What We Do
Our mission
For nearly fifty years, Olive Tree has been about winning people to Christ and discipling, sending, and supporting some of those same people on the mission field. We call this “motivating Mexicans for missions.”
We are particularly passionate about motivating those who take up the call to go to unreached people groups in Mexico and globally. That “motivating” practically takes shape in three ways: speaking, teaching, and mentoring.
Speaking
Marcos has plenty of opportunities to take the stage at missions events and youth conferences across Mexico to remind the national Church that they are uniquely positioned to enter into places others can’t. Mexicans can travel nearly as freely as our neighbors to the north, but often blend in with the locals more easily, meaning they have more opportunities to carry the Gospel into closed areas.
Teaching
Our son Jason is the director of a ministry with two training tracks, one aimed at equipping those already in or going into ministry, and the other an accredited theology program. Marcos is one of the instructors, investing directly in students seeking to be used by God in various fields of ministry.
Mentoring
This part of our ministry is incredibly important, because it is first and foremost the opportunity to encourage workers in the field, challenging them to stay true to their calling, and reminding young (and some old) missionaries that they have the most important job in the world.
Since stepping down from the pulpit with the local Porvenir church, Marcos has had the opportunity to counsel other pastors dealing with complicated situations in their own congregation or looking to similarly pass the baton to the next leader.
Closer to home, mentoring looks like making disciples. It means modeling, mentoring, and teaching on the run. So on a daily basis we say, “Come with me, I am going somewhere you never really wanted to go, to do something that you thought you could never do.”
Serving the poor, the needy, the hurting
We wouldn't be very good models or mentors if we ignore the people immediately around us who are hurting. We seek to actively engage the hurting, the poor, the broken in our community and beyond. At times that means we partner with a nearby orphanage, halfway home, or elderly facility. It means we stop to touch the less fortunate sleeping on the sidewalk, and feed those living under a bridge.
