Pray For
- regions of Mexico that are praying and working toward renewal and revitalization
- pastors and leaders nearing the end of ministry careers and the next generation of leaders who will be trained and mobilized for ministry
- wisdom, faith and maturity for leadership and laity
- Bishop Hector as he faces the challenge of growing and uniting the conference
- multiplication of churches in Mexico City, the largest urban area in the Western Hemisphere
PRESENT MINISTRIES
With over a century of history, the Free Methodist Church in Mexico has a strong presence throughout this nation of 120 million people – the most populous Spanish-speaking country in the world. Since 2016 the FM work has achieved provisional general conference status. Bishop Hector Perez is leading the three conferences and two mission districts of Mexico with the tools, resources, vision and support at the heart of the growing movement of the FMC throughout the Latin American Area. Mexico is beginning to send missionaries to serve the area, particularly in leadership development, youth ministry and worship arts.
ORIGINS
A revival in Los Angeles, California, in 1917 sparked the movement for Free Methodists to focus ministry in Mexico. As Mexican churches were raised up in California, workers became burdened for the unevangelized in Mexico. Mexican law forbade foreign missionaries to serve as pastors in Mexico, so Gonzalo Cisneros, a Mexican-American, was authorized by Free Methodist World Missions to return to his home town in Sonora to serve as missionary-pastor. In 1931 the Mexican Provisional Conference, embracing churches in both California and Mexico, was organized in Chino, California.
Another cluster of churches in northeastern Mexico, that became part of the Mexican Conference, was planted by returning laborer Tony Gonzalez.
Country Leader
Bishop Hector Perez
Mexico Provisional General Conference
Prayercast | Mexico
Recent Heartbeat Articles
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...
Discipling: No Distance or Age Limitations
Agua Prieta, Mexico, is a town on the country’s border with the United States, adjacent to the town of Douglas, Arizona. This is where Myrna Galvan...
COUNTRY STATISTICS
-
- Population: 132,006,481 (78.84% urban)
- Evangelical Christians: 10.45%
Provisional General Conference
- FM Work Opened: 1917
- FM Churches: 75
- Houses of Peace: 20
- FM Membership:3,945
- Ordained Ministers: 55
- Ministerial Candidates: 32
- Bishop: Hector Perez
- Ecclesiastical Accountability: Free Methodist World Conference
- Major Cities:
- México City (21 million)
- Guadalajara (3.8 million)
- Monterrey (3.5 million)
Photo Credit: TUBS, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Join the ministry in Mexico
Church Planting & Development
Support for Central Mexico Church Planting and Development (CPD) will help resource the following people and strategic initiatives:
- Pastor Hector Perez, who leads this district centered in Mexico City, the largest urban area in the western hemisphere (The district also includes a cluster of churches in the Yucatan Peninsula, a 20-hour bus ride from Mexico City.)
- Following up on contacts from Latino churches in the U.S. to reach family members and plant churches in Mexico
- Creative outreach events in the surrounding communities that focus on children, youth and families
Extra Mile Projects
Guadalajara Church Plants
Thanks to evangelism in the north of Mexico a family from Guadalajara came to know Jesus. When they returned to their city, the 10th largest of Latin America, they began house fellowships. Currently there are four fellowships. The Mexican Conference, in the north of Mexico, is sending a missionary family of their own to shepherd and grow these potential churches. These funds will be an important contribution to this missionary effort of the Mexican church.
Rancho Betania Conference Center
Rancho Betania, a Christian Camp and Conference Center in Northwest Mexico, was begun in 1988 as a joint effort between Mexican and American Free Methodist. In the late 1990s leadership transferred to the Mexican Conference, and the camp has prospered, continuing to offer a range of retreat and ministry options to Mexican churches. Operational expenses are funded through the camp’s ministries, but teams from the USA and Canada often participate in capital improvements, repairs and construction projects. This Extra Mile Project enables contributions for work teams and other special gifts.
Extra Mile Projects
Casa Hogar Tabitha (Tabitha’s House)
Funds support this Mexican NGO, registered in Mexico, founded by Ana Guayante in 2009. There are currently two homes, one with four children and one with eight. The children live in a residential home to provide a family atmosphere in which they can receive their education and a Christian home.
Nogales Ministries
This fund helps the Mexican conference (northern Mexico) with church-planting projects, evangelism and discipleship ministries. Also included are: annual gift to the Bible Institute (Instituto Luz y Vida), compassion ministries and Rancho Betania project.