Four New Ministries to Launch after Successful Latin America Training and Recruiting Conference in Panama City!

Four new ministry leaders were commissioned to lead discipleship Bible-study based ministries to public servants in their home nations after completing Capitol Ministries’ required training in Panama City, Panama last week.

New national ministries will be launched in Colombia and Guatemala in Latin America, and a regional ministry is to be established in the Canadian Provincial Capital of Winnipeg, Manitoba. In the United States, a ministry leader was trained to assume the ongoing ministry to state leaders in the Oklahoma State Capitol.

“We had a tremendous conference,” said Ralph Drollinger, President and Founder of Capitol Ministries. “As it pertains to Latin America, what this means is that we now have excellent ministry leaders in all but 8 of the 21 nations! Lord willing, and now that COVID-19 travel restrictions have vanished, we will add Belize, El Salvador, Peru, and Chile in the coming year. Pray with us in that regard.”

All existing ministry leaders from Latin America nations participated in the conference and team building opportunities. The men, some with their ministry partner wives, attended from Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia, Ecuador, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic (Caribbean theatre).

As some Latin America recruits and ministry leaders did not speak English, and some CapMin leaders did not speak Spanish, translations were provided to conference participants and speakers in real time.

Also speaking at the conference were Brian Hanson, CapMin’s international director, Pastor Brian Solomon, director of North American Ministries, and Oscar Zamora, CapMin’s global director of Latin America Ministries who organized the conference.

Instruction was given on how to launch and sustain discipleship Bible studies to political leaders, biblical teaching methods, the value of discipleship and relationship building, the priority of evangelism, the importance of leading public servants toward maturity in Christ, and why CapMin does not engage in political activism and lobbying.

Drollinger also spoke about CapMin’s biblical mandate and the Bible’s top-down missions strategy and priority to reach political leaders with the word of God: First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority (1 Timothy 2:1-4).

“First of all” is translated from the Greek word, protos, or first in priority. This strategy is found in many books of the Bible from the Old Testament to the New and is the most efficient way of fulfilling the Great Commission.

Oscar said the training had been “an unforgettable event for us here in Latin America.”

“Ministry leaders from 14 nations got together with one purpose only: to be trained for the task that is ahead of us,” said Oscar. “After almost three years after the pandemic, Elizabeth and I had the opportunity to meet again face to face with our friends from Mexico, Central, and South America.”

“To hear their testimonies of victories and challenges they are all facing for the vision of CapMin by establishing Bible Studies in every federal capitol in each country, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, Mexico, Panama plus two more new nations, Guatemala and Colombia, were blessed by our CapMin training team.

“The very last session was a very special one,” Oscar said. “We had the opportunity to pray for each one of them, name by name, country by country, sharing the burden and releasing blessings to their personal lives, families, and countries. Truly it was a very special moment.”

Pastor Brian said the overall experience was “splendid” and lauded the men who “the Lord has enabled Oscar to recruit.”

“The men were all very engaged as we spoke in English and then heard the Spanish translation via our translator through Zoom. Not only did they seem to absorb the information that was given to them, they also were playing out in their minds as to how to best implement the material and strategies.”

Both Oscar and Brian Hanson were concerned about religious persecution that many ministry leaders are experiencing in their nations.

“One ministry leader shared with me that he was really blessed by hearing the challenges and in some cases testimonies of persecution by colleagues in Latin America,” Oscar said. “He said, ‘I thought I was alone, I thought I was the only one suffering for Jesus Christ in my country. I go back home now strengthened and ready to keep on the calling God has made to us.’ Only God knows the real repercussions that will result from this training.”

Pastor Brian agreed.

“They are facing serious backlash for their beliefs and positions on certain issues,” he said. “While ministries in the U.S. are still open to religion and spiritual freedom for the most part, that is not the case in many places around the world.”

“We were looking into the eyes of some men who have been uprooted from their homes and had to move to new cities and some who have been blacklisted, yet they carry on the work of the gospel and they continue to work at reaching political leaders with the gospel of Jesus Christ and to disciple them.”

Oscar said he was honored to be involved in organizing and participating in such a stellar event. “I want to thank the Lord, Ralph and Danielle for their leadership, Brian Hanson and Brian Solomon (the Brians) for their teachings, and to the CapMin’s board for allowing the growth of our Ministry all over the world!” he said.

Drollinger said much of the success of the conference and the Latin America expansion is due to the work of Oscar and Elizabeth, his wife and ministry partner.

“God is doing something wonderful down there in Latin America!” Drollinger said. “He is developing a great team of very spiritually mature CapMin leaders! Oscar and Elizabeth are doing a tremendous job driving all this! Oscar and Elizabeth have complementary spiritual gifts that create huge synergy.”

“Danielle and I are pinching ourselves relative to God’s goodness and His achievements in the Latin America theatre. All praise to be to Him!”

In one week Ralph, Pastor Brian, and other members of the CapMin leadership team will arrive in Cape Town, Republic of South Africa, for the Africa Training and Recruiting Conference.

The Africa conference is being organized by Jon Cassel, CapMin’s African global director. Some 40 persons are expected to attend, including some ministry partner wives.

Capitol Ministries leadership is grateful to our prayer partners and supporters for praying for the Latin America conference and asks for similar prayers for the Africa conference. We request prayers for God’s leading and His will, safe travels, discernment, and that hearts would be ignited to teach God’s Word to the political leaders of the world.