Baja Mexico Leader’s Retreat

The Baja Mexico Leader’s Retreat is a training and development conference for church leaders and their families in the Baja peninsula region of Mexico. The retreat is designed to encourage church leaders and their families as they come together to relax, fellowship, worship, play, and listen to practical Biblical teaching.

In June 2019, Restoration Church had the opportunity to take a team of 14 people to El Papalote Mexico to host the Leader’s Retreat and they shared a few pieces of evidence of God’s grace that we hope will be encouraging to you as well.

Relational Connections

The team from Restoration went on this trip with the attitude that they were there to serve everyone they met at this retreat, and the Lord used that heart to create almost immediate bonds between the team and the families they were serving. Even though cultural differences and Spanish was often lacking, a smile and a servant’s heart spoke a powerful love that words often cannot capture. The Lord allowed each team member to make special friends at the retreat, which made the end of the retreat an emotional day.

Worship

The book of Revelation gives a picture of heaven as a coming day when people from every tribe, nation, and tongue will worship God together (Revelation 7). The retreat was a beautiful prequel to what that day will look like! From the first conference session to the last, conference attendees opened their hearts and passionately praised God in unison. Attendees dug into some leadership lessons on what it takes for each of the leaders to say with the Apostle Paul, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith (2 Timothy 4).” The spirit of power and unity was overwhelming and incredibly encouraging.

Team Growth

Perhaps one of the less discussed experiences of a mission trip – that fact that the Lord often brings tremendous growth to team members. Most of the team members had never been on a missions trip before, let alone left the United States. They were challenged to trust God and not the planning and details that they thought they knew. And it was great seeing the teenage team members find their voices and their roles on the trip, which speaks to the value they bring to the body of Christ.

Kingdom Mindset

Perhaps the most important evidence of God’s grace that a mission team can experience is getting a greater picture of the Kingdom of God throughout the world. The team’s eyes were opened and humbled to see how feeble efforts could be used to bless and encourage the tremendous work these pastors are accomplishing in their churches throughout Baja Mexico. There’s this almost intoxicating joy in serving that has left the team asking- what’s next and what more can we do? This joy and heart have spread throughout the team and into the church, resulting in a passion and excitement for how God will continue to work.