through the Vision.
FRAGMENTS FROM RANDY MACMILLAN’S PROPHECY 1990:
“And the Holy Spirit of God, the Spirit of grace says, “This church has found grace in My eyes. I have a project and a great vision for this church. Listen and stand firm on My Word and I will bless you and your entire congregation. I will bless the church’s finances according to My Word. And I will bless the church financially, allowing it to do things that others have not been able to do in this city. I will bless you in a supernatural way and I will rebuke the devourer from your work. I am setting you free from everything that has bound your mind and soul says the Lord. You will be able to identify the enemy in your thoughts and when he tries to accuse your soul, you will be able to discern that it is the enemy that is telling you not to enter into a covenant with God. You had never gathered together as a church to make or receive this covenant in my Word. My desire is for you to be the chosen ones. “
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“And to you, pastor, the Spirit says, “I have many projects for you. This ministry is just walking into the first stage. Do not get weary, do not be discouraged along the way because everything has its time. This place, this building is simply a stepping stone from which you will leap to another stone and another and even to another. You will walk through the fire, a time when people will not understand what I am doing here and the things I am telling my pastor. It might even be a time of murmuration, like a fire. Guard your hearts, you must seek unity in the leadership with my pastor. When you don’t understand, pray. When you don’t understand the direction in which I am guiding you, in obedience bow to your knees and pray. After the time of the testing fire, I need to raise up captains over fifties, over two-hundreds, over five-hundreds. You will share the flock among the leadership because you are going to grow and grow and write books about this ministry.” says the Lord”.
TWO
thousand seventeen was a very special year in our Church! It was a year where we actively went into the deep with God, leaving the control to Him and were more dependent on the Holy Spirit than ever! In the spring time, we made a “Hope Tour” in the suburbs of Stockholm, preaching the gospel and meeting the needs of the people. We constantly saw new leaders rise up and witnessed how God restored the people who came to the church. We feel a strong need for the salvation of our country and know that God prepared us last year to take the next step and expand by starting more churches in Sweden. The G12 Vision is the best tool for starting new churches, through the Vision and with Jesus as our greatest example, we have the strategy and the plan that we know will be successful. We thank God for the lives of Pastors Cesar and Claudia Castellanos and for the opportunity to be part of the revival of the world. It’s time for Sweden and Europe!
“IN THE SPRING
TIME, WE MADE A “HOPE TOUR” IN THE SUBURBS OF STOCKHOLM
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IT’S TIME FOR SWEDEN AND EUROPE
In all the challenges we face, we use the teaching of the power of the blood of Jesus. It has been the key to winning souls, it’s what we talk in the cell groups and put into practice in all the challenges. The cell leaders visited all their disciples to anoint their homes with oil and pray for the protection of the blood of Jesus. We apply the blood over the church every day and also over our Christian school. At the beginning of last year, Stockholm experienced a terrible terrorist attack in the middle of town where many of our church members work and walk daily. Several people lost their lives, but our church, including all the children who attend our Christian school were protected and no one was hurt. We know it was a work of Jesus and the protection of His powerful blood!
We are becoming an increasingly multi-racial church with over 35 nationalities currently represented. We have communicated the G12 vision, passion, plan and processes in the building of a strong church in the Robertson Valley near Cape Town and as we have ministered in other nations.
On a personal level I have been blessed beyond measure to be married to my special gift from Colombia and we have both found great strength and joy in ministering together as a team. One of our most privileged opportunities in this multi-generational vision of G12 is to minister to our weekly cell group of nine of our 14 grandchildren. They are training us well! It was in the dark UK winter mornings of early 2017 that many in King’s Church International Windsor, including myself, had a new revelation and appreciation of what Jesus accomplished on the Cross.
THE
G12 vision has been foundational in helping us in many ways in our lives and ministries. We have seen a new focus on prayer and evangelism and more totally unchurched people coming to Christ. We have seen more families serving the Lord together and singles finding godly marriage partners. This acceleration seems to be linked to the miracle of the senior pastors getting married within four months! We have had much more focus on real life discipleship and we almost completed 2x144s teams of men and women by the end of the year. (we trust we will have by the time of publication!). We have seen a strong level of giving of tithes and offerings and some large gifts towards an initial 2 million pounds goal for a new building. We have seen a new level of excellence and governance which, with prayer, enabled our Christian school of over 50 children, to overcome some hostile government inspections. We have three of our leaders serving as local councillors. We have established Destiny Training and launched Life Classes.
