Local churches in Mexico City have worked tirelessly over the past year, sharing the Gospel and inviting people to Esperanza CDMX Festival with Franklin Graham. They’re praying that thousands will open their hearts to the Good News of the Gospel during the weekend.
After the outreach is over, these churches will be on the front lines of caring for each person who makes the decision to surrender to Jesus Christ.
That’s why more than 1,200 pastors and church leaders gathered Thursday in Mexico City—to be equipped to center their sermons and teachings on one thing, the life-changing Word of God.
“This kind of training is indispensable and I think all of us pastors who are here know that we have that need for training,” said Pastor Dagoberto Ibarra of the church Una respuesta de vida (A Life-giving Answer). “I believe this is going to change the perspective of preaching in many pulpits.”
Heitzig addressed some of the main challenges and difficulties pastors face that can divert them from their calling to focus on the Gospel.
“It is easy for pastors to be tempted to focus on strategies to grow numbers in the church instead of focusing on discipling people deeply in the Scriptures,” he said.
“The primary calling of the pastor is to spiritually feed his congregation with Scripture. It’s not just about giving them Scripture, but presenting it in a way that really connects with them.”
Heitzig reminded pastors that in His Word, God has already given us everything we need for accurate Biblical preaching.
In the last session of the conference, Heitzig also encouraged pastors to create a culture of evangelism within the churches. “Evangelism takes place outside the church, but the main place where it should take place is from the pulpit.”
“We give infinite thanks to God for this training. We have many ministers who need to hear the basics of preaching,” said Pastor Saul Arteaga of Pentecost Independent Christian Church. “It’s about going back to what Billy Graham always said: ‘Preach the Word, Preach the Word.’”
Heitzig challenged pastors to make a supreme commitment to Scripture and to know that it is indeed the Word of God. “Ultimately, the basis of every good sermon is to believe that every word in the Bible is inspired by God.”
“It’s thrilling to see the thirst for truth in all these pastors,” said Chris Swanson, senior director of Crusades and Development in Latin America for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. “I’ve seen pastors in tears who are being reminded to preach the Word, that the Word is enough… I know this is going to bring an impact that is going to reverberate throughout Mexico City and beyond.”
