Tim and Kelly Urling
Missionaries in Mexico (1998 – Present)
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Ministry Summary (20 Years South of the Border)
My wife Kelly and I have been serving the Lord full-time as Missionaries to Mexico since September of 1997. I was trained by my pastor Charley O’Daniel and received my education at Oklahoma Baptist College. I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Missions and Bible. We were sent as missionaries by the Maranatha Baptist Church in Bethany, OK. (**Note as of October 2020 our home church is the Central Baptist Church in Amarillo, TX link )
When we first went to Mexico there were five in our family. Amanda our oldest was 11, Zach was 9, and Leah was just 3 months old when we began. All three of our children are now grown. They, along with our two grandchildren currently live in the El Paso area.
Our first year in Mexico was in the city of Aguascalientes where we attended a language school to learn Spanish. Leah was just a little over a year old when we arrived. Our other two children attended a day school on the same property where we studied Spanish.
After Language school we moved to the west coast of Mexico in the state of Sinaloa. During our time there we were able to establish the Templo Bautista (Baptist Temple) in the small town of Limon de los Ramos. We started this church with a few families from the Iglesia Bautista Emmanuel in Culiacan. We started in a carport but eventually rented a house to hold services in. This church is still going strong today and have now built their own building under national leadership.
After our first furlough, we’ve spent the balance of our time in northern Mexico, mostly in and around the Juarez area, which is right across the border from El Paso Texas. Juarez has between 2.5 and 3 million souls and a few years ago was known as the Murder Capital of the world. Most of this violence in Juarez occurs between rival drug cartels. The Lord has protected us from danger, and we’ve found most of the people to be welcoming and kind.
Despite the violence, the Lord has blessed our ministry and we have been able to help establish eight Churches and a Bible Seminary. We have seen hundreds profess faith in Christ through mass outreach projects, distributed over 1 million scripture portions and tracts and have established an evangelistic website called RespuestasBiblicas.com (Bible Answers)
The first church we helped in the Juarez the second overall was the Iglesia Bautista Calvario.(Calvary Baptist Church) This work began in an old Army tent on the far west side of Juarez. We were later able to help build an adobe building. We saw many profess faith in Christ here including several gang members. This church is under the National Leadership of Pastor Manuel Cabrera.
The third church was also on the west side of Juarez and is the Iglesia Biblica Bautista de la Gracia. (Grace Bible Baptist Church) This church grew quickly, and there was a record attendance of over 800 people present on their 3rd anniversary. Pastor Julian Robles founded this church and we helped in the areas of outreach and evangelism. I taught for 2 years in their Bible Institute and the first 2 men we ordained came from this work.
One of the men who graduated from the Bible Institute helped us start the 4th church on the far southeast side of Juarez. The Iglesia Bautista la Roca Fiel. (Faithful Rock Baptist Church) We started by going soul winning each Monday night and afterward held a short service in the open air. We started in October as the evenings grew colder and we had to have a campfire to keep us warm. The Lord blessed and the congregation steadily grew. After about 9 months a construction team came, and we were able to build a building. On the 3rd anniversary, there were over 250 in attendance. Pastor Josue Robles is the pastor of this work and continues to reach many people in this area.
We then moved south of Juarez about 500 miles to help Brother Angel Luna establish the Iglesia Bautista Biblica de la Gracia (Grace Bible Baptist Church) and Bible Institute in the small town of Bermejillo, Durango. Towards the end of their second year we were able to complete the construction on their own building. Several groups came on summer trips to help in construction, medical clinics, and open-air evangelism. This church currently has an attendance of around 50. There have been 16 students graduate from their Bible institute and 2 more men were ordained for the gospel ministry. One of these graduates – Brother Lorenzo Ballinas, is now the pastor.
We spent most of the next 5 years working to establish the Iglesia Bautista Castillo Mio (My Fortress Baptist Church) in southern Juarez. When we started there was no building in which to meet, so we met in a small apartment. We quickly outgrew this apartment, so we met in the park across the street for the balance of the first year. The Lord blessed, and we were able to buy our own building with help from supporters in the US. Several groups helped us as we remodeled this building and built a second floor. Pastor Pedro Gutierrez attended our Bible institute and was later ordained. He is now pastoring this church as well as teaching in the Fundamental Baptist Seminary of Juarez.
Iglesia Bautista Esperanza Mia (My Hope Baptist Church) is a daughter church of Castillo Mio. It was started in May 2012 under the leadership of Pastor Alberto DeAnda. He is a graduate of our Bible Institute and was trained and ordained by Castillo Mio. Fellow missionary Marshal Dies and his family were instrumental in helping establish this church. Later the Lord moved the Dies to start a work in El Paso. Pastor DeAnda has done a tremendous job with more than 100 Baptisms in their first 3 years. Pastor DeAnda is also a teacher at the Fundamental Baptist Seminary of Juarez.
