Generational Teamwork Facilitates Church Planting in Michoacán

By Jim Fleming
 

It seems we hear a lot of bad news about Mexico in the media: Border issues. Gang violence. Drug cartel wars. Accusations of political corruption. But come on a trip with my wife, Sharon, and me to Michoacán, Mexico. You’ll get a completely different view.

Before we dive in, what and where is Michoacán? It is one of the 31 states that form the United States of Mexico and sits between two of the country’s largest cities, Mexico City and Guadalajara. Much of Michoacán rises above 7,000 feet in the Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range covered with beautiful, green forests. It’s nothing like the stereotypical desert and cactus on postcards.

Every morning at Campamento Berea, where we spent nine nights, the temperature would be in the crisp upper 40s (Fahrenheit). The mountain cold permeating the uninsulated rooms would make us want to stay under our four thick blankets a little longer and then dress at record speed. By lunchtime, the bright Mexican sun would have us peeling off layers down to our shirtsleeves.

We traveled to Michoacán and Campamento Berea at the invitation of missionaries Ted and Priscilla Clark (Missionary Prayer Handbook Day 16). Priscilla grew up in Guatemala, where her parents served with Central America Mission (CAM). She and Ted met at Moody Bible Institute in the early 1980s, knowing they were headed into missions. After they married, they joined CAM in Mexico, but on frequent trips to Texas, they became involved with assemblies in the Dallas area. Eventually, Centerpoint Church in Mesquite, Texas, commended them.

Thirty-five years later, we got to experience Michoacán with the Clarks and met their children and families and the seven CMML missionaries who work alongside them. This group is hard at work planting assemblies in many towns. It’s a complex and amazing story of cooperation. It’s a movement of God’s Spirit that I will try to simplify into sequential phases.

Phase 1: The start

Let’s begin with Bard and Pam Pillette (MPH Day 30), who were brilliantly saved out of homes antagonistic to spiritual things. They preceded the Clarks, arriving in Mexico in 1980 under CAM. Bard taught at a Bible school for a time and then began planting churches in several cities. Bard and Pam entered the assemblies through Believers Chapel while Bard completed graduate studies in Dallas, Texas. They helped plant McKinney Bible Chapel north of Dallas. After returning to Mexico, they established a church in Irapuato and began an evangelistic outreach in Salamanca.

Enter Ted and Priscilla Clark. They arrived in Salamanca and got involved in the efforts there. Helping in other towns, they joined the growing work in Morelia, Michoacán’s capital—a ministry that Denny and Arlene Norris (MPH Day 30), with CAM at the time, had started.

Phase 2: The switch

Then, the Pillettes, Clarks, and Norrises left CAM. They were already involved with assemblies in the States and had become convinced of the New Testament principles of church gathering and missions. They were happily commended to Michoacán in the early to mid-1990s.

Phase 3: Campamento Berea

While serving in Morelia with the Norrises, the Clarks bought a large, inexpensive piece of land about an hour outside town. They have since developed this beautiful hilltop acreage into a thriving ministry center, Campamento Berea. Ted is a phenomenal leader, motivator, and encourager who exudes Christ’s love, a love for people, and evangelistic zeal from his perpetual warm smile. Priscilla is caring, strong, and hospitable, tirelessly supporting the next project or activity Ted’s vision has drawn them into. The results are visible in their extended family, at Campamento Berea, in nearby towns, and in the lives of countless people affected by the Gospel.

A large church in Arkansas has invested in developing the complex. Over the years, five homes have been built going up the hill to the camp complex on the flattened hilltop. The complex can accommodate over 500 campers in tents and cabins. It is complete with a huge auditorium and dining room with an efficient kitchen that can serve the 500-plus people in 15 minutes.

The family camps, retreats, and discipleship programs held at Campamento Berea produce spiritual results. An assembly has been planted on the property. Young, married workers who live on the property are mentored spiritually and practically to be sent out to plant churches.

Phase 4: Teamwork

Historically, an inability to work together has been a major factor in missionaries leaving the field prematurely. What Sharon and I observed in Michoacán was the opposite. The team members range from 21 to 78 years old. Many started at Campamento Berea but, once equipped, spread out to plant assemblies in other towns.

Their evangelistic method, AMOR Divino, is teamwork par excellence. Annually, the whole missionary force, plus some from the USA, gathers in one town they have prayed for and does a door-to-door blitz with gospel literature. Conversations lead to offers of Bible studies. Once those start, a newer missionary takes the lead and soon moves to that town to watch the Lord raise up an assembly. To date, they have planted 10. Three more are in progress. Praise God for this expansion through biblical teamwork!