Over 40 days, my wife Pastor Adriana Richards, one of Pastors Cesar and Claudia’s disciples, who was converted and trained through their ministry in Bogota, faithfully taught us all how to pray more effectively by applying the seven times Jesus shed his blood. The 6.30am prayer meetings grew daily to over 120 people in attendance. We experienced a new level of the presence of God, repentance, purifying, humbling and healing of hearts and a fresh passion to share the good news of the gospel. In this time people experienced physical healings, reconciliation in their families, financial provision and ‘prodigals’ came back to the Lord and to the church. This season of prayer has continued to mark our church and brought fresh momentum as we have ministered in the UK and in South Africa. Praying with the blood of Jesus also provided a spiritual protection and authority when we moved to London to host a powerful UK G12 conference last June. We look forward in 2018 to further advances in the Royal town of Windsor, in London, in the UK and in many nations as we ‘overcome by the blood of the Lamb and by the Word’ of our ‘testimony.’
“ WE EXPERIENCED A NEW LEVEL OF THE PRESENCE OF GOD, REPENTANCE, PURIFYING, HUMBLING AND HEALING OF HEARTS
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King’s Church International in Robertson now has over 1000 in its children’s church and 200 youth who have graduated from this ministry.
2017
was a watershed year for us in Asia where we witnessed the Holy Spirit moving mightily across the nations. At the heart of the G12 Vision lies the key tenet of understanding God’s heart, and entering into a new level of conquest in every area of our lives. To give another booster in equipping Faith Community Baptist Church (FCBC) to fulfil His purpose, we launched LifeClass – introducing the new consolidation package to establish the foundations of new believers. About 5,600 including the teenagers, went through this launch. This was followed by a re-encounter with our 1728 leaders to not only familiarise themselves with the new equipping syllabus, but also to re-connect with our Heavenly Father and have an intimate experience with Him. The blood of Jesus makes all of us conquerors to reach the multitudes. FCBC launched FCBC Yokohama in April even as FCBC Sendai celebrated its third year in Japan, breaking a hard ground for mission. Our G12 Asia Conference 2017 is testament to this where we had a record attendance of 9,038, with 7,305 local delegates and 1,733 overseas delegates. A total of 215 churches from 18 countries made their way to Singapore in August to proclaim ‘We Are The Light’. We also witnessed the G12 Vision gaining strong interest from the countries of China, Vietnam, Myanmar and Nepal, while Korea and Thailand continued to mentor over 300 churches interested in the Vision. Almost 9,000 attended the Korea G12 Conference in 2017 which was more than double that from the year before. In Thailand, pastors and delegates from about 100 churches attended the annual G12 conference and were challenged to 90 days of Conquest in the coming new year.
Mongolia is also planning to rent the biggest theatre venue in Ulaanbaatar in anticipation of a bigger conference in 2018. Over in the Philippines, the annual national conference in Metro Manila drew more than 20,000 delegates who packed the World Trade Center. Another highlight of the year was the Miracle Catch organized by G12 Philippines in Rizal Park where Pastors Cesar and Sarah ministered to over 165,000 people. It was a powerful encounter for many where some 80,000 received Christ and many were set free by the power of the blood of Jesus. Praise the Lord!
MAY
God bless all the churches in the world that work together in the G12 Vision. I assure you that the G12 Vision is an incredible blessing to my ministry and my church, as well as my personal life. As many understand, the Korean churches witnessed a great revival in the past, and it surprised the entire world. This revival came because of the eagerness for the kingdom of God and the unstinted, dedicated evangelical ministry of the Korean people. However, as Korea became prosperous in many ways, the enthusiasm and commitment that these first generation believers had faded away, and now we see that even Christians take their duties as a burden. The G12 Vision has arrived at this time to breathe life back into the Korean churches, and actually it has been a great strength in rebuilding the churches in Korea. The G12 Korea Conference was held in July 2017 with the aim of gathering 10,000 people. When Pastor Cesar Castellanos came to Korea in 2016, he challenged us to aim for that goal for the 2017 Korea Conference. To be honest, I was not confident whether it was a good idea because I thought that the churches had not completely been built upon the G12 Vision yet and, for this reason, I felt we were not ready. As the conference time was coming near, some of our national team pastors couldn’t handle the pressure, so they resigned from their positions. It was not an easy task for us, but we applied the blood of Jesus upon this difficult situation and decided to obey the word of God and our spiritual authority, Pastor Cesar Castellanos. As a result, we experienced a spectacular victory. When Dr. Yonggi Cho came to our conference to see the young generation that Korean churches had lost, and the burning passion of many believers for revival, he was deeply moved. Dr. Cho said that he could see the presence of the Holy Spirit falling as it did upon 120 people on the day of Pentecost. Pastor Cesar Castellanos visited Dr. Cho in his office the next day. When Pastor Cesar asked Dr. Cho for a piece of advice on which sort of ministry for the next generation should be prepared, Dr. Cho replied that the G12 Vision is the key to the next generation churches. He went on to even thank Pastor Cesar for the amazing work that he has done in Korea. And then, Dr. Cho pointed to the wall of his office where there was a picture of the biggest Olympic stadium in Korea. He said, “Dream a bigger dream!” This is what we have accomplished in the vision with the power of Jesus’ blood. The G12 Vision has been a great blessing and strength because the believers and pastors of G12 churches hold different attitudes and commitment from those who belong to other churches. G12 churches in Korea are growing, and I see God working in them supernaturally. And I truly believe that the best for us, through the G12 Vision, is yet to come!
