Magnify the Lord

Ministry updates from the Bonikowskys in Spain

Training future leaders

And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.

Acts 14:23

Hello everyone! In this update, I’ll talk about those I’m training for leadership, those I’m trying to help get their lives on track, and some of what we’re doing to teach the next generation. I’ll also introduce our annual evangelistic postcard project.

My primary role as a missionary is to establish and support the development of autonomous local churches. I primarily do this through the church I pastor. I regularly encourage my members to seek out the areas of service God has equipped them for in our church. As recently as four years ago, Raquel and I did everything in church: cleaning, setup, breakfast, nursery, and each part of the church service. Now, there is a rotating list of members helping in each of those areas. And while I still preach the main sermon and lead music every Sunday, we have several people joyfully leading other parts of the service each week.

Church member teaching from the Psalms

Our Sunday morning service has expanded to include a short Scriptural teaching each week. Two men take turns teaching. One is teaching about the names of Christ, the other is going through the Psalms. I also have people reading a Bible passage and helping with announcements.

Since starting my latest Bible series, I meet with a core group of believers each Saturday to study the text together. The purpose is to equip each person with the discipline and tools to skillfully study the Bible.

Saturday morning Hebrews Bible study

Many of those in church have mangled stories from before they started following Christ. I have four men who were divorced, three of them with children. I help them celebrate God’s grace, and we pray together for their children and estranged families. I trust the Lord will strengthen them and use them in His service. Pray for me as I counsel in situations where there is no easy path forward. We have several ladies who are married to unbelievers. Pray for opportunities to reach those men with the Gospel as well.

Regional men’s breakfast

As our own kids get older, and as the Lord keeps bringing more children to church, I am focusing more than ever on children’s programs. We want to give them the Gospel and help them grow in faith in a world where all their friends outside church are godless. This summer I helped two nearby churches with their VBS programs. I was especially involved in the Irun church’s program. It was their first children’s program like this in 20 years, and we were overjoyed by the response from the community. Many children heard the Gospel for the first time.

VBS at the Irun church

I am personally focused on teaching music to the children. I lead the music in the biweekly children’s classes at the Irun church, and I’ve started a children’s choir at our church after our Sunday services.

Children’s choir after church

I recently launched our postcard project for 2026. Every year we send gospel Christmas cards to each home in our church’s city, Errenteria. Each home receives a postcard with the Gospel and an invitation to our church. On the Postcard Project page, you can find info about each of the neighborhoods in the city, and choose one in particular to pray for or sponsor with a donation.