When I tell people that I live in Algeciras, the most common response is ‘Where's that?' Our area is known
around the world by reference to the dominant geographical feature- Gibraltar. Algeciras is located just
across Gibraltar Bay, situated on the Straits, a barrier but also a meeting point between two continents - Europe and Africa (Spain and Morocco are closer than England and
France). Built around its port (now one of the busiest in the Mediterranean and the number one Spanish port), Algeciras remains a relatively small but nonetheless strategic city.

We have lived here for almost ten years, initially working in a support role with OM's North Africa teams, but just over a year ago we began to work more formally with the Renacer Church, which coincided with our
joining Baptist Missions. Initially started by a small group that left the Cristo Viene Church, Renacer today
has a membership of 33, although on Sunday mornings we average about 60 in attendance, counting children,
teenagers and other visitors.

So what is our role here, and how can you pray for us (and the Renacer Church)?

CHURCH GROWTH
We have two main aims - firstly, to help the church at this stage of its growth. We are part of the wider
leadership group in the church (alongside Diego and Luis, elders, and José and Martin, deacons); please pray that collectively we would know how to give Godly direction to the church. We have been involved in helping the church restructure different parts of its ministry, but also
in preaching and teaching, most recently in the adult Bible class, where we have been teaching on Spiritual
Disciplines. My wife Rosalia has also been involved in discipleship classes with newer believers. Our desire is that through these and other series, we would see church members truly growing towards maturity in Christ.

LIFTING OUR EYES
Secondly, through involvement with the church's evangelism and outreach, our vision is that we become an
‘outward-looking' church. We need to ‘lift our eyes'

• towards our immediate neighbourhoods (San Bernabé and La
Granja, with some 15,000 people) where, apart from ourselves, there is only one other small congregation.
Our new building, inaugurated two years ago, has made us visible to the community. We now want to be part of that community, and an active witness within it but, as we lift our eyes, we must not stop here. There are many
surrounding towns with no evangelical church.

• and see the needs of North Africa and the millions of North Africans who pass through Algeciras every year.

• to see the hurting women, victims of domestic violence, the lonely immigrants (many who now face unemployment in these uncertain financial days), the broken families,
the teenagers who binge-drink every weekend and many others who are part of a spiritually needy society.

All of these and many others need the love of Christ, and so we ask, as Paul asked of the Ephesians, that you pray
for us ‘that words may be given so that [we] will fearlessly make known the mystery of the Gospel'.

 Report by Andrew Elliott