El The Vision had a powerful impact in Chile in 2017. We want to thank the entire G12 team for the continuous training we receive, giving our ministries greater effectiveness and focus. The training for missionaries hosted in Bogota at last year’s youth conference in July, marked a before and after in the way the Vision unfolds in Chile. We took on the task to retrain our leaders and pastoral body because what the Scripture says is true:
determined to grow 30% in our members in all of our MCI churches, especially the main church in Santiago, and we did it. The 31st of December we won a total of 2,444 people, took 779 people to Life Class, involved 329 people in Destiny Training, registered an average of 1,500 people in our weekly assistance for Sunday service and closed the year with 350 cell groups. For 26 years, we have been praying for my mother-in-law to come back to MCI. When Pastor Cesar Castellanos released his book, Just One Drop, we began to pray specifically applying every shedding of the blood of Jesus over her life and in three months we saw the miracle we hadn’t seen in 26 years!
“If the ax is dull, and one does not sharpen the edge, then he must use more strength; but wisdom brings success.” Ecclesiastes 10:10 NKJV Sometimes, without realizing we work a lot and very hard, but don’t end up seeing the desired fruit.
We want to thank God for His love, grace and mercy. We also thank our pastors Cesar and Claudia Castellanos for pastoring us with love, being our spiritual parents, trusting in us and giving us the direction that has constantly pushed us to great conquests.
We took time to review each step of the Vision, correct ourselves and set very clear and focused goals. We decided we wanted faithful and permanent information, evaluating quality and quantity in each step of the Vision. All of this has taken us to reach all of our goals for growth for the first time. We started by challenging ourselves to grow 30% in the conference attendance, and we reached it. We counted a total of 5,000 people. We
we won a total of 2,444 people
Thank you to the Missions team, led by pastors Julian and Lorena, for their hard work that enables us to reach excellence and growth in our ministries.
30%
1,500 people in our weekly assistance
uring the annual G12 conference in Hawaii of 2016, Pastor Cesar Castellanos, filled with the spirit of God, challenged Pastors Art and Kuna Sepulveda with one goal: to fill the Neal S. Blaisdell Center Arena with leaders who have the fire of God in them to win the Hawaiian Islands for Jesus, something that was not taken lightly. One year later, along with the team of leaders from Word of Life Church, the Hawaiian couple saw their dream of expanding into a macro venue come to life as the arena filled one chair at a time. With 6,718 attendees, this massive growth in the conference is testament to the revival we are starting to see in the farthest state from the mainland of the United States. Along with the main event, 1,402 children also attended a special G12 Kids Life Conference, being trained as the next generation for God. The two day conference was not just about raising up new leaders, but an opportunity for the church to reach out to new believers. Both days were filled with many physical and spiritual miracles. Because the heart of the church is to win souls, the conference ended with a miracle catch they called, “Son-Day”. They prepared for this special day for months through prayer and fasting. With the word and final altar call lead by Pastor Cesar Castellanos, 1,500 people came forward to start a new life in Jesus. This is one of their greatest achievements in winning souls since adopting the G12 Vision years back.
The G12 Vision is a vision that restores marriages and families. Sean and Rachel Wela share their testimony of how the vision brought healing to their lives and empowered them to become a priesthood family.
Rachel My mom left us when I was five (I grew up without a mom. She left us when I was just 5 years old.), and although my dad did his best to provide us with a loving home, I still grew up feeling insecure. Unfortunately, (when I grew up and got married to Sean,) I took that insecurity with me into my marriage when I wed Sean. I felt unwanted, and did not know how to be a good wife or mother. Sean was very critical towards me, and often said harsh words that made me feel more insecure about who I was or what I was doing. I never felt good enough.
SEAN I didn’t have a strong father figure in my life, and didn’t realize how much that would affect my marriage. I did not know how to treat a woman, be a husband or father. Although I went to church and served others, there was something missing in my relationship with Rachel. I just didn’t know what it was.
