Jesus Moves in Unexpected Ways at the Border

Immigrants who are detained at the U.S.-Mexico border face many needs—the greatest of which is perhaps hope. Lifeway Christian Resources was recently able to partner with a North American Mission Board church plant to send 1,000 Spanish Bibles to displaced children at the border.

“I’m incredibly grateful Lifeway had the opportunity to partner with our friends at NAMB to supply Spanish Bibles to children and families at the U.S.-Mexico border,” said Ben Mandrell, Lifeway president and CEO. “The gospel of Jesus Christ is the most powerful message of hope that exists in the world, and we know His Word never returns void.”

Lifeway was made aware of the need for Bibles by Felix Cabrera, senior director of NAMB’s Send Network Español, who had been in contact with Brandon Hembree, lead pastor of Impact Church in Washington D.C. Impact Church has a sister church near the border in El Paso, Texas, that regularly ministers to immigrants in detention centers.

“As soon as we knew about the need at the border, I immediately thought of my brothers and sisters at Lifeway so we could together take advantage of this opportunity by giving away Bibles to these children,” said Cabrera. “This is a collaborative kingdom work that aligns perfectly with what we are trying to accomplish at NAMB.”

Hembree pointed to the way God moves like the wind (John 3:8) by describing the unexpected path that led him to plant a church in the Washington, D.C., area to reach the nations—a move that would, in turn, send one of the church’s members to the South border to facilitate a gospel reach. Hembree expressed his gratitude to Lifeway for assisting in this effort.

“From the bottom of my heart, thank you, Lifeway, for your gospel-centered generosity. Because of your mission and love for Christ, we were able to provide God’s Word to thousands of displaced people in our own backyard,” he said. “I’ll never forget the first phone call I received from our member serving at the border—the urgency and compassion in his voice—relaying that all the children kept asking for were Bibles.

“Because of our partnership, children have been comforted, parents have felt loved and entire families have been given the eternal, immense hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Lifeway Global was responsible for organizing and facilitating the donation which consisted of 1,000 copies of decorative cloth-over-board RSV Bibles from B&H Publishing.

“Opportunities like these are rare and providential,” said Giancarlo Montemayor, director of global publishing. “When I got the call from NAMB asking if we could help, my heart was filled with joy. These donated Bibles could not have ended up in better hands. Our prayer is that these children would come to know Jesus through His Word.”

Other members of Lifeway Global express similar appreciation for the ability to play a role in this ministry.

“God has blessed our editorial line, and thanks to our different partnerships we were able to donate these Bibles and meet a need,” said César Custodio, director of Spanish Sales and Marketing. “We know they will be of great blessing to those who need peace and guidance through the Word.”

This donation falls on the heels of Lifeway donating nearly 30,000 Spanish Bibles to struggling Venezuelan communities. Lifeway is the world’s leading provider of Spanish Bibles and was named Spanish Publisher of the Year this May by the Spanish Evangelical Publishers Association. {eoa}

Aaron Wilson is a writer at Lifeway Christian Resources.

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