In the spring of 2014, we were led to help Brother Angel Luna establish a new work just a few miles from the other churches. Iglesia Bautista Maranatha (Maranatha Baptist Church) began with no building as well. We met in several outdoor locations until we occupied an abandoned house that we helped clean up and remodel and build an auditorium in the front yard. The grand opening service was held on February 1, 2015, there were 138 in attendance. They have an average attendance of around 50 and are striving to reach their area with the gospel. Pastor Angel Luna is also a teacher at the Fundamental Baptist Seminary of Juarez.
In January of 2018 Brother Manuel Garcia and Brother Mauricio Caraveo and their families were sent from Castillo Mio to begin a new work in a neighboring area. They have started the Iglesia Bautista Senda Antigua. (Old Path Baptist Church) These 2 men purchased a house and they are in the process of remodeling it into a church. They have seen many people make professions of faith and there had 8 adults baptized in their first baptismal service in October of 2018. Brother Garcia is the pastor and also a teacher in the Fundamental Baptist Seminary of Juarez. Brother Mauricio is currently studying in the seminary and hopes to start a new church as the Lord leads after graduation.
The Fundamental Baptist Seminary of Juarez
The Fundamental Baptist Seminary of Juarez was started in 2017 with a vision to train another generation of pastors, missionaries and christian workers. We currently have a small group of dedicated students, 3 of which plan to start new churches after graduation. The students are fed to the seminary by the established churches and the classes are being taught by the Mexican Pastors and myself.
We hope to instill a vision of multiplying churches across Mexico and the world. 2 Timothy 2:2 is our theme.
“And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.”
Ministry Vision
Our current vison is to Establish 30 Churches within the next 15 years. Six of the existing churches share the same vision. So, if each church reproduces itself every 5 years – at the end of 15 years there will be over 30 new churches established! 6 x 2 = 12 churches in 5 years, 12 x 2 = 24 churches after 10 years. 24 x 2 = 48 churches after 15 years!
This doesn’t take into consideration the additional churches established by missionaries supported by the churches!
Missions Focus
My desire is to train our leaders and churches to have a true “world-wide” missionary impact. Mexican missionaries and a true mission focus are in the early stages of development in Mexico.
I am trying to help our churches expand their vision for world missions. Even though our churches participate in missions giving, they have yet to become truly faithful in this area.
There have been a few Mexican missionaries sent, but the number is way below the potential and capabilities of the Mexican Churches. I believe the Mexican Churches can have a real and lasting impact on World missions.
Did you ever go to the ice cream store and they gave a sample? Why do they do that? It’s so you’ll want more – Right? Short term mission trips function the same way. Just try it! You’ll love it!
We have hosted many families and church groups, that have been a tremendous blessing to us and to the believers in Mexico. Believe it or not, you, taking your time out of your life to invest in missions in this way can have a lasting impact, not only on us and your Mexican brothers but also on yourself!
These trips help us in many ways: encouragement, fellowship, literature distribution, open-air evangelism, vacation Bible schools and work projects. We’ve even hosted a few medical clinics and health fairs with doctors and nurses from the U.S.
Sometimes, we go to the busy intersections and downtown areas of the city and distribute either Chick tracts or gospel booklets. A couple of years ago we held a campaign and during one 3-hour period, we were able to distribute over 35,000 tracts!
In the evenings we always like to hold open-air evangelistic meetings. We probably average about 100 people at these events but have had a few with over 400 people – many hearing a clear presentation of the gospel for the first time. These events help Identify prospects for the local churches to follow-up on as well as building goodwill in the communities around the churches.
Some people have talents in construction and other areas that can be a blessing to the churches. Groups have helped pour concrete, paint, electrical, plumbing, demo, landscaping and general maintenance, even simple vehicle repairs. Keep in mind we generally have cheap labor, but usually lack the resources to buy materials. If you want to participate in these types of projects let’s discuss well in advance.
Other groups have talents in working with children and we can plan a short VBS with one of the churches. Again, supplies are usually difficult for us to afford. Pre-planning is required for these programs as well.
If you would be interested in helping in this area you and your church can schedule a short-term trip to come and help us. We would love to have you, and our church people and pastors are especially blessed, since your participation is highly motivating.
Please contact me for more information.
Click here for more information about the trips
Missionary Partnership
Do you realize that missionaries can’t do their part without your help?
Andrew Fuller, one of the men who supported William Carey, gave this analogy. He said that the mission to India seemed like a few men going into a deep, mostly unexplored mine. Carey said, “Well, I will go down, if you will hold the rope.” After this meeting, in Fuller’s mind, he felt as if he and the other brethren had given their word that “whilst we lived, we should never let go the rope.”
Do you realize that YOU can’t fulfill your part without the missionaries?
How can you “go into all the world and preach the gospel” without missionaries who will go where you can’t? The answer is obvious!
We need each other, because neither of us be fully obedient to God without our partnership.
We invite you to become a ministry partner with us. We need your prayer and financial support to continue this ministry in Mexico.
Please prayerfully consider what part God would have for you in this partnership.