Rachel Unfortunately, all of this lead to me have a relationship outside our marriage. This separated me from God and our church. In spite of what our leaders shared and ministered, I still allowed a lot of guilt and condemnation in my heart. With everything we were going through and all of the marital problems we had, we eventually left the church.
SEAN We didn’t just leave the church, we also walked away from God (we also left God). I felt insecure and questioned myself as a husband, asking myself, “Where did I go wrong?”
RACHEL We tried to fix things on our own, to reconcile our marriage without any help (on our own). We knew that we wanted to be together, but the guilt I allowed kept us far from our real home, the church.
Sean We constantly argued and blamed each other for what we had done in the past. On the outside it looked like we were doing well, but we were tormented on the inside. This not only affected our marriage, but our 13 year old son as well, who was caught in the middle of our arguments. (our family life as well. ) (hearing that his mom and dad would not be together really affected him! He was caught in the middle of these arguments and it pulled him away from us.)
RACHEL Because of this, our son lived in constant fear. He always tried to make it better between Sean and me, bringing us together. (He would always try to be the one that brought us together.) The turning point for our family was last year. One of our son’s friends attended the Encounter Weekend, and our son asked us to go to church that Sunday to celebrate him. We went together and that night his friend shared his testimony about God’s goodness and faithfulness and his realization that God’s hand was upon him throughout his entire life. God began to minister to my heart. He reminded me about the promises and dreams that I had believed for our son, that he would see the faithfulness of God in this house. So Sean and I decided to go back to church, without getting involved. The very next day, Pastor Donalee Pang, one of Pastor Kuna Sepulveda’s 12, texted me. She invited me to her new Life Group, something I believe was a divine appointment. (had been reaching out to me and wanted to let me know that she was starting a new Life Group, and invited me to attend). I was able to share with her everything I had been dealing with, all of the guilt and condemnation I was feeling, and had the opportunity to repent to her for walking out of the church.
Sean It wasn’t until the G12 Hawaii Conference in 2016 that I really had some breakthrough. Pastor Cesar Castellanos shared on forgiveness and not letting unforgiveness hold us back. That’s when I decided I had had enough. From that moment on, I made the decision to walk in forgiveness. God took off the weight I was feeling and I was able to love my wife again, and see her as God sees her. After the conference, I began to attend church consistently again, and connected to a Life Group. Everything got better from there.
RACHEL We made a decision to get all we could: Sunday morning services, Sunday night services, Wednesday night training classes, the Encounter Weekend, and the Re-Encounter! We were desperate to receive everything God had for us because we knew that that’s where the strength was. We were experiencing God’s life in our marriage again, allowing us to serve together in the G12 Vision as a family. (it was strengthening us to experience God’s life in our marriage again and to really reconnect Sean and me, and to serve together in the G12 Vision as a family.) Not only has our marriage been restored, but our son as well. God has done a tremendous work in his life. Now all three of us are leading our own Life Groups because we know what this vision has done for our lives. It literally saved us!
Sean We want to allow God to work in us. (That’s what helped me overcome the unforgiveness, hurt and pain that I was experiencing. (The G12 vision is not only a vision for yourself but it is a vision for the entire family, and you can see that in us. (our lives). Along with our son, we are committed to and involved in the vision of Word of Life. (and so is our son.)
RACHEL That’s what the G12 vision is all about. It’s a way to strengthen and encourage us in God’s Word, in His love for each and every one of us, allowing us to be an encouragement to others.
Sean We Thank God for restoring our family, restoring our marriage, and for the G12 Vision! The G12 Vision is doing great things in the United States and we can see how important Hawaii is in this season. God chose to ignite the embers of revival in 2017 and we are very impacted by the lives of Pastors Art and Kuna in this conquest. To learn more about Word of Life Christian Center, the 2018 conference and what God is doing in the islands, please visit their website http://wolhawaii.com.
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the Nation. The Bishop truly believes and lives by the declaration, “Teamwork makes the Dream work”, and as Pastor Claudia Castellanos teaches, “If there is no team, there is no conquest”.
