march 2015—idc mckinney

MAR 2015 | IDCMCKINNEY.COM | LEAD PASTOR: JORDAN STONE

IMAGO DEIGospel Partner Spotlight: the Haglers

“All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconcil-ing the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambas-

sadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us. “ 2 Corinthians 5:18-19

For the next several months, we are featuring an in-depth look at each of our

Gospel Partners in order to get to know them better as well as to learn more

about God’s calling in their lives. We are using a Question & Answer format, and

we hope these spotlights spur our body into deeper relationships with our Gos-

pel Partners and also deeper prayer for their families!

As we continue in this

series, we are eager

to share about Trace

& Christa Hagler and

their four children (Aiden,

Rebecca, Andrew & An-

nalise). Trace and Christa

have been on staff with

To Every Tribe since

2010, and they have

been planted in Oaxaca,

Mexico the last few years

as they focus on reach-

ing a people group in a

remote area there. There are about 2,000 people in this particular people group,

and there are only a few believers who have had access to the New Testament

in their unique dialect for less than ten years! Trace and Christa are passionate

about being vessels for the Lord to effectively share the Gospel and to help plant

a church in an area where darkness has existed for so long.

Our family in the village.



What do you enjoy most about your role with To Every Tribe, serving among the Zapotec in Oaxaca?

Seeing what God is doing and getting the privi-lege to participate with Him as he works. We get to see God do great things among people that, in this life, for the most part, are obscure and forgotten — but not to Him.

Can you tell us a little about the Zapotec people who you serve?

The Zapotec people we work among have lived in isolation, high in the mountains of Oaxaca, Mexico for hundreds of years. There are ap-proximately 2,000 people within 3 villages who speak a unique Zapotec dialect. The New Testa-ment translation has been completed within the last 10 years and access by vehicle to the most distant village has been available for the last 20

years. There is much blatant idolatry and spirit worship covered over by a thin layer of Catholi-cism. There are currently a few believers with very limited knowledge of God’s Word; they have very limited comprehension in Spanish and the only access to Scripture in their dialect is audio of the New Testament, which we were able to share with the smaller village for the first time last year.

What is the deepest desire you have right now for God to move within your ministry?

To see the Lord work to open eyes among some of the people with whom we have relationships so they can see Him clearly and know Him inti-mately and for the few believers in the village to grow in unity and begin to understand the sig-nificance of being a part of the body of Christ.

Our family and the Soto family with some of the women from SMQ on our most recent trip.



Can you share about one of your next ministry efforts coming up soon?

In March, we have a team coming down from the Center for Pioneer Church Plant-ing in Texas to assist us in a medical and dental clinic in the smaller village (SJQ) among these Zapotec peoples. We have been granted permission to play the movie of the gospel of Luke in their specific Zapotec dia-lect. We are working with Lidia and Anatolio, who are from the village, speak the language, and came to faith working with SIL transla-tors, but now live in Oaxaca City; Lidia and Anatolio are preparing a gospel presentation to share in their dialect after the movie. The students are also preparing a story set that they will be able to offer as a followup to the movie and outreach efforts.

What has been one of the most noticeable ways God has grown your faith since being in full-time missions?

God has repeatedly grown our faith in being able to trust Him one moment at a time. For the last 8 years He has consistently answered our prayers and lead us, but has never let us see anything clearly except just what step to take next that was pleasing to Him.

Since being planted in Oaxaca a few years ago, what is one of your favorite ways you have seen God grown in each other’s lives?

Christa: I have seen Trace grow tremen-dously as a husband and leader of our family since moving to Oaxaca. He has become more aware and more sensitive to my thoughts and concerns and has been very supportive of myself and our family as

a whole in times of weakness and struggle. He, much more quickly, leads us to the Lord and prayer as a couple and a family. He is able to love us and support us through the many changes and adjustments that we expe-rience in our life as missionaries.

trace: I have seen Christa overcome with the stress of this life – living in a foreign culture, struggling through this process of language learning, homeschooling 4 chil-dren, significant spiritual warfare meant to

destroy hope and bring dark discourage-ment, and feelings of great isolation. I have seen her overcome by all of this, and then, time after time, I have seen her turn to Christ, overcome in His strength, trust Him, believe Him, and keep walking. She is a con-queror in Him, and because of His power in her life, His resurrection and power and promises become more real and vivid in all our lives.

Hiking in the mountains with two of the believers.



What are each of your favorite Bible passages and why?

trace: Matthew 16:25 — This is the verse that the Holy Spirit spoke into my heart the mo-ment He opened my eyes to the reality of who Jesus Christ is and the hope of the Gospel.

“For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life

for my sake will find it.”- Matthew 16:25

Christa: Ephesians 2:1-5 — This passage al-ways brings about a grateful heart for the work of Christ and the salvation we have received, and reminds me how little I deserve His grace and mercy, but because of who He is, He gives it.

“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the

prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobe-dience—among whom we all once lived in

the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were

by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy,

because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with

Christ—by grace you have been saved…”- Ephesians 2:1-5

How have your children adjusted to living in Oaxaca in these last few years? What are their favorite things about living there?

The kids have adjusted well and now think of our home in Oaxaca as “home.” They are growing in their ability to speak and under-stand Spanish. Aidan's favorite thing about living in Mexico is the food and the people; Rebecca's favorite thing is the view of the mountains; Andrew's favorite thing is our house and his friends; and Annalise's favorite thing is Oaxaca.