Phase 5: The Oregon connection

Let’s briefly return to Bard and Pam Pillette. In 1994, they returned to Oregon and, soon after, planted a Hispanic assembly in Medford. The Spanish-speaking population was open to the Gospel, and the work grew. Over the years, a network of Hispanic assemblies has expanded to Grants Pass, Eugene, Cannon Beach, and most recently, Brookings. The Oregon team includes Denny and Arlene Norris in Cannon Beach and Alejandro and Adriana Chavez (MPH Day 29) and Monica Sernatinger (MPH Day 30) in Eugene. All had been in Mexico. There is much communication, travel, and cooperation between the ministries in Oregon and Michoacán, which brings us to the next phase.

Phase 6: The next generation

The Oregon–Mexico connection is growing. Oregon assemblies are commending the next generation, several of which grew up in Mexico and have returned to Michoacán.

In 2007, Cabe and Christine Pillette (MPH Day 16) became the first commended from the Medford assembly, the one Cabe’s parents planted. They and their four children serve in a church-planting ministry in Pátzcuaro, Michoacán.

Michael and Sofia Clark (MPH Day 16), Ted and Priscilla’s second son, were commended from Cannon Beach in 2020. They are planting an assembly in Ciudad Hidalgo with their family of five children.

John Mark Norris (MPH Day 16) arrived in 2023, commended from Cannon Beach. As an MK, he already knows the language and culture, and he uses his creative and scientific interests to effectively reach out to children and youth.

Over the years, CMML workers from other states and countries have joined the work. Martin and Hansy Tuohy (MPH Day 17) grew up in the assemblies in Denmark and the Faeroe Islands respectively. Martin earned a master’s degree at Dallas Theological Seminary, and in 2010, Community Bible Chapel in Richardson, Texas, commended them to Mexico. Currently, Martin, Hansy, and their children are involved in a church plant in Puruándiro, Michoacán—a result of an AMOR Divino outreach.

About four years ago, Luke and Emily Rathke (MPH Day 16) were commended from Cedar Rapids Bible Chapel in Iowa. With their two sons, they work alongside Cabe and Christine Pillette in Pátzcuaro.

Phase 7: Our amazing visit

Michoacán is only a four-hour flight from Chicago. On our first day, Michael and Sofia Clark took us to see Pátzcuaro, a colonial town where the Pillettes and Rathkes started an assembly. Then, we traveled to Uruapan to have lunch with the Clarks’ youngest son, Nathan, and his wife, Keyla. They recently settled into their life there, and their ministry is in the Bible study stage.

On Saturday, people arrived at Campamento Berea for a family camp over a long weekend. Over 400 people attended, coming from assemblies up to four hours away. They brought unsaved friends too. The program mixed four messages each day with periods for snacks, sports, special events, and delicious Mexican meals. Five people, including myself, did the teaching, and the audience was very receptive. Three adults decided to follow Christ over the weekend, and six were baptized on the last day. What a joy it was to meet so many new friends in Mexico!

Camp emptied Monday afternoon, but the joy overflowed for the next three days. About 60 people from the Michoacán team spent time in thanksgiving sessions around the roaring fireplace, cooked favorite dishes, played a lot of volleyball, and relaxed. Some of the Michoacán missionaries were in the States at the time: Cabe and Christine Pillette, John Mark Norris, and Luke and Emily Rathke. We missed meeting them. However, Bard and Pam Pillette, who had switched places with Cabe and Christine, joined us. Another nice addition was Marcus and Jen (MPH Day 15, last name withheld for security), who work among an Indigenous people group in Orizaba, a few states over. Since they do not have any colleagues, I asked if they could join the missionary retreat. They drove nine hours, were warmly welcomed, and had a blast.

The main event, a special dinner, was cooked in a huge metal box lowered four feet underground into a pit full of charcoal. The process started on Tuesday. Then, the fire was ignited on Wednesday evening with a huge blast. Lots of gasoline and fireworks were involved. The men had a great time linking all the explosives! When the charcoals were ready, the food box was lowered in and covered at 2:00 a.m. on Thursday. Twelve hours later, it was unearthed, and the results were mouthwateringly delicious. What a feast—Michoacán missionary style!

There is so much to thank the Lord for in Michoacán. We praise Him especially for the hardworking, cooperative, visionary, church-planting, family-oriented team that is now blessed with Christ-centered assemblies in more and more Mexican towns. n

Jim and Sharon Fleming serve on CMML’s missionary care team.

Originally published in Missions magazine, March 2025. For more content, sign up for a free subscription (US) to Missions at CMML.us/magazine/subscribe