In 2016, the whole G12 movement in the Philippines was moved by a word that challenged our hearts. Pastor Cesar Castellanos delivered this message from God that started something that at it’s core we did not understand but as a church we were willing to heed the calling. The challenge was to learn to work in the supernatural as we gather a number of people that has never been reached before. Bs. Oriel M. Ballano, the G12 coordinator in the Philippines, received and accepted the challenge with the goal of gathering 100,000 people, and began working with pastors from all over
Nationwide intercessions and mentorings were conducted all throughout the country and more than 7000 churches were mobilized. Four months before the Cell Miracle Catch, the said evangelistic gathering was included in the cell group monitoring on a weekly basis. Cell leaders were setting goals and were monitoring the people who would come to experience revival in their lives. These people and our massive gathering were included in the Morning Prayers held in every G12 church, because we believed that faith not accompanied by deeds is dead (James 2:17). The consistency in prayer and monitoring of goals during cell groups led to the great harvest. The consolidation process took place even during the preparation, giving people a sense of belonging and strengthening the gospel in the community. We believed that if we care for them genuinely, they would definitely feel the
love of God - that we were not after the numbers, but we were after people encountering God and miracles. Few days before the evangelistic gathering, the cell leaders organized the transportation of the guests, friends, and loved ones. Bus and “jeepneys” were rented as service ride. The cell leaders also packed lunch and snacks for themselves and the guests in preparation for the long day. Few hours before the event happened, an earthquake Magnitude 5.0 also occurred in Metro Manila, but this didn’t hinder the evangelistic gathering, because the people didn’t feel the quake. We believe that it was God’s presence and power that protected everyone and instead of the fright from the calamity, the people experienced miracle and revival.
Miracles have happened in the Philippines as more than 165,000 Filipinos from different regions and provinces gathered and received God’s blessing and healing in the first G12 Cell Miracle Catch last April 8, 2017. It was truly a historic event for G12 Philippines family being the first time to gather that number of people with 80,000 of them receiving salvation. Definitely, it’s never just about numbers, but seeing the manifestation of God’s moving and faithfulness in the country.
Bs. Oriel, together with all the National 12, continue to work hard in the ministry, fighting for a better Philippines. They persevere in the vision knowing that whatever good numbers they now have in their churches, a lot more Filipinos need Jesus in their lives. It is just the beginning. The participants of the first ever G12 Cell Miracle Catch went back to their families and communities, being sent to spread His light and be the light. We know, from here on, we can only expect a better and more God-filled nation.
Grace Ballano Youth Pastor in the Philippines 38
They received the vision of Nation Transformation, having a changed Philippines. Over 7,000 Churches worked together to achieve the dream. And with the work of the Holy Spirit in the hearts and lives of each leader who brought people to the gathering, not only was the goal achieved, but glory was given to God for accomplishing the next level of the ministry. Majority of the people who received and experienced miracle, were preserved and stayed in the church. They are now connected to cell groups and are being discipled by the cell leaders in the church, with the cause of nation transformation. This preservation of the harvest is a great manifestation of God’s power.
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t’s almost two years ago that we moved to Spain. So much has happened. But let’s go back for a moment to when it all started. After we got married we went to live in Holland. Even though we were not sure if this was our place, we wanted to settle in our first years of marriage. We both did a lot in MCI Utrecht´s church, the church of Esra´s parents Pastors Rob and Maudy De Boer. They were some great years, but after a while we felt that God had something more in stock for us. We started to pray and seek for God’s direction. He spoke to us trough Isaiah 43:19 “Behold, I will do something new, Now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:19
this was the direction we were praying for, God’s direction. After that moment everything started to flow, it was God’s flow. That same year we moved from Holland to Barcelona, Spain. It was a time for us were we were getting used to a new country and a new life. Even though Barcelona was great it was not our place, thanks to a divine advice from Pastora Johanna Castellanos six months after we moved to the capital Madrid. It was not easy but God’s purpose has a price to pay; total obedience to Gods direction. And this is the place where MCI Madrid got born.
It was January 2016 when we arrived in Colombia for the conference. We were full of excitement because after one year of praying with our rhema we knew that during that week God was going to speak to us. We had a beautiful conference but we didn’t´t find the direction that we were looking for.
We didn’t know anyone in this beautiful but intimidating city but by God’s grace we got to know a beautiful family that helped us to find a new apartment to rent, they became good friends and our first disciples. They have their own business and opened up their office for us to do our very first cell group. 22 people attended that very first night. It was unbelievable, God really brought us to the place He wanted us to be!
