by John Butler and Sharon Mager

 

MANCHESTER, Md. — When members of Manchester Baptist Church looked for ways to live on mission, they didn’t have to travel overseas. God opened a door just across the Maryland-Pennsylvania line at the Bonnie Brae Fruit Farm.

 

Through a partnership with Christian and Ximena Aguilar, missionaries from Santiago, Chile and directors of Fruitbelt Farmworkers Christian Ministry, the church connected with temporary farmworkers in Southern Pennsylvania.

 

This past summer, the church made three trips to minister to the workers, providing gift bags, clothing, and even a cookout with corn hole games. More importantly, they prayed with the workers in groups and one-on-one, shared the gospel, and preached messages of hope.

 

“We are so blessed by God providing this opportunity for cross-cultural missions right in our own backyard,” said John Butler, who serves on the church’s leadership.  “Through this ministry, the gospel is not only reaching these workers but also their families and communities as they return home.

 

Manchester Baptists’ focus on missions grew out of their first Missions Conference in many years, held in March 2023. Since then, the conference has become an annual event designed to build a heart for missions locally, nationally, and internationally.

 

This year’s expanded conference spanned a weekend, with Friday evening focusing on local outreach and Saturday and Sunday—led with help from the Association of Baptists for World Evangelism (ABWE)—emphasizing international missions. Members were inspired to partner in prayer, support missionaries, and explore short-term mission trips.

 

One of the most exciting results was the discovery of the migrant mission so close to home.

 

Butler said, “Jesus commanded His followers to ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature’ (Mark 16:15).  “We may not all be able to go to the uttermost parts of the earth, but God calls each of us to be faithful wherever He places us.”