By Nic Cass
At the beginning of October, Kristen Skinner and I had the opportunity to travel to Acuna, Mexico, to build a home with the organization Casas por Cristo, which literally means “houses for Christ.” This was not just a mission trip for us but also an opportunity to explore what our future relationship with this organization could be.
I want to share what we did, as well has how Casas por Cristo does ministry through their work. Casas por Cristo has streamlined the process of completely building a home from the ground up in 3 days. Going in, the family we were serving was living in a house with a dirt floor build of scrap
wood and metal. By the end of the three days, we had built an 18′ by 20′ three-room house. But this house is not the greatest gift the family was given. This organization is called houses for Christ, and we may build them a house, but we also introduce them to Christ.
Each mission group that comes down provides an opportunity for the local pastor to minister to a family. Each family that Casas por Cristo builds for is sponsored by a local pastor, and that pastor is there on-site as we build–connecting with the family, spending time with the family, and sharing the gift of God’s grace and love with them.
Last year in their Acuna location, Casas por Cristo build about 75 homes. In those 75 builds, they averaged a little over two new believers per house built. This is what Casas por Cristo sees as their ministry and what we can be a part of. Going forward I see this not just as an opportunity for youth mission trips, but also as an opportunity for the adults of our congregation.
I believe that international mission trips provide two important things for
a Christian life. First is the opportunity to serve and share the gospel in other parts of the world. Second is a fresh perspective on our faith and an energy that can be brought back and integrated into the work of our church. Through Casas por Cristo, both of these are available, and I look to our future work with this organization.
If anyone is interested in hearing more and being a part of this ministry, I would love to talk more about it with you.