A Church For People Who Don’t Trust Church

AJ Westendorp • Nov 15, 2016

Tragedy and chaos are familiar to the average Guatemalan.

If you fail a class in school, well, that’s not good, but it’s common; hopefully you’ll do better upon repeating it. If you are badly hurt in an accident, well, you can’t count on great care at the public hospital and can’t afford a private one, so hopefully you’ll get better. If your husband drinks too much or hangs around other women, well, you’ll likely separate, and hopefully you’ll make enough to feed your family, even if that means you only see your kids for an hour each night.

Chaos. Disorganization. Tragedy. Uncertainty. All are too familiar in Guatemala. And underneath all this is a yearning for a better kingdom to come.

In Search of the True Gospel

Historically, the church in Guatemala has been Catholic since the Spanish conquest. It has grown increasingly evangelical (40-50%) in the last few decades, but it’s evangelical without a “leash.” Many untrained pastors, poor leadership and a lack of accountability have given room for teachings and practices in disagreement with the Bible.

As a result, Guatemala has one of the highest concentrations of churches that preach the prosperity gospel. It’s what “itching ears want to hear.” The prosperity gospel says if I do better, give more, attend more events and obey whatever the pastor says, God will bless me more.

But that’s not the truth. That’s not the gospel.

The awareness of this lack of gospel truth in the church of Guatemala was reason enough for a few couples to start dreaming about planting a church. This group of locals and TEAM missionaries hoped that the simple truth of the Gospel and the full-bodied teaching the Bible would bring Guatemalans true freedom, refuge and life in Christ.

Gaby, a medical student who was part of the church planting team recalls, “[In February 2015], we had our first meeting to share our vision and mission with a group of about 20-ish strangers.”

These “strangers” would become part of the core group that would help plant Iglesia Reforma , or “Church of the Reform,” in a backyard, under a tent. Over the next few months, a church founded on the raw, good gospel and a genuine, missional community started to take shape.

In July 2015, IR opened Sunday services to the public in a warehouse just outside the capital city.

Teaching the Truth that Transforms Lives

My wife, Alaina, and I joined Iglesia Reforma in November 2015, when we moved to Guatemala to serve with TEAM. Since then, we have seen firsthand the work God is doing in the lives of the people who have come into the Iglesia Reforma community.

In just a year and a half, the church has grown from a core group of 30 to over 200 , with a consistent attendance of 120–150 at Sunday service. Praise God!

Equipping the community to study and read scriptures continues to be a hallmark of Iglesia Reforma.

Instead of flashy programs or a fancy building, Iglesia Reforma’s continued growth can be credited to a deep commitment to study Scripture together.


There hasn’t been a magic formula for church growth. Instead, teaching the Bible and forming community around that truth has changed lives.

Gerald, a teacher in the community, remembers the first sermon he ever heard at Iglesia Reforma: “The first time we came to IR, the pastor talked about faith. I remember how freeing it was to understand that faith isn’t just to believe that God gives me what I want but to trust in his will in spite of that not being what I want. … In his sovereignty, he allows even what we don’t like into our lives for our sanctification.”

Zuly, a local teacher, reflects on the community she has found at her new church: “Everyone from IR has received me with such love and friendship that they’ve made me feel like family. IR receives those looking for a refuge.”

And Mario, a carpenter and car enthusiast, remembers one Sunday when it all came together for him: “I was able to really know the gospel through one sermon in particular that helped me make sense of the truth that Jesus had died for me to give salvation. It changed my life, my way of thinking, my relationships and my heart. ”

A New Way to Think About Church

Many Guatemalans have sniffed out the lies, emptiness and manipulation in the church. Countless Guatemalans have distanced themselves from the church because they hate the hypocrisy or because the church just wanted their money or because they are shamed by the church for things like drinking, being divorced or questioning the pastor.

Many people don’t see the church as the beautiful bride of Christ, a vessel of true hope and redemption. There are a countless many who believe in God (to various extents) but are far from the church. There are others within the walls of the church who are being fed a twisted lie about a God who exists to glorify their life if they try hard enough.

So many of Iglesia Reforma’s members have come to IR as their “last time giving the church a chance.”

IR dreams and prays to see people like this come in contact with the true God and the true Gospel — a gospel that brings true hope and works out true (and difficult) transformation in people, families and communities.

The tough task ahead lies in discipling Iglesia Reforma’s growing congregation more deeply in the truth, empowering them to make disciples of Jesus in their own circles within a supportive and honest church community.

IR desires to be a church focused on people and truth, not numbers and programs. But as growth continues, we are consistently unable to provide adequate seating to the number of people who come on Sunday.

Even the ability for us to provide a chair (that won’t break) for every person is a tangible way to say, “ There’s a place here for you in this church family. ” We want to be able to take care of our community, welcome our visitors and focus on making relationships rather than on making seating work.

We desire deep relationships, community and discipleship. Our heart is to help plant new, Bible-centered churches that do the same, that the church in Guatemala might be the vessel of true hope that does not lie, that does not disappoint. A hope that is Jesus.

