The Passing of the Torch in Latin America

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”  Acts 1:8

By now, you have probably heard the story of how Influencers got to Costa Rica, but the short version is that a Bakersfield Influencer, Ron Froehlich, had a vacation home in Costa Rica and attended a Bi-Lingual church there.  Ron had become good friends with the pastor, Henry Gutierrez and one day, he brought him a box of Journey materials in Spanish and cast a vision for discipleship.  It was a few years later that God reminded Pastor Henry about that box of books, as he was praying and asking God how to help some pastors go deeper.  

Henry started learning about The Journey and had a desire to start groups, but when he joined a Virtual Journey group, at the prompting of the Souly Business leaders, he began to see that this was much more than he first thought.  He was a good pastor who loved his flock, and he worked tirelessly to serve his church.  The Journey helped him see he was missing a key ingredient… Abiding in Christ.  He learned how much more fruitful and productive he could be when his work came out of his abiding relationship.  He also learned that God would re-order his priorities, helping him be the pastor to his family first.  It was life-changing for Henry, but it was also life-changing for Influencers, for God would use this passionate pastor and his wife, Eugenia, to spread this message and this process all over Costa Rica.  But it didn’t stop there.  It also moved to Colombia, Guatemala, Nicaragua and further into Latin America.  

In December of 2019, during the season when Henry was going through my Virtual Journey Group, Rocky and I took a trip to Costa Rica, along with some other Influencers from Bakersfield.  Henry was getting Journey groups going at his church, and we got to see the initial excitement.  We traveled across the country with Henry to San Jose, for a meeting with a group of local pastors.  This was set up by a pastor who was connected to a church in Tulsa, where many Influencers attend.  The room was very full with pastors who were there to hear about this new Discipleship process called The Journey.  Henry did a great job explaining what he was learning about this process and our ministry.  

However, after it was all said and done, there was interest, but only one pastor decided to go through The Journey with Henry.  That one pastor was a man named Allan.  He, like Henry, was totally transformed by The Journey, which transformed his marriage, as his wife, Shanna, was also blessed by going through the process.  

Fast forward 6 years and here Rocky and I were, again in Costa Rica, in San Jose, this time at Pastor Allan’s church, with 200 men and women from all over Latin America.  And the church was so hospitable, and we were blown away to see that they had created all sorts of sets, representing the different stations in The Journey to the Inner Chamber and the Prayer Cottage, which blessed us so much.  But what blessed us the most was to see the culture and DNA of Influencers fully alive among the people.  It did not matter that we spoke two different languages, for the language of Abiding was transferred freely between us.

A few highlights:  The praise and worship was unlike anything we had ever seen with true dancing before the Lord.  Andy Collar, our Regional Director for Maine, joined us on this trip and got to share his powerful testimony as he talked about the Orphan Spirit.  God used it greatly to set the tone of vulnerability and transparency for the weekend.  And as with all Summits, we had an extended time of prayer, where God ministered to the people as they pondered Andy’s message and their part in this ministry.  Ken Lander did a great job talking about Abiding and also making sure the significance of this Latin American Summit was not lost on the people. Rocky got to share on Saturday night, which was a moment all the people anticipated and loved.  

Sunday morning, Henry assigned me to speak.  As I prayed about my message, God took me back to the Garden of Eden, the place where we had perfect intimacy and abiding with the Lord.  Then, it was lost, and God has been calling us back to Himself ever since.  God showed me that Moses was given the Commandments, that he was to pass on to the people, even though The Law only showed us how far we still were from God.  Then, God spoke to Elijah, not in great power, but in a “gentle whisper,” foreshadowing that He wanted to give us intimacy with Himself.  Then, Jesus, The Bridge, was given to us as a pathway back to Abiding.  Jesus took Peter, James and John with him to the mountain, where Moses and Elijah showed up.  It all started to connect.  God was handing this ancient message to the first disciples through Jesus.  Then, as Jesus prayed in John 17, it was clear that this message was not just for the first disciples, but for us, who would come later.  And as Jesus gave his final word to the Disciples, he tells them to go make disciples of all nations and that His abiding presence would be with them.  

As I shared this message with the people, I wanted them to see that discipleship and The Journey and Influencers was not Rocky’s plan, nor mine, nor Henry’s.  This was God’s plan from the very beginning, and they are part of it.  As a symbolic visual, a burning torch was brought from backstage and handed to Rocky, who handed it to me, and I handed it to Ken Lander, who handed it to Henry Gutierrez, who handed it to Pastor Allan.  We talked about the sacred responsibility of fanning the flame of God and not letting it burn out.  Before we knew it, the torch was being passed all over the church, with everyone eager to take hold of it.  

It was a beautiful sight to see, very inspiring and encouraging.  Henry had multiple people, including pastors, who wanted to express their passion for this process and ministry, vowing to take their part.  As I was saying goodbye to Daniela, who is one of the key staff members in Influencers Costa Rica and is pregnant, I wanted to pray a blessing over she and the baby boy she is carrying.  I found myself praying for this boy to become an Influencer someday, and that I would have the privilege of seeing him as a young man someday at a future Latin American Summit.  

This was not just a sentimental notion, but an exclamation of the faith and blessing we have seen in the first 25 years of this ministry and especially in the amazing multiplication we have seen in Latin America.  Praise be to God for His wonderful work and plan and for inviting us to be a part of it.