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Recently, some members of our EQUIP team had a unique opportunity. Instead of attending a Million Leaders Mandate conference overseas, we attended a MLM conference right here in Atlanta! Lidere, EQUIP’s regional partner in Latin America, has a vision to equip the leaders of the Hispanic church in the United States. The first MLM conference held in Atlanta was September 5 & 6, with over 100 Hispanic church leaders attending. MLM USA has also been launched in Miami and Houston. This initiative is completely developed and underwritten through Lidere’s leadership.
Lidere believes there is a huge need for leadership training for the Hispanic church in the US. In some areas, the Hispanic church in the US is more complex and untrained than the church in Latin America. In the US, Hispanics come from various Latin countries, which means they have different cultures and points of views. This diversity is a barrier to bringing together all of the Hispanic leaders in an area.
 At the MLM conference in Atlanta, Marcos Witt, founder of Lidere, Grammy-award winning artist, and Hispanic pastor at Lakewood Church in Houston, challenged the leaders at the conference. He said that throughout history whenever there is a huge migration of people, God is up to something -- suggesting that God is working through the recent migration of Hispanics to the US. His dream is to see the Hispanic church in the US grow in their leadership, which would then impact leadership throughout Latin America.
He said, “Insecure leaders are dangerous – they become dictators.” He challenged the leaders to be secure in who God made them to be so they can empower others. He shared how the church needs to put legalism behind and “love people to their destinies with God.”
MLM USA has a similar structure as MLM internationally--it is a leadership development process over several years where leaders are trained to equip other leaders. Pastor Carlos Schmitt from Alpha and Omega Church in Buenos Aires, Argentina attended MLM in Miami. He said the teachings are excellent and the content in the notebooks is clear and deep at the same time.
He said, “These teachings transmitted with excellence are the beginning of a vision.” Martha Benitez from Centro Misionero Elim in Miami related that the MLM leadership training is something all Hispanic leaders need on a daily basis. Both Pastor Carlos and Martha plan to train other leaders using MLM curriculum.
The MLM conferences in Atlanta, Miami, and Houston are just the beginning of equipping Hispanic church leaders in the US to more effectively reach the Hispanic community. Roberto Bautista, Director of Operations at Lidere, said, “We want to share with the Hispanic people in the USA tools to raise a relevant leadership that serves, that adds value, and takes a message of hope to others.” Be in prayer for Lidere as they lead this historic, impactful movement to develop Hispanic leaders in the US.
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