It was our last day in Bogota, Colombia and we were set to go home. That day we received an unexpected phone call from Pr. Cesar Castellanos. He was about to start a new project in Europe and was thinking of us to be part of it. We had been praying for one year straight and
Some months after we had the privilege to receive pastors Cesar and Claudia Castellanos. They arrived a Sunday morning and later on that day we had planned a meeting in a hotel with our cell group. After much work and prayer around 60 people attended to the meeting. Everybody was
With this rhema we started to pray Believing that God was about to do something new with us and in our lives. One year straight we were uniting in prayer and declaring the word that God had spoken to us.
encouraged and so motivated. Pastor Cesar closed that meeting asking us when the next meeting would be. Honestly we didn’t thought about it yet.. When he said; next Sunday same place, we moved from a Friday night cell group to a Sunday service. Pastor Cesar and Claudia have the ability to push you further in faith! Exactly that week we got in contact in a miraculous way with the owner of a movie theater in the center of madrid. Despite the fact that we were not registered as a church yet and we didn’t have much guaranties to offer financially once a again Gods grace played in our favor. Even Though we did not have any equipment or worship yet people started to come and to believe in this dream. We are so thankful with God, seven months later and MCI Madrid is growing and developing. With the first group we went through Life Class and we had an amazing first encounter with 32 people, we have cell groups in different parts of the city and we can’t wait for what’s next! We wanna thank pastors Cesar and Claudia for believing in us and guiding us to God´s purpose for our lives. We love you very much. With God everything is possible and YES just as Isaiah 43:19 says; God was doing something new and now we are aware of it. ¡Madrid, the best is yet to come!
Pastors Mci Madrid, Spain José Luis & Esra Barrios
and our desire is to make her into a great nation, where His name will be lifted high and where the kingdom of God and His righteousness will be established�
PASTORA CLAUDIA CASTELLANOS
rom the beginning of our organization, we have seen the incomformity of the Colombian people regarding their dignitaries. They are weary of corruption, unfulfilled promises, lies, gaps of inequality, disappointment with the administration and its public politics. Throughout the years, as an organization, we have sought to generate and reflect a transparent, trustworthy and upright political conscience through our members. Many were the battles we faced, but in all of them, we have always had the conviction to be faithful and excellent in the little entrusted to us. Nevertheless, we understood that change is necessary in the practice of politics. Even though this implies letting go of the old, we understood that in it lies an important growth, which requires hard work, determination, tenacity, but above all, the ability to dream bigger. We have learned to take new routes with the assurance and confidence that we are walking hand in hand with the Almighty, and every step is directed by Him. For this reason, in every decision, our hearts are wrapped in the conviction, “For the redemption of Colombia”. As well, a determination to make our nation great, a place where every family can prosper. Prosperity meaning fullness in every area, leaving aside the concept of needing many resources to obtain it. We declare over our nation God’s promise in Genesis 12:2, “And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing”. We believe that God is making Colombia into a great nation, where the gaps of inequality will be shortened and as industry is promoted, it will grow in its social purpose. A nation where we aim to strengthen the Congress of the Republic, seeking effectiveness in our democracy. And as we face the challenges of our culture, we promote good citizenship, teamwork, upright leadership, and above all, remember to be light in the place where we are. Our determination is to reach a point of reference in which every member of our organization will be known as transparent, excellent, efficient, trustworthy, faithful, ethical, upright. We want to show that those who hold political positions can be different, right, dependable and can work together keeping in mind that everyone’s opinion matters not just because of their ethical and moral convictions, but because they reflect the message of Jesus, with the Word of God in their heart and the Constitution in their hands. This is why, throughout our political career, we have participated in different political parties, always looking for that space where our dream can be made real and tangible. We have one cause, one dream, a strong feeling that is “A More Righteous Colombia”. Always keeping in mind that when it is necessary to rethink and redesign, we will be the first to make changes to generate benefits, as we work harder every time for the benefit of every Colombian.
Michelle Morales Directora G12 Media
Prayer is one of the greatest gifts the Father has given us. Through it, we enter into relationship with God, and can approach Him as His children, knowing He’s our only trusted source of advice. He is our most willing and accessible friend, never too busy to answer when we call.
Through His Word, the Lord urges us to seek Him in prayer because He knows we are frequently trapped in personal, family, emotional and even ministry-related situations which can only be transformed through an intimate dialogue with Him. The answers we are seeking are found in prayer; neither friends, nor books, nor counselors will give us what prayer gives us; there is no other source. It’s important to understand that some things come directly from God, for He is the drinking fountain of all wisdom.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT EFFECTIVE PRAYER: THE BLOOD OF JESUS STRENGTHENS YOUR PRAYER When we pray, it is important to keep in mind that we approach God with freedom through the blood that His Son, Jesus Christ, shed on the cross of Calvary. That is when you visualize and confess how just one drop of the blood rises up in favor of your request, bringing the answer you need. Transform your secret place into a workshop, where through prayer, day by day, you become an expert in confessing and correctly applying the blood of Jesus over every need in your life, family and nation.
