The following article about MEDA appeared in the The Worldview, which is a publication of The Master’s Academy International.
“How do you reach a nation for Christ? You equip its pastors to rightly divide the Word. You provide sound training in church ministry and Bible exposition, and then you invite pastors to take advantage of it.
In other words, you follow the pattern set forth by Ministerios Evangelicos de las Americas (MEDA), a TMAI-supported training center that is training church leaders throughout Honduras.
MEDA is located in Siguatepeque, but its reach extends much further. Perhaps nowhere was the fact more evident than in a Bible teaching Conference MEDA held July 26-28. Attendees journeyed to MEDA from all over Honduras.
Alex Granados, who came to teach on Galatians, may have traveled the most. Granados, a native of Columbia, lives in Los Angeles, CA, where he serves as Director of Church Ministries at The Master’s College. Granados also serves as a Pastor of Christian Education at L.A. Community Bible Church.
“I love going into Latin America and seeing the hunger that men have for the Word of God,” he says. “It was wonderful to finally get to MEDA – to be a part of the ministry there. People traveled there from different parts of Honduras. Many traveled long distances, saving cents to be able to come.”
Those men make the journey, says Granados, because what they receive at MEDA is unlike anything they can find anywhere else in Honduras. They come because of MEDA’s commitment to Scripture.
They come because they are hungry for truth. They come because they are shepherding churches filled with believers who are as hungry as they are.
For those men, MEDA is a source of spiritual nourishment. They are eager to come.
“They make whatever sacrifice they need to be there,” Granados says. “It’s pretty tough to be a bi-vocational pastor. They don’t have a lot of money to burn. You can see the priority they put on their training.”
The conference focused on the book of Galatians, bringing foundational truths to bear on the biblical ministry Honduran pastors are pursuing across the country. “They’re looking to be watered with the Word,” Granados says. “They see that MEDA is doing that, and they can’t get enough.
“We live in an age where people want to reinvent everything – they think the Word of God is not adequate. They want a new way. They want a sure thing. But it is as simple and as difficult as faithfully preaching the Word. MEDA is doing that. There is no fluff – no gimmicks. They promise, ‘We will walk you through Scripture,’ and they deliver.
“It’s a testimony to what God is doing there.”
For Granados, who received his training at The Master’s Seminary in Los Angeles, the opportunity to help bring the same kind of equipping to Latin American pastors right where they live is especially rewarding.
“Being an immigrant and knowing how valuable it is to have the Word of God, then to be able to go back and utilize what I learned is a blessing,” he says. “I’m blessed to see the hunger, to see how much the men want to learn.”
For the men who come, meanwhile, the conference also offers a special time of fellowship. Most serve in small villages where opportunities to sharpen themselves against like-minded pastors are rare. For that reason, the fellowship is rich. The men share ideas and resources. More importantly, they share their burdens. They lift one another in prayer.
Through MEDA, God is answering those prayers. He is equipping church leaders, and those leaders are building a spiritual foundation to bless generations.”
We are grateful for the Lord’s blessing here at MEDA and continue to pray that He would be pleased to use this ministry for His honor and glory. Our family is humbled to be a part of this effort to equip men in Central America to be faithful steward’s of God’s Word.
