The Ranch Where Heaven Meets Earth

Bethany DuVal • Jul 17, 2020

You don’t find Rancho el Camino without a bit of determination. Driving away from the beautiful beaches of La Paz, Mexico, you take the highway to the outskirts of town and turn sharply onto a dusty, bumpy, gravel road. But as you draw closer, you may just sense what has attracted so many people before you.

People say they feel something different at the ranch. Some are moved to tears. Others demand to know what causes the strange sensation.

Over the years, TEAM missionaries Pete and Emily Johnson have come to see the ranch as a “thin space.” It’s a place where God and heaven simply feel closer.

“I would not believe it unless I’d seen it over and over again,” Pete says, “where people are just, they’re honestly moved to tears.”

A Teen’s First Encounter

When Chuchuy first encountered Rancho el Camino , he couldn’t begin to tell you what God’s presence felt like. He and his friends would roam the streets at night, in his words, “making a mess.”

“Chuchuy is one of … many reasons why the ranch exists: working with the children and youth who live on the backside of La Paz who, for many reasons, have dropped out of school,” Pete says.

The kids come from impoverished communities where even the best parents struggle to provide. Too many have parents who are neglectful or outright abusive.

Rancho el Camino was created to be a safe place. It provides tutoring, equestrian classes, kids’ clubs and other outreaches — all geared toward making disciples who know and serve God.

The staff is a mix of American missionaries and local believers. But it was the foreigners who first intrigued Chuchuy.

Chuchuy stares into the distance, reflecting on how missions in Mexico brought him to Christ

Chuchuy couldn’t understand why Americans were serving his community instead of relaxing at the beach. Curiosity drew him to Rancho el Camino, and the staff’s love drew him to Christ.

“I know that gringos just come for tourism, to spend a few months here in La Paz. … And I was wondering why there are gringos in this neighborhood,” Chuchuy says.

He decided to find out by going to an event, and then another, and another.

Chuchuy wasn’t used to following rules, but the staff showed him loving patience and firm discipline . Many of the local staff knew firsthand what challenges Chuchuy faced as a young person in La Paz.

As the staff discipled him, Chuchuy began to change. Recently, he chose to be baptized as a follower of Christ.

The Place Where All Can Serve

As with many TEAM outreaches, the staff at Rancho el Camino see salvation as a beginning — not the end.

“Whether you are 8 or 80, everyone is made to serve God and to participate with Him,” says Pete, Rancho el Camino’s co-director.

Long-term discipleship is built into everything the ranch staff do . While teaching classes, leading work groups and tutoring students, they’re also starting spiritual conversations, praying with kids and sharing from the Bible.

As those kids grow older, many of them develop their own hearts to seek God and serve others. Some have even joined the ranch staff and hope to become missionaries themselves.

Rancho el Camino’s reach goes beyond youth ministry, though.

“We like to … get to know every single family on an individual basis and hear from them, what their passions are, what their giftings are, what their needs are,” ranch co-director Emily says.

The staff build relationships with the children’s parents. They hold adult classes at local community centers. They lead Bible studies at people’s homes. And when disaster strikes, they organize relief.

Do you have a heart for missions in Mexico? Discover how you can serve today!


Knowing God, the ‘Best Gift’

Gabby connected with Rancho el Camino after a hurricane destroyed much of her neighborhood. At the time, she thought Christians were just a bunch of fanatics. But when ranch staff started an emergency food kitchen, Gabby volunteered.

“I was surprised by the help they gave us,” Gabby says. “I was so excited to serve the people there and to even walk and bring food to 80 children at the primary school.”

Gabby sits with a tutoring student and another Rancho el Camino staff member in front of a laptop.

Gabby (left) connected with Rancho el Camino while providing local hurricane relief. After embracing Jesus, she joined the ranch full-time as the education program director.

As Gabby served with believers, she began to understand God’s love . She joined a Bible study for the volunteers. Then she gave her life to Christ.

“Knowing God and then living in Him is the best gift I have ever received,” Gabby says now.

Today, Gabby directs Rancho el Camino’s education programming. Emily says Gabby has a special gift for connecting with teenagers. And because she’s a local mom herself, she knows how to assure other moms that the ranch is a safe, life-giving place.

Continued Ministry During COVID-19

When COVID-19 hit Mexico , Gabby and other Rancho el Camino staff got to work making emergency food packets.

Many local people are day-laborers, cleaning houses, working in the local trash dump, and doing other jobs that don’t allow for saving money. Without daily work, their families go hungry. At least one couple had to send their kids away, to a family that could feed them through the pandemic.

Rancho el Camino staff worked to identify the families with the most need and coordinate with other ministries to make sure their relief efforts didn’t overlap .

“Every week, the list of those applying for help grows, and we hope to help as many as we can in these targeted areas,” Pete said.

