You probably haven’t heard of Open Bible Fellowship, a UB church tucked away in a remote part of Arizona. It’s among the fastest-growing churches in the denomination. And they’ve got a tremendous outreach into Mexico.

From the July 2000 Issue of CONNECT

Open Bible Fellowship of Safford, Ariz., has been ministering in Mexico for over a year. They go to Algadones and Morales, two communities south of Yuma, Arizona. It takes about six hours to get there from Safford.

The trips typically last 3-5 days. They take such things as flour, shoes, clothing, cooking oil, and a ton of beans, and distribute the supplies in the streets. When people see the vehicles and trailers driving through the barrio, they come running out of their homes.

"They call us the Hallelujahs," says Pastor Ron Gonzales. He says they distribute tracts and candy while people "shop" at the trailers.

They also do street evangelism. They witness to people in groups with an interpreter. When the youth go, they perform skits, and use puppets and clowning.

"On two different trips, we saw over 200 people saved," he continues. "We have seen several hundred saved since we began. Now they are asking us to return to teach them more about their salvation and the Bible, even if we don’t take food and clothing with us. "

Two basic groups go down--the youth, along with some adult sponsors; and a group consisting primarily of retired people. "It’s a little hard for them to keep up with and handle the energy of the youth, so they go on their own and at their own pace," says Pastor Gonzales.

In March, the youth group, joined by a youth group from California--about 50 kids in all--ministered at a drug and alcohol rehab center in Mexico for several hours. During that time, many people responded to the altar call. Open Bible Fellowship has taken washing machines and purchased beds for this center.

Sometimes, they have trouble crossing the border with their multitude of supplies. They’ve waited 5-8 hours to get across, and have even had to linger until the next day. On the other hand, when the youth went in March, they made it through in ten minutes. A pastor in Yuma told them that if they sent the goods to his church, he would get it across the border ahead of time.

"My heart is in missions and evangelism," says Gonzales. "I love to go, and I love to send others as well. Many of our people have been to Mexico, and we have also had youth go to Peru, Argentina, and Australia. But all of them have said the Mexico mission trips are the best.

"We are now praying and looking to establish a location in Mexico as a center of ministry. From there we will be able to go into the communities to distribute and minister. We will also be able to use it as a training center and teach the people how to reach their own communities. There is no doubt that a church could easily be established there. But that is up to the Lord. We will just keep on doing what we are doing until something else opens up. "

Safford is a predominantly Mormon community in southern Arizona. Under Pastor Gonzales’s leadership, the attendance has grown to about 200, and they have recorded hundreds of conversions.