PRAYER IS EVERY BELIEVER’S RESPONSIBILITY Through the Word, the Father tells us we must pray, and as His children we need to obey what He asks. The true purpose of prayer is to determine the will of God for something in our lives and pray about it until it becomes a reality.
PRAYER IS A PRIORITY
PRAYER GIVES GOD THE LEGAL PRAYER IS PART OF THE LORD’S POWER TO ACT ON EARTH MINISTRY You have been called to be a priest; ministering to God should come before ministering people. As a child of God, do not stop ministering to Him through your praise, worship, prayer and by meditating on His Word. This priestly duty was given to us through the blood of Jesus; His blood has justified you to enter into the Holies of Holies.
PRAYER IS A CHANNEL OF COMMUNICATION BETWEEN YOU AND THE HEAVENLY FATHER
PRAYER IS AN INVITATION To pray means to spend time with God TO REST IN HIM because you love Him. It is an intimate dialogue through which we can share with Him what is on our heart. There are no secrets between Him and us. It is during this time, that we experience the fullness of the Holy Spirit filling our lives.
JESUS, OUR GREAT INTERCESSOR,WHO GIVES US THE PERFECT EXAMPLE OF A LIFE OF PRAYER
PRAYER WAS A PRIORITY IN JESUS’ LIFE, EVEN MORE SO THAN SLEEP, A SOCIAL LIFE AND FOOD. Prayer was the most important channel of communication between Jesus and His Father, and the same is true for us. “After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone” (Matthew 14:23).
In Matthew 6, verse 10, Jesus taught us how to pray, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”. He also said, “whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven” (Matthew 18:18). What we can conclude from these verses is that God has limited His move on the earth, and He will only take action when His children pray. Heaven is waiting for those of us, here on earth, who are willing to pray for something to happen.
Prayer is the most distinguished example in the life of Jesus, one that you can follow and imitate in your Christian walk. It is an selfless act that is generally not seen or appreciated by others, because those who surround us only witness the results.
Prayer is God’s invitation to give Him your problems, burdens, anxieties, and worries... “casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).
THROUGH PRAYER, WE RECEIVE REVELATION AND THE MIND OF GOD The Lord will reveal to you what He desires you to pray for. Through the Holy Spirit, He will guide you to cry out for a specific problem, for an individual or a special situation. God will allow you to see things how He sees them. This is why, as intercessors, we must carefully guard the secrets God reveals to us in prayer. Janeth de Barrios Pastor MCI Bogotá
Today we are seeing the fulfillment of a huge dream God put in the heart of our Pastor Cesar; the clear and defined image of saving future generations which he conceived in his heart. Like a torch with fire burning, it was passed onto our hands to run the race, but no one said it would be an easy race to run. This mega project to launch a company of educational content that teaches through animation would require us to have a burning desire in our heart to reach our objective. We discovered how an emerging animation studio, and even now, an emerging producer of educational content, would have to journey through their own desert in order to reach the promised land. That being said, we were not willing to go round and round in the Sahara.
THE MOST INFLUENTIAL STUDIO FOR CHRISTIAN ANIMATION IN SOUTH AMERICA STARTED AS A DREAM.
ITS WORK CONSISTS OF NARRATING STORIES OF FAITH, BUT NO ONE IMAGINED THAT THEY’D END UP LIVING OUT ONE OF THESE STORIES THEMSELVES.