Despite the great need, however, the staff maintained a key focus: leading people to Jesus Christ . On each delivery, ranch staff took time to pray with families, share Scripture and encourage them to get to know the ranch after the crisis ends.

Something Greater Than Wealth

When you drive away from Rancho el Camino, down that dusty road, you’ll come back to the highway. Across the highway, you’ll find a landscape of tiny, tin-roofed homes and generational poverty.

You’ll likely begin praying for the people’s physical needs without even realizing it.

But the longer Emily and Pete Johnson serve God in La Paz, the more deeply they believe that material wealth isn’t the grand solution to their community’s needs. Programs and relief projects may draw people in. But ultimately, the staff at Rancho el Camino hope to provide something much greater .

After Chuchuy gave his life to Christ, he says, “I felt a presence in me that I didn’t even know who it was or what it was. And it was God who had filled me with the Holy Spirit.”

Today, Chuchuy has dreams of finishing school and serving God with all his heart.

Many people come to Rancho el Camino and feel God’s presence for the first time. But the staff pray that it doesn’t end there. They pray that people will come to know Jesus themselves and that they will feel His presence inside them — wherever they go.

By Suzanne Pearson 08 Mar, 2024
Through God-ordained partnerships and creative connections, TEAM worker Keith Moore sees the global Church advancing in amazing ways. In the global missions landscape, a phrase that comes up often is “from everywhere, to everywhere.” God is calling His global Church in literal new directions, as He raises up cross-cultural workers to be sent from places that were once on the receiving end of missions work. We call this movement “polycentric sending.” TEAM workers Dawn and Keith Moore have seen first-hand this transition taking place. Their story involves the unlikely but beautiful intersection of Charlotte, North Carolina; Tegucigalpa, Honduras; and Memphis, Tennessee...and beyond. The Path to Honduras Keith and Dawn joined TEAM in 1991 and served as church planters for nine years in Bogota, Colombia. After safety concerns precipitated their return to the States in 1999, they knew they wanted to continue serving in Latin America. The Moores felt called to Honduras but wanted to connect with a strong missional church to help send them. The Lord orchestrated a collaboration with Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee. “Some people asked, ‘Why Honduras? Missionaries have been there for 100 years. It’s already reached,’” Keith says. “But there’s a whole section of Latin America that had not been reached - the upper crust.” Keith goes on to explain that he and Dawn felt called to reach college-educated professionals in Honduras – a ministry vision that resonated with the missional goals of Bellevue Baptist. Impact and Growth With the support of this new church partnership as well as another sending church in Birmingham, Alabama, the Moores embarked on their next adventure. Keith and Dawn started Impacto Honduras Church from scratch, and in less than 20 years, the church grew into four locations with 1600 total members. The Moores and other TEAM workers also created a “Bible school” type training program to help professionals who feel a call to ministry to make that transition. Throughout this period of explosive growth, church partnerships played an integral role. “It’s such a different vision when you have a church that says, ‘OK, this is our deal, we want to make this happen,’” Keith explains. “They helped us with everything. They took away every single obstacle to growth. Every time we needed something, they were there.” In 2017, the Moores once again found themselves on the verge of another decision. Was it time to leave Honduras? “I had no desire to leave,” Keith recalls. “People were coming to Christ every week! It was just so amazing.” However, back in the U.S., Keith and Dawn’s parents were in their 80s and would soon be in need of more care. “We realized that either we would leave in a crisis, or we would leave strategically,” says Keith. The couple began to implement a careful succession plan. By the time they left, the four churches were established with strong, Honduran leadership ready to carry on the work of the Gospel.
By Suzanne Pearson 23 Feb, 2024
Justin Burkholder, pictured here with his wife Jenny and their daughters Isabella, Olivia, and Zoey, has recently been named as TEAM’s next International Director. On February 19, 2024, with much excitement and gratitude to the Lord, TEAM announced that Justin Burkholder will become our organization’s new International Director, effective July 1, 2024. Justin, who is currently TEAM’s Executive Director of Global Ministry, will assume his new role upon the retirement of the current International Director, Dave Hall. ( Read the full press release here. ) We sat down recently with Justin to learn a little more about his background, his family, and the journey that has led him to TEAM. Q: Tell us a little bit about your “origin story” - Where did you grow up? What was your family like? A: I grew up in Mexico City as a missionary kid. My parents were focused on church planting. We were very close as a family. Both of my parents are still alive, and my dad serves as a pastor in southern Florida. I have one brother who is a pastor in Wisconsin, and the most special individual in my family is my sister, Amber. She was born with a very severe case of cerebral palsy and is entirely dependent on my mother...who is extraordinary! The three most impactful forces that have shaped who I am (outside of God’s grace) are growing up in Mexico, having parents who loved and planted churches, and sharing life with someone with a severe disability. My parents belonged at the time to a church and denomination that came with quite