Curiosity Is Building Over The Good News That is Coming!
Schedules are full, our teams’ impact is multiplying, and the anticipation for the Festival is exponentially increasing as Mike is sharing on TV and radio broadcasts, meeting with government officials and local military and police, and making it known to ALL that we have some GOOD NEWS to share VERY SOON! Our serve teams are joyfully and diligently sharing their personal testimonies and the loving Gospel message with children at schools and orphanages throughout the city. Teams have also hit the city’s streets – inviting everyone they encounter to the Festival! Numbers are still coming in, but the teams have already seen numerous people receive Christ! We are so encouraged!
Mike doing a radio interview that reaches the entire southern region of the country
Meeting with the Police Chief before sharing the Gospel with the department
Prayer Team Member and retired Naval Commander, Gary Stubbs, accompanied Mike at the Police station and shared his testimony.
Wordless Book Bracelets illustrate the story of the Gospel and are given as gifts everywhere we go.
Serve Team performs a skit that tells the love and saving power of Jesus
The Serve Teams in action
Remember to tune in at 2 P.M. PST Saturday to WATCH THE FESTIVAL LIVE! Like and watch from our Festival por la Vida or Mike Silva International Facebook pages!
Barahona: Day 1
Last night, many National and City Authorities assembled to meet with Mike Silva and our Festival Directors- the Governor, Mayor’s Office, Police General, City Deputy, Directors of Public Works and Water Utilities, and several Heads of the Pastors’ Associations were present- many making the 4 hour drive from Santo Domingo to Barahona. It was an important opportunity for us to personally thank them for their support and permissions that are necessary to make a city-wide Festival possible. And most impressively, they represent both right and left political parties and all embraced Festival Por La Vida and worked together in an effort to bring the festival to the city of Barahona. We give God the glory!
Today, our Serve Team hit the ground running and went to two different ministry sites sharing the Gospel and demonstrating God’s love in both word and deed. The students were so responsive and receptive to the Good News message of Jesus. Dozens said “Yes” to Him today!
For the first time, we have an international group of 29 individuals here with us this week for the sole purpose of 24/7 prayer for our Outreach. While the stage set-up began this afternoon, our Prayer Team assembled at the Festival grounds to ask God for a mighty work to be done in the City.
Our Serve Team has Arrived in Barahona!
After a long trip to Barahona, Dominican Republic – a few flight delays and a much later arrival into Barahona – we are thrilled to report that all 55 members of our team have arrived safe and sound. Thank you for your prayers!
Despite the travel hiccups, we experienced the Lord’s traveling mercies in every detail thus far, and we know this is just the start of an incredible week! Please continue to pray with us for the spiritual transformation of this beautiful city!
Barahona, Dominican Republic – November 10, 2018
The CITY
Why Barahona
In many parts of the Dominican Republic, people have never heard the Gospel message in a clear and compelling way they understand. Barahona, a city of approximately 150,000 people and the main city of the Barahona Province in the south of the nation just 93 miles from the border of Haiti, is no exception. Due to the great migratory flows, the Dominican Republic currently counts with a great variety of creeds being a country which allows religious freedom. The most practiced one is still Catholicism, since more than the 50% of the Dominican population practice this faith. It is followed by the Lutherans and the Atheists. Furthermore, you can also find religions such as Buddhism, Judaism, and Islam, among many others. Only 9% describe themselves as “evangelical” Bible believers who follow orthodox evangelical teachings.
Entangled in cultural and spiritual superstitions, people here have often grown up with a combination of superstitious beliefs and practices mixed with a sprinkling of Christianity, clinging to false and unbiblical ideologies and therefore floundering in a sea of religious confusion. They are desperately in need of true and accurate Gospel witness and presentation. Extreme poverty, alcohol and drug abuse, domestic violence, child abuse and child sex trafficking permeate this visually beautiful country like a dark destructive plague. The only hope is JESUS. The only difference is JESUS. The only possible individual and cultural transformation is JESUS.
The biggest need of any human heart is salvation through JESUS CHRIST, and transformation through His power.
Our Mission
To Practice and Proclaim the Life-Changing message of the lord Jesus Christ.
This opportunity in Barahona is tremendous. The Festival will bring community service, evangelism, compassion aid projects, pastor training, and a massive city-wide festival that will include some of the hottest present-day Latin music artists in the world and a powerful Gospel message with a call for salvation. The heart of Mike Silva International is to reach as many people for Christ as possible, demonstrate His love to those in need through significant physical acts of compassion, and to train and equip the local Church to leave a longer-lasting impact. The following is how we do this…
The Details
Being the hands and feet of jesus
Counselor Training and Follow-up: In the months leading up to the Festival, MSI staff and partners are training thousands of counselors throughout the city to assist decision-makers who respond in a commitment to Christ at the Festival. We will also be making contact with hundreds of churches to provide training and follow-up tools that will prepare them to receive new believers and disciple them in their new-found faith.
