As we sat together in the conference room for the Strategic Planning Retreat, we realized in reverent gratitude that almost everything God was doing in our midst was new. Flipchart sheets compiled during the week lined the walls, each one capturing a small part of the big story newly playing out in our midst. The 1,116 houses of peace, the 1,200-plus leaders in ministerial formation, and the 90 community transformation initiatives are all new.

Even the leaders are new. Not one person on the Latin American leadership team has been in their role for more than six years! Sarah (Latin American ICCM coordinator), Pedro (newest member of the coaching team) and Sofia (leader of the financial team) have only been serving for a year. Jazmin just stepped in as the Set Free Movement coordinator in Latin America eight months ago. Just a few years ago, the effective mentor for leaders in Uruguay and Argentina was an unbelieving physical education teacher. The director of communications started life in a broken home but was practically adopted by missionaries.

Throughout the week, we spent time praying, listening and sharing the stories of how God is powerfully moving in the 19 countries where the team works – from Mexico to Argentina. A single mother came to Christ due to her child’s participation in the Raices discipleship program. A Chilean woman was saved, discipled and encouraged to lead her own house of peace and is completing her 19th ministry formation course in route to potential pastoral ordination. A Free Methodist church in Bolivia helped foil a human-trafficking ring.

The retreat helped us move from “team” to “community.” Specifically, our goal was to become a “discerning community,” a group of leaders who develop and deepen personal and corporate spiritual practices to help us perceive where the Lord is at work and to partner with Him more effectively in that space.

Our shared vision is to participate with God in the restoration of Latin America. This vision is our heartbeat, our driving passion. But it is more than that; it is also our shared story visible in the lives of our leaders, plastered on flipchart papers, and shared in written and spoken testimonies from the field. God is bringing about His restoration in the region; these fresh new stories are a testament to the movement of God.