a bit of legalism and performance-oriented Christianity. Grace was a challenging concept to grasp. While I had an awareness of my sin and need for redemption, it wasn’t until I attended Moody Bible Institute that I began to grasp the fullness of God’s grace and His delight in His children. I have continued learning and trusting in the Gospel through formal education, like completing my M.Div., and through spiritual practices in community. Learning the Gospel and believing the Gospel has been a daily exercise. The Gospel is as beautiful and multi-faceted as a diamond! At an individual level, it is simple enough for us to live convinced that “Jesus loves me, this I know.” At a corporate level, it becomes the foundation that forms and informs our life as a spiritual family. At a cosmic level, it is redemption that reaches as far as the curse is found. It is hard to even grasp the multiplicity of goodness found in the Good News. Q: Share a little bit about your family life now. What does a typical day look like in the Burkholder household? A: My wife Jenny is my high-school sweetheart! She brings joy and kindness wherever she goes. She’s the best listener I’ve ever met, and we love spending time together. We have three daughters. Isabella is ten, Olivia is seven, and Zoey is four. Each of the girls is unique and has taught us a lot in our process of following Jesus together. We like to go out on walks and go to the park together. Once a month I try to get some alone time with each of my daughters which usually includes bowling or trampolines. A typical day in the Burkholder house starts around 5:00am. Because of traffic here in Guatemala City, we have to leave early for school. After school, the girls come home to different activities - sometimes swimming class, sometimes piano lessons. Four or five nights a week we have dinner together where we usually talk about our high and low moments of the day. On weekends, we enjoy time together, playing outside, or watching sports together. Go Cubs and Go Buckeyes! Q: What are your interests and hobbies? If you have the day off, what are you likely to be up to? A: I enjoy physical activity, running, strength-training and following sports. I also love music and, truth be told, am a bit snobby about my taste in music! I also am a very curious person and love reading just about anything that passes through my hands. A day off is usually an opportunity for time with family. Jenny and I like to cook something interesting together on our days off. Often there is time for some reading and watching some type of athletic event. Q: How did God lead you to TEAM? A: My wife and I were working in the Chicago suburbs. I was a youth pastor and she was a Spanish teacher. When we got married, we had already sensed God’s direction to serve cross-culturally, but it was a matter of discerning when and where. There was a driving desire in me to see a church deeply love the Scriptures and at the same time, be deeply engaged in loving and serving their city and the most vulnerable among them. As God directed our paths, we visited a variety of places and made some friends in Guatemala who opened up the path for us to serve here. While we were exploring, we knew that the International Director of an organization called TEAM happened to go to our church, so I decided I should probably invite him out for breakfast - his name was Charlie Davis. Charlie was extremely thoughtful, passionate about disciple-making, and very gracious in creating space for us as we stepped into this endeavor. Charlie connected me with Steve Dresselhaus, a fellow TEAM global worker who was at that time serving as the Senior Director for the Americas. I cannot express the debt that I owe Steve. He walked closely with me in the transition, encouraged courageous thinking about the church and her role in society, and blasted open the doors for us to serve in Guatemala. After meeting Steve, we spent some days praying about joining TEAM. One thing I will never forget – one night during the process, I found myself wide awake in the middle of the night. A peace like I have seldom experienced passed over me confirming that we should join TEAM. There is no doubt in my mind that God tied all of these pieces together to bring us into the TEAM family and community. Q: What roles have you held in TEAM? What have been the milestones in those roles? A: The most important role I have held in TEAM is that of a global worker. God in His grace has allowed us to help plant two churches here in Guatemala, serve in leadership development, counseling, and discipleship. Our greatest joy has been found walking with those who are learning to follow Christ more deeply. I served as the Ministry Area Leader in Guatemala from 2016 to 2019. We helped to establish and lead this ministry area as it grew from just four global workers to over 15. I then served as Senior Director for Mexico and Central America from 2019 to 2021, Regional Executive Director for the Americas in 2021 and 2022, and then transitioned to the role of Executive Director of Global Ministry which I’ll continue in until the end of June. Q: What do you love most about being a part of TEAM? Why TEAM rather than other organizations or job opportunities? A: The TEAM community is full of people who have faithfully served God’s mission and have given up a lot to do so. It is a privilege to know many of our global workers and be counted among them. I am also fascinated by the fact that TEAM has existed now for more than 130 years! There is something to be said about the resilience and faithfulness of an organization that has continued to impact the world for so long. The rest of our conversation with Justin will be coming soon on blog! We’ll hear more about how God called Justin to the role of International Director, and what Justin sees for the next chapter in TEAM’s work in the global Church.
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