John Jairo Leal and Susana Castro are ordained pastors in Colombia who have served as pastors and church planters in Medellín. John Jairo is currently the field director for Community Church Planting with Impact Latin America and serves on the Colombian board of ministerial education and guidance. Susana leads the Healthy Leaders Development pillar for the Latin American Area and serves as the pastor of Camino de Vida Church in Medellín. She also mentors leaders in the Honduras Mission District. Together, they are passionate about developing healthy leaders and multiplying disciples who share the gospel through words and loving actions.
Pray For
- healthy rhythms for their family amid multiple responsibilities, travel and studies
- their daughters to grow in their knowledge and love of God
- fruitful development of healthy leaders at the local, district and area levels
- growth of the local church in discipleship, leadership, community transformation and the acquisition of a suitable building
- expansion of the Community Church Planting movement as God opens doors and prepares hearts
Recent Heartbeat Articles
Living in Transformational Community
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...
Freedom in Bolivia
Two years ago, the transformational church pillar of the Latin American Area began sponsoring “Freedom Week” to create awareness of modern-day slavery and to begin initiatives to combat trafficking. Area-wide programming in the first year inspired more churches to...
More Than We Could Ask or Imagine
If missionaries Don and Elda Rose Bowen could have seen 65 years into the future, they would have said, “It is more than we could ask or imagine.” In 1956, missionaries Don and Elda Rose Bowen founded the Free Methodist Seminary in Brazil. Hundreds of men and women...
Connection: Bible Memorization and Restoration
One simple interaction in Paraguay and an offering collected at the National Bible Quiz Finals in the USA are reaping great rewards in Colombia. It all started when missionary and the mission district leader of Colombia, Thad Roller, sat next to Gerry Coates, the...