LARTC Phase 1 Building
Dedication and Next Steps
Rod and Sherry Boyd

Watch our video report also at LARTC Update 2017-03-20

March 9th... a very emotional day.  We just concluded the 2017 International Educational Leaders Dialogue at a hotel in Panama City.  There were 35 leaders from 15 countries - National Christian Education Directors, Superintendents, our international ministries directors and our staff.  The first two days were spent listening to reports from the different countries and evaluating our overall training program.  March 9th was our business meeting with these leaders, our opportunity to share with these leaders our plans and activities to strengthen the Bible Schools in the Spanish-speaking Latin American and Caribbean countries.  We then loaded into different vehicles to drive to the Latin America Resource & Training Center.  We moved our offices to the new facility just two weeks earlier.

Dedication

We believed it was important to include these members of the international team in the dedication of the Phase 1 building.  When we arrived, our Panamanian executive leaders and presbyters were already there, as were most of our Panamanian missionary family.  After sharing a brief presentation about our vision for the facilities, we "cut the cake", enjoyed a time of fellowship and gave informal tours of the new building.  We then gathered at the back of the building, the double doors that will connect it to the Phase 3 Atrium building.  Lowell David, National Superintendent for Panama and Ricardo Giron, National Secretary and Director of Christian Education, lead us in the ribbon-cutting ceremony and prayer.

The national church in Panama designated the land for construction of the LARTC.  The church has such a heart for the world.  In fact, the national motto is Pro Mundi Beneficio - for the benefit of the world.  The LARTC, in part, fulfills God's prophetic call that Panama's church will bless the world!  We see it in exactly the same way!

A Dream Come True

God had given us this vision so many years ago... to establish a resource and training center, a hub to facilitate enabling leaders, to train teachers and to develop and provide resources.  Our previous facility limited our ability to serve in these ways.  Our new facility, when all building phases are completed, will provide a complete hub Pro Mundi Beneficio.  Our dream was never limited to serve just our ministries.  It was a "Field of Dreams" project from the very beginning.  Other "affiliate" ministries will have space available to them in these facilities.

Stepping Out (and In) in Faith

Recently, we've shared the story of the priests crossing the Jordan River from Joshua 3.  In verse 6, Joshua told the priests, "Lift up the Ark of the Covenant and lead the people across the river."  The Lord had spoken to Joshua that the waters would be stopped when the priests entered the water.  And it happened just that way.  In fact, reminiscent of the crossing of the Red Sea, verse 17 states that "the priests that were carrying the Ark of the Lord's Covenant stood on dry ground in the middle of the riverbed as the people passed by.  They waited there until the whole nation of Israel had crossed the Jordan on dry ground."

From the perspective of the priests, the 200-600 pound Ark of the Covenant would function very well as an anchor to drown the four priests carrying it if God didn't come through.  As with those priests, we also feel that obedience is what moves us from fear to faith.  Recently, it seems that every construction step we take is like those priests stepping into the water.  But God has been so faithful each time to stop the waters.  We covet your prayers!

Five Building Phases for the LARTC

Our Next "River Jordan"

We're finishing our first week with Portland Christian Center.  We'll have a report on this wonderful team in the next few weeks.  It looks like the team will complete more than half of the first floor of the Phase 2 building.  Our next River Jordan to cross is completing all finish work before the end of July.  We will be hosting and housing 40 pastors and leaders for advanced studies.  We need approximately $100,000 to complete the 10 first-story guestrooms:  blocking, stucco, concrete floor, floor tile, electrical, plumbing and fixtures, windows, doors, air conditioning, water heaters, etc.

Please help us!  You can use this direct link to access the project's secure A/G giving page.  Or you can mail your check to:

Assemblies of God World Missions
LARTC Project 14925
1445 Boonville Ave.
Springfield, MO  65802

We've reproduced parts of this article in a video report that you may enjoy:  LARTC Update 2017-03-20