The mission of Charis Bible College is to—
“equip faithful men and women for the work of the ministry by teaching spiritual truths, imparting biblical knowledge, providing practical ministry opportunities, and grounding students in the message of God’s unconditional love and grace.”
To that aim, every year Charis sends its second-year students on missions trips throughout the world to give them hands-on ministry experience in a variety of settings. Recently a team of students, led by Joyce Ball, returned from Mexico with an amazing testimony!
During a prayer meeting two days before the students were to fly out, a prophecy was given to the team: “You are being sent as an encouragement—especially to ‘Margarita’… You will reap a harvest that someone else has sown.”
When Joyce’s team landed in Mexico, they partnered with a group of Charis Mexico students to discuss their upcoming outreach in a nearby mountain village. Pastor Martin, a local Charis student, had been spending a lot of time shepherding a church there but was discouraged by their lack of fruit. Apparently, his mother—Margarita—had spent the last years of her life sowing into that body of believers with nothing to show for it. After encouraging one another in the Word, the team members went to bed eager for their coming day of ministry.
In the village the next morning, the Charis teams delivered personal invitations for the upcoming ministry events and prayed for every person who would grant them permission. Mick, a team member from Colorado, remembers, “We prayed for many people, but one old woman named Juanita changed the atmosphere of our trip. Adam and Margaret laid hands on her and prayed in faith. They didn’t notice any changes, but left her home believing she was healed.”
The next day dawned bright and sunny. The missions team left early to set up for their evangelistic event in the village. Their plans included activities for the children, skits, and a short salvation message that emphasized Jesus’ work to set us free from the power of sin and give us brand-new hearts. Nearly 300 people attended! It was the largest event the village had ever experienced. “After the message, we gave a salvation invitation, to which 150 people responded!” Mick recalls.
Eager to use what they had been receiving in class, the Charis students opened the altars for healing ministry. Very few people responded, until one little old lady came out of the crowd to share her testimony of healing—a lady named Juanita. The floodgates opened and hundreds were ministered to in prayer! “It was a powerful time,” a team member recalls.
Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.
Mark 16:20 (New International Version)