Left: This young girl purchased a copy of the Bible in Zapotec and we were able to leave here with an audio copy of the bible that she can listen to as well.Above: This was during a clinic to SJQ last March where we were able to play the bible in Zapotec while the patients waited. These men were trying to read along in the Zapotec bible as the audio played. This was the first time that they learned that the bible had been translated into their specific dialect.



What are some ways that your family has fun together?

We most often enjoy a night at home watching a movie as a family or playing a game. A few of our favorite games include Phase 10, Skipbo, Mexican train (dominoes), and Nertz. We also try to make sure the kids get some one-on-one time with mom and dad by having regular date nights with the kids.

What are some specific ways the IDC family can intercede for you?

Pray for our Spanish abilities to continue to grow and improve, we are still not where we would like to be with our Spanish. Pray for our marriage to be protected from the schemes of the enemy and that we can grow in grace and forgiveness toward one another. Pray for wisdom as we shepherd our children, that we can be quick to humbly ask forgiveness when we are wrong and that we would point them to Christ as we walk alongside of them and have the

opportunity to serve alongside of them. Pray for our kids to grow in their knowledge of the depth and height of the love of Christ. Pray for contin-ued growth and opportunities to encourage the few believers we know in these villages and that the Lord would give them a vision for sharing their faith and reaching their friends and family around them. Pray also for opportunities to share the gospel clearly with those who have never heard it.

Trace and I with Lidia and Anatolio. Lidia and Anatolio live in Oaxaca city, but are from the village and speak the dialect. They worked to help translate the bible into this dialect with Wycliffe Missionaries and came

to faith translating the bible.

We are thankful for how the Lord has allowed IDC to partner with several

incredible individuals, couples, and families who are diligently working

to share Christ, help plant churches, and care for the needs of orphans.

Here are recent updates and prayer requests from some of our Gospel

Partners. If you are interested in biographies and contact info for all of

IDC’s Gospel Partners, please visit idcmckinney.com/go.


IMAGO DEIGospel Partner Prayer Requests

Kyle & Carrie WileynEXt Worldwide

NEXT Worldwide is committed to planting churches through evangelism and discipleship in areas with little or no Gospel witness. Please pray:

- Praise unto God for how well Kyle’s trip went in early February. Their Leadership Development Conference to Calgary and Cochrane went really well! Not only were they able to train several lay leaders from Vertical Church in Cochrane, but they also got to meet and begin relationships with several other pastors and coordinators in Alberta. Evangelicals comprise only 3% of the population in Calgary, so it was great seeing God move in this trip.

- For Carrie and their four children are doing well as they get used to their newest addition, Archer, who is two months old. Please pray for Archer’s reflux to subside quickly!

Gospel Partners in AsiaDue to security reasons,

this partner’s name remains confidential. However, they are based in a remote area of Asia for the purpose of reaching an unengaged people group with the Gospel. They recently shared some updates and here is how we can pray:

- For the Lord to help them to quickly learn both the national language and eventually the people group’s specific language

- For a friend who is a national in the country where they are located. Our partners have had numerous conversations about the Gospel with her and just recently, it seems that her heart is opening to the truth of Christ. Please pray for God to continue drawing her unto Himself.



Bruce & Denise KendrickEmbrace

Embrace is a ministry serving at-risk, foster, and adopted children and their families. While Embrace is based here in Dallas, they equip and work alongside churches throughout the U.S. Please pray for:

- The Texas Orphan Conference on 4/11 as Embrace calls ministry leaders from across Texas to advocate for the needs of children and families in the midst of the Texas Legislature being in session.

- For God to direct Bruce & Denise as they prepare for a nationwide “Hometown Tour” starting in June 2015. The whole Kendrick family will visit 25 cities across the U.S. for the purpose of equipping churches and beginning grassroots efforts to care for the foster, adopted and orphaned children in their communities. Please pray for God to continue giving Bruce & Denise connections with churches who desire to host this training.

JoannaCrossover Communications international

Crossover is a sending agency that brings access

to the Gospel to unreached nations, and Crossover’s primary pursuit is “Vision 2020,” where they plan to plant 2000 reproducing churches by the year 2020. Joanna’s role at Crossover is both the Care Coordinator and Prayer Coordinator of all of Crossover’s field staff throughout the world. Please pray for Joanna in these ways:

- For protection and strength among the Crossover field staff in Turkey (whom Joanna serves), as they are experiencing pressure and potential threats regarding current violence in that region.

- For God to continue adding to Joanna’s support team so that she will soon be 100% supported on a monthly basis.

- Praise for God allowing Joanna to complete her MBTI (Myers Briggs Training) certification recently that will further equip her to better serve Crossover’s field staff around the world.



Upcoming Dates

Sunday 3/8 Men’s Upper Room

Tuesday 3/10 Women Discipling Women “Behold Our God” study

Monday 3/18 Church Prayer Night

Trace & Christa HaglerTo Every Tribe

Trace and Christa have been on staff with To Every Tribe since 2010, and they have been planted in Oaxaca, Mexico with the focus on sharing the Gospel with an unreached people group in that area. Please pray in these ways:

- For God to cover every aspect of their upcoming trip (March 7-11) to the people group village (called “SJQ”), where they will help host a medical/dental clinic. They also have permission to show a movie of the Gospel of Luke one evening, as well as they will play an audio version of an audio recording of the Bible in the indigenous Zapotec language.

- For their marriage and for their role as parents. Pray for them to stand strong against the attacks of the enemy. As Christa said, they are completely aware of how weak they are, but they live in the truth that the same power that raised Christ from the dead, dwells in them through Christ.

march 2015—idc mckinney

Documents

zapotec people

christ god

particular people group

unique zapotec dialect

body of christ

hundreds of years

new testament

unique dialect