We faced many different obstacles in the areas of concept, design, finances, human resources, surrendering, and above all, walking the narrow path of obedience to God’s initial desire. That is how we started to see the first results after a year and a half of establishing the foundation, all because the substance of faith was already in us. It’s that type of faith that doesn’t let you turn back, not even to look back. But the kind of conviction that makes those problems seem small and where as a studio, we united to pray to see God’s answer for concerning all of these challenges. One day, we were about to shut everything down. The studio had run out of money, out of all the people who had been working, only three remained, and there was no visible future ahead. It was a time of pain and the taste of failure seemed to have reached our mouth. But in one week, out of weakness, we found strength in prayer. On one white paper a drawing of David glowed the way a rhema word seems to jump out at you and into your heart. And so, it became the cornerstone of the Little Big Heroes building. It was a week where we saw God’s strength come upon us, pastors Rich and Manuela Harding took Pastor Cesar’s vision and brought it to life. We have seen God’s hand move and heard Him say, “Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged; you must be strong and courageous if you really want to see my power”, and oh how we’ve seen it! Today, Little Big Heroes has become a Christian production most relevant in South America. Its content has millions of views on our YouTube channel, a channel that has not ceased to grow or stop influencing this generation. We know that through the substance of faith that burns in our hearts, big things are coming and we will continue to conquer with that torch that will reach the countries around the world, and in all the languages God wants to take us to. We are eternally grateful to everyone who has supported us in this amazing project, together, we will continue to build this dream. Diego Gómez G12 Animation Studios Director
Today, we are facing the result of what we thought was a movement or passing trend. As leaders, parents and preteen pastors, lwe may have made the mistake of thinking it was no big deal, that this too, would come and go. But everyday, it gains strength in the lives of our preteens. It seems the enemy’s strategy is to “connect� them to a world of alternatives. This is made easier with the technological advancements that are offered daily through smartphones, tablets, computers and the incredible reach of the internet. There is not one preteen who does not demand to be connected to what we know as social media. It is astounding to see how easy it is for this new generation to speak this language. You simply give a young child a cell phone and they instinctively open up YouTube, search for their favorite videos, and continue to watch the lists of suggested videos. And without us realizing, our children are growing up being taught by this content. Parents cannot deny that the easiest way to calm and entertain their children is with digital devices, but only with good wi-fi, otherwise, a loud complaint will be heard. But as we diagnosis the situation in attempt to find the root of the problem, we blame technological
advancements and the many possibilities they offer our preteens. Technology is actually a tool, that when used correctly, can have a very positive effect in everyone using it. We cannot stay behind and ignore what is happening. We are evolving, education keeps getting more virtual and the solution is not to leave it aside, but rather, take it and use it in our favor. So, could the problem be in what they are watching? To this, we can respond an enthusiastic yes. In the last three years, there has been an incredible increase in the number of youtubers, channels, and websites visited by this specific age group. An influential Colombian newspaper wrote, “Youtubers increase their reach more every time, finding that their followers are preteens in between the ages of 11 and 15. We have discovered that the majority of their reach is thanks to YouTube”. It is amazing that the preteens are their greatest audience. Our preteens are being fed by what a person, maybe someone who has big identity problems and major character issues, offers them through their videos, complaints, meaningless challenges, or their direct mockery against all types of authorities. This is what the system of this world offers us and to those, who without realizing have opened their doors and allowed themselves to fall into their nets. That is why today, more than ever, the Word in Mark 1:18 makes perfect sense:
This that appears to be the century of connection, is actually the complete opposite. It’s the carefully crafted plan of the enemy to disconnect families, friends, and most important and worst of all, disconnect us from God. It is becoming more and more common to see gatherings where each person is looking at their phone, completely ignoring the person beside them. The face-to-face conversations are getting shorter and shorter, and relationships more and more distant. But even though we find ourselves here, we do not need to accept it. This is the time to remember the words found in the gospel, “they left their nets and followed Him”. In other words, the disciples left behind everything that would push them along the current of this world, disconnect them from Jesus and hinder them from being His disciples. It is interesting that the verse ends saying, “They followed him”, it is a term commonly used for social media. But this shows us that the problem is not social media itself, but the motivation of following. This sparked the question; “What if we stood up like a great army determined to make every preteen Jesus’ number one follower?” This very thought is what brought us together to work for the preteens with greater enthusiasm, alongside a great team that has passionately accepted the challenge. Pastor Julian Gamba, head of G12 Media, has been the one directing us along the way. He has drenched us with passion and shared with us his burden for this generation. He has brought fresh and innovative ideas that are being used on the social media platforms, with the goal of impacting those filled with grace and potential. We have taken on the challenge of creating a space online for preteens to be fed with what edifies them and not contaminated by what the world offers. This, actually gave way to a new format for the weekly preteen meetings that are held at MCI. It gave the preteens a leading role, making this meeting, not just a space for them, but a meeting made possible by them.
We have used new tools to strengthen this meeting, allowing us to connect with more than 1,300 preteens every weekend. At the same time, they connect with their leaders and coordinators, building relationships and making it easier for them to be discipled, as they are in formation and in need of constant guidance and advice. A very special part of this project has been showing them that we can be light in places where there is darkness, like Youtube. Places where immorality, rebellion, and confusion reign, they can make the difference by showing others that there is someone who is worth following. That someone is Jesus, and they can show this in the way they talk, behave, through their lifestyle and their determination to not be like the world, but make the world be them. It has also been very exciting to see them share their innovative ideas and move in the spirit of conquest that God has given to a generation that has it all to inherit the promised land. The Pre Show has allowed them to make their presence known in their generation. “Los Cracks”, as they call themselves, are those who met Jesus, followed Him, and as a result have determined to never leave Him for what the world offers. They now offer other preteens around the world a current and excellent tool to show that following Jesus is always trending! Jesus is our motivation and inspiration; our task is raise a generation that stays connected to Him.