John Jairo Leal and Susana Castro are ordained pastors in the Colombia Missionary District and have served as pastors and church planters in Medellin. John is currently director of Community Church Planting with Impact Latin America. Susana is coordinator of the Healthy Leaders Development pillar in Latin America. She mentors the mission district leaders in Costa Rica, 360 Mission District and Honduras, and serves as a mentor for pastors of the Camino de Vida IML churches in Colombia. John Jairo and Susana’s passion is to develop leaders who spread the gospel with words and deeds of love.
Children: Isabella, Valentina, Alejandro (nephew)
Pray For
- the whole family to maintain healthy rhythms amid multiple tasks
- their children to know God more fully and love Him with all their being
- much fruit in the development of healthy leaders at the local, district and area levels
- leaders to experience deep connections with God and one another through pastoral care groups
- the expansion of the Community Church Planting movement as God opens doors and prepares hearts
Recent Heartbeat Articles
I Choose Jesus
Four years ago, Olga Beatriz Gómez Alzate arrived in Medellin, Colombia, from Creative Access Country X. She moved into the Alfonso López neighborhood with her husband, Jefferson, and sons. Her life was not easy because her marriage was not going well. Her husband...
Developing the Next Generation of Leaders
For a long time, we have emphasized family discipleship within the church. Through much prayer and intentional discipleship, we are witnessing the fruit of young lives changed. The “Jehovah is My Pastor” church is participating with God in the restoration of Latin...
Small Steps to Big Transformation
In August 2022, the Nicaragua Mission District participated in the 12-week pilot discipleship program Innovate. The Transformational Churches team in Latin America partnered with The Chalmers Center to train discipleship facilitators. The partnership with The Chalmers...
Answering God’s Call
Let me introduce you to Juan Carlos and Yaneth Rodriguez. They started their ministry as youth pastors and later began focusing on church planting and small-group ministry. In 2004 they planted the “Manantial de Vida” (Spring of Life) Free Methodist Church in Nogales,...