Bridging Dissonance: Finding Connection in Music and the Gospel

By Emily Sheddan • 18 Jul, 2024
TEAM worker Luke Standridge and his fellow musicians use music to build connections to faith in Japan. In music terms, dissonance creates movement or even suspense in a song. It invites tension. That tension is what helps grab our ear’s attention and the interchanging of these notes with pleasant melodious parts is what makes music such a delight. In a similar way, God is using music to grab people’s attention and catalyze Gospel impact in the largely unreached nation of Japan. TEAM Global Worker, Luke Standridge moved to Japan in 2019 with no clear direction on how he was going to use his passion for composing music while doing ministry. However, after Luke got involved with a local church and began developing deep friendships, the Lord opened unimaginable doors for Luke that in time, coordinating his creative skills with sharing the Word. “People Need to Come to Japan!” Growing up as one of ten kids in a family that was heavily involved in ministry and missions, Luke never considered that it would one day be a part of his own journey. In 2016, via a Japanese language learning class in Indiana, Luke and his brother had the opportunity to travel to Japan. Hearing, learning, and using the language in the context of Japanese culture was the goal. While it was Luke’s first international trip – even his first trip on a plane - it was also his first time hearing about the spiritual condition of the Japanese people. “And just through that, God did a huge 180 change on my heart,” says Luke. “More people should come here as global workers. People need to come to Japan!” The call God was laying on Luke’s heart is echoed when looking at the spiritual landscape of Japan. The nation is home to the second largest unreached people group in the world. It is one of the most difficult places for the Gospel to take hold and grow. Japan is also home to a deep and rich culture that prizes creative arts from pottery to ink to music to anime – a fact that would help Luke find his niche in life and ministry. God’s Guiding Hand In the short three-month timespan of that first trip, Luke found that opportunities came naturally to share about life, and people’s curiosity for Christianity grew. “I left Japan knowing I just had to come back,” Luke shares. “Even if I didn’t get back to the same area, I knew Japan was where God wanted me to be.” The Lord is good all the time and all the time the Lord is good. His plans do not fail. Luke returned to Japan in 2019, and less than a week after arriving, he was put in touch with a renowned composer in Japan. The composer saw some of Luke’s music and invited him to help write the music for a beloved in-country animated show. But God wasn’t finished yet! Fast forward a year, and more connections and opportunities allowed Luke to help with music for Pokémon - a franchise that has brand recognition around the world and was being developed into a TV series in Japan. Luke recalls how the Lord began using these connections in the production world to open doors for Gospel conversations. One night while having dinner in downtown Tokyo with famous artists and composers from all around the country, Luke was asked about his ministry-focused visa. This was a rare opportunity in a setting with people otherwise uninterested in Christianity. Luke shares, “The whole time I could see God’s hand in guiding the entire thing.”

Connecting in a New Kind of “Neighborhood”

By Lorena de la Rosa and Suzanne Pearson • 13 Jun, 2024
Through creative arts and other forms of innovative outreach, “The Neighborhood” is creating connections to the Gospel and the love of Jesus. CONNECTION. It’s a common word with powerful implications. Dictionary.com defines connection as a joining or linking together; a relationship between people or objects that unites or binds them together. God has created each of us with a deep need for connection with Him as well as connection with others. Hebrews 10:24-25 speaks to this, as the writer exhorts, “Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” This God-given need for connection lies at the heart of a creative and innovative ministry in Japan known as “The Neighborhood.” TEAM Japan global worker, Kelly and her family created The Neighborhood as a place where connections are formed through creative arts, educational opportunities, and simply just providing a space for people to be together. A Family Calling The journey to the creation of The Neighborhood began over 5,000 miles away from Tokyo, in California where Kelly, her husband Jeff, and their five children were living. The kids were the first to sense God’s calling to missions, and asked why their family wasn’t serving in this way. How Kelly and her family came to TEAM is a God-story in and of itself. “God placed a TEAM Japan worker at our lunch table the same week that the kids posed that question to us,” Kelly recalls. “We had never heard of TEAM and so we thought, ‘let’s check this out.’ After that, God just kept confirming that we were supposed to be here.” After a period of fundraising and with much excitement, the family of seven moved to Japan in 2014. For the first five years, Kelly and Jeff served as a part of other TEAM ministry initiatives, but they began to sense a stirring for something new. Creating The Neighborhood Kelly and her family truly have a deep gift for hospitality, and regularly opened up their home to others they met in Tokyo. They saw a great need for people to have a place to gather and connect, and they wondered what doors the Lord might be opening for them to meet that need. “About a year before we were to return the States on home assignment, we were just really thinking about our future in Japan,” Kelly says. “We saw a need for people to have a ‘third place’ – a place that’s not home and it’s not work. They didn’t have a church community or any other place where they could meet people and just connect.” Kelly goes on to explain that in Japan, the culture is such that people don’t generally invite each other into their homes, but as her family did so, people embraced that opportunity. “This idea formed in all of our hearts of a student ministry center – a place where we can create community and learning,” says Kelly. “It was born out of what we were already doing in our home, but seeing how we could expand it and have better space.” God’s Provision What happened next is a true testament to God’s provision. Kelly, Jeff, and the kids returned to the States and began sharing their vision for The Neighborhood with their supporters and churches who responded generously. Upon returning to Japan, the search was on for the right space. “We had a Christian realtor that we told our dream to, and he just went looking for it,” Kelly recalls. When the realtor found a 5-story apartment building, he said, “It’s kind of out of your budget but it has what you need and want.” The Lord provided the funds and the family moved into the space in November 2019. They now occupy all but the ground floor, with living space for their family as well as classrooms, areas to study or hang out, and guest rooms for exchange students or others who need a place to stay overnight. The first floor is occupied by a pizza shop – a welcome amenity for the many groups and students who visit The Neighborhood. “It’s very convenient!” Kelly says with a laugh. The Neighborhood began to see lots of activity right away until the pandemic hit in early 2020. During the height of the quarantine, Kelly and Jeff used the time to redecorate the space and plant gardens outside the building. Then as the restrictions eased, they invited individual students or families over for meals and fellowship. It wasn’t until March 2023 that The Neighborhood was able to fully open again as intended. Kelly shares that despite the setbacks of COVID, the Lord continued to provide the funds to pay the rent.
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