Gospel-Centered Worship in Barranquilla, Colombia
An update from Bob Kauflin, Director of Sovereign Grace Music...
Joselo Mercado, Fabrizio Rodulfo, and I recently had the privilege of serving at the La Adoración Centrada en el Evangelio conference (Gospel-Centered Worship), in Barranquilla, Colombia. It was hosted by Iglesia Alumbra, not a Sovereign Grace church, but one we have been building relationships with for the past few years. Fabrizio and I led the worship in song with musicians from Alumbra, and Joselo and I had the joy of preaching from God’s Word numerous times.
About 150 leaders, interested in or part of Sovereign Grace, came to the pre-conference on Thursday and Friday morning. We focused on the biblical foundations of worship, and practical ways musicians and preaching pastors can work together to serve God’s purposes for our Sunday meetings. The final session dealt with ways musicians can best serve the singing of their congregations, followed by a Q&A. We weren’t able to answer all of the questions, so we’ll be video recording the answers to the remaining questions and sending them to the attendees.
Around 400 came to the actual conference on Friday night and Saturday morning, which was for a broader audience. During the conference we explored a gospel-informed view of worship both in our gatherings and in our lives. Again, Joselo and I had the privilege of preaching God’s Word.
It was deeply encouraging to see the effect of the relationships Joselo has sown into over the past few years. In particular, he has been building with Jacobis Aldana from Iglesia Bíblica Soberana Gracia in Santa Marta. His friendship with Jacobis and other pastors has resulted in a deep respect, love, and appreciation for him and for Sovereign Grace. On this trip we were reaping rich fruit from his investment.
On the flight back, Fabrizio commented that in America we can be distracted by the smallest of inconveniences - the temperature, the quality of the sound, the nearness of restaurants, or the comfortability of the chairs. But the people who came to the events in Barranquilla were eager to gather and expressed a joy that was no trace of complaining. People repeatedly expressed their gratefulness for how Sovereign Grace Music has impacted their families and churches and how Joselo has been a wise and godly friend to many pastors there.
It was humbling to realize that within a few years we could have as many as 10 Sovereign Grace churches in Colombia, South America. These would be churches that confess our statement of faith, share our gospel values, are committed to living out gospel virtues, and have a vision for planting and strengthening other churches. It was a joy to play a small part in that process.