Compassion Aid: We want to be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ and demonstrate His love for people by meeting very real and significant physical needs. Our Serve Team will spend the week reaching out to local schools, orphanages, prisons, rescue missions, deaf communities, etc., sharing the love of Christ in a variety of ways in both word and deed. We’ll also be providing much-needed medical care and a building project. There is a great need in a number of the smaller villages for clean, safe water so our goal is to sponsor two water projects. Projected cost for this is $30,000.
The Festival: At the core of our outreach is the evangelistic festival Saturday (November 10). The Festival is completely sponsored by generous MSI donors in order to make this a free event for the city. Big name and widely popular music artists draw the crowds in excitement for a free concert by their favorite music groups. Mike Silva is then given the platform to proclaim the Gospel message in a clear, compelling and culturally relevant way. As people respond to the invitation, our trained counselors help us collect names and addresses of decision-makers that will be passed along to local churches for effective follow-up and discipleship. The festival includes a family event called FestiKids. Families enjoy face painting, games, large inflatables, music performances, and much more. And the Gospel is once more presented, and an invitation given to receive Christ.
Legacy: One of our great passions is investing into other pastors, evangelists and Next Generation leaders who will then all go out and each reach even more people for Christ. Talk about a high return on our investment! Our outreach in Barahona will include a special Pastors and Leaders Conference which will focus on evangelism, leadership, and discipleship training. Because access to training is either unavailable or not affordable, MSI provides this ministry at no cost to attendees.
“But everyone who calls on the name
of jesus will be saved.”
-Acts 2:21
The Opportunity
Can God use you? Absolutely! Your investment will pay eternal dividends in thousands of changed lives
PRAY: Your commitment to pray with and for us is essential. If you haven’t done so already, sign up to receive our monthly e-prayer updates and for Dialed-In (our quarterly prayer calls) by going to our website at www.mikesilva.org/email-updates. We will keep you up to date on all the important details regarding the festival and you can follow our stories and photos via the blog. Click Here to join our prayer team.
GIVE: Your financial gift towards advancing the Gospel in the Dominican Republic really does make a difference. 100% of this outreach and all its components are completely dependent on the generosity of churches and individuals. Should you be in any position to give toward this incredible opportunity in Barahona, your tax-deductible gift can be made quickly via our website www.mikesilva.org/give or mailed to Mike Silva International, 1500 NW 167th Place, Beaverton, OR 97006. Click Here to give a gift for Barahona.
GO: You can be a part of our Serve Team and travel with us to Barahona, Dominican Republic to share the love of Jesus. If you simply have a heart to be used by the Lord and you have the willingness to go, we can use you! No special requirements are necessary. You don’t even need to know the language. We have translators who will go everywhere you go. Come and see for yourself what we do and the magnitude in which God works when we share Christ to spiritually receptive people. Click Here to for more information about joining us in Barahona.
Thank you for partnering with us in this spiritually fruitful opportunity! We couldn’t do it without you.
Contact
For more information contact:
Mike Silva International
1500 NW 167th Place
Beaverton, OR 97006
503-614-1551
msteam@mikesilva.org
Cartagena – Full Festival Report
Watch the full report from Cartagena, Colombia! We are in awe of how God moved. Thank you for being a part of changing thousands of lives for eternity!
* 25,624 recorded decisions for Christ * 17,000 attended the FestiKids childrens festival * 4,125 attended the Pastors Conference * 5,708 attended Workshops and Trainings * 43,000 students heard the Gospel message * 279 partnering churches * 3,491 individuals were trained to pray with decision makers * 657 families now have clean drinking water
#MikeSilvaInternational #FestivalPorLaVida
Cartagena Schools Results
The Gospel message has changed the lives of young people throughout Cartagena, Colombia! We thank God for the work He did through our Serve Teams and our FestiKids children’s festival. Be watching for our full Festival Report coming next!
Cartagena Partner Churches Results
The church body in Cartagena, Colombia is thriving! Check out today’s result update video. Be looking for our full Festival Report this Friday. We are so thankful for your prayers and support!
Cartagena Water Well Results
Your impact in Cartagena, Colombia is incredible, all glory to God! We will be sharing the results with you all this week including our full Festival Report on Friday. Thank you for all your prayers and support!
Share Your Story
We thank God for all He did in Cartagena! If you were blessed in any way by our posts or by the live feed of the festival or if you made a decision to follow Christ while watching, we would love to hear from you. Please share your story by going to mikesilva.org/share-your-story.
And if you made a decision to follow Christ, we want to say, “welcome to the family!” and we want to send you some follow-up material to help you as you begin your journey…the best journey of all!
Empowering Local Churches
Mobilizing local churches, and empowering local pastors, is a huge part of our mission with each festival. Now that the festival has finished in Cartagena, the work of discipling new believers continues.
We spoke with Pastor Matt Reagan of Southeast Christian Church who shared his perspective on the importance of supporting local church networks in sharing the Gospel. These are his thoughts on the impact our team had in Colombia.