Spring is in the air (at least south of the Equator)!
A lot has happened since our last real letter! While we have given some updates through video, it’s been a while since we sent out a real prayer letter. But in that time, God has done some big things!!
As a church, we’ve welcomed several new families who have been saved, baptized, gone through discipleship, and grown in their faith. We are continually amazed by God’s work. Just this Sunday, Heather had a family visit in the morning that she had invited the day before, and another lady, whom she had led to the Lord while riding in her taxi, came in the evening. Today, I visited a man in the hospital and helped him accept Christ.
It’s inspiring to see our congregation actively sharing their faith, inviting friends, and growing in Him. We are thrilled with what God has accomplished over the past year and are looking forward to our first anniversary at the end of October. Our people are excited to celebrate God’s work over the last twelve months.
For me, the most exciting development has been our social media ministry. I want to share what God has been doing over the past two years and our future plans in Peru. In 2022, I reached out to Bro. Eddie Wilson, director of Christian Media International (CMI), a group dedicated to spreading the Gospel worldwide through media. We aimed to collaborate more in Lima, but I wasn’t sure what God had planned. CMI aimed to broadcast the Gospel on national television, so we traveled to Colombia to record content in their studio. For three months, we were on TV across the country twice a week, but only three people responded. Our placement between infomercials on an alternate channel didn’t gain traction.
From there, we switched over to social media but were still struggling to see results. While we would get views, few people were reaching out to us, and we had no idea if things were working the way we had hoped. But then in late 2023, we changed up our paid advertising strategy, and people started responding. Soon, we were getting hundreds of messages a month. Now every month, we receive hundreds of thousands of views on our programs, and thousands of people write to us. Last month, over 750 people wrote to us saying that they had received Christ through our online programs, and since January, over 5,000 have responded, hearing and accepting the Gospel.
Additionally, we partnered with CMI to build a studio here in Lima to record and produce content. A few weeks ago, a team came down and installed all of the equipment for our state-of-the-art recording studio. We are super thankful to Gene Sharp, Dave Jorgensen, Doug Wruck, Luke Wruck, and Andrew Chafa for their hard work installing and training.
This studio will serve both to help us to create more Christian content, as well as allow us to help other churches, pastors, and ministries with their media needs. We have three men from the church who will run the day to day of the studio; and, Lord willing, hundreds of thousands of people will hear the Gospel through content recorded and produced right here in Lima, Peru.
Please continue to pray for us. We are still seeking additional funding for the studio’s startup and training costs, but we trust God to provide as He always has. Also, pray for our upcoming church anniversary as we celebrate all that God is doing in Peru.
Thank you so much for partnering with us to reach the Spanish-speaking world with the Gospel. Your prayers and support are making a huge difference!!
Josh, Heather, and Joseph Hedderman
