There’s a new order of ministry in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic, that has helped reach more coaches than ever before, despite the COVID-19 quarantine but through the blessing of technology.
Back in spring, Area Director Victor Sanchez didn’t want to lose the traction he had with his coaches. Sanchez still spoke with them through WhatsApp in one-on-one conversations, but he thought there must be something more he could be doing in this time. That’s when he discovered Zoom at a church service and it clicked as an answer to his prayer for further resources to reach his sphere of influence.
Sanchez continued to pray about logistics, and then invited the coaches he already knew to join the Zoom Huddle he was starting. Coaches were greatly encouraged in the first couple of meetings, and soon invited their peers to join. Before he knew it, Sanchez had forty people on the Huddle call.
The Huddle continues to meet online three days a week, with testimony time from FCA staff and volunteers with the Gospel presentation, as well as time for question and answer sessions.
What’s amazed Sanchez is watching God work through unexpected situations, and how through an online Huddle, coaches have been receiving Christ, having not only their lives change, but the lives of their families, too. It’s impact that continues and trickles down into the daily details of life and faith.
“The Bible says to give grace by the grace you have received (Ephesians 4:7),” said Sanchez. “It’s encouraging how the heart has been able to learn the Word of God with these coaches and to see Jesus working in their hearts.”
Sanchez’s connections with coaches spread beyond the screen, as many coaches invite him and his wife to their homes to visit and talk about life. Sanchez sees this privileged opportunity to further invest into the heart in a time where many are looking for answers to the turmoil around them.
He shared how one coach’s wife noticed the difference in her husband after spending time together. “She told me, ‘Keep sharing the Word with my husband and keep walking with him because I see a difference in our home,’” said Sanchez. “That man wasn’t a Christian, but now he is, and he is bearing fruit and testifying to what we are doing in our coaches’ meetings.”
God’s plans are never thwarted and go on exactly as He means them. Sanchez wants to keep momentum and sees even greater coaches’ ministry in San Pedro in the long run.
“My goal is when the pandemic is done, they can reach others and minister to their players and co-workers on the sports fields,” he said. “It’s not just sending them out but to continue to walk with them and encourage them to be in a local church.”
And Sanchez is quick to remain rooted where he knows it’s best: grounded in God. “To transform lives, we need to be transformed so we can give love,” he shared. “It’s been grace, love and salvation to see God move in the hearts of coaches.”
This is the life of Sanchez: grounded in the Great Commission to go and make disciples however it looks--in person, online, or a domino effect of coaches discipling coaches. His mission remains Christ-centered, and the coaching community of San Pedro will never look the same in the best of ways.
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Want to get involved with FCA in the Dominican Republic? Learn how you can support Sanchez and ministry in San Pedro here.
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