Julio Merida, an aspiring Acts 29 church planter and I drove to Santa Fe last week to have lunch with Pastor Carlos Montoya of Blaze Christian Fellowship. We were there to take a spiritual inventory of the City Different. We went to explore opportunities to serve the cause of Jesus and were looking for ministry partners. We are praying that Jesus will use Mars Hill Church, together with the Acts 29 Network and existing churches to impact this culturally upstream community.

Next to the famous Plaza at the Guadalupe Cafe, while the three of us were savoring green chile turkey sandwiches, the conversation shifted from casual to heavy. Pastor Carlos, a Santa Fe native, retold the tragic story of 4 teenagers who perished in an alcohol related head on collision days earlier. His voice cracked and the tears began to flow behind his sunglasses then rolled down his face as he contemplated the lost condition of his city. Not the emotion you would expect from the son of an original gangster who had seen premature death before. His resolve was profound. He brokenly communicated his commitment that not another Santa Fean would perish without being introduced to Jesus. In that instant, I knew Julio and I had been led to the man we were looking and praying for.

For Mars Hill Church Albuquerque to effectively reach a city that impacts a region that influences the world, Jesus must raise up men like Carlos. Men who can’t stop crying over the fact that Jesus isn’t worshipped in their cities. Men who weep over devastated lives, homes and barrios. Please pray for Santa Fe, a place where Pastor Carlos sees traditional Roman Catholicism embracing New Age practices and beliefs. Please pray that men like Carlos would be multiplied as the Lord sends laborers to the fields ( Matthew 9:37-38).