ministry, but the blessed mercies of covenant fellowship which we witnessed in the Mexican church. That is prob- ably the greatest lesson we could take back to the ARP Church up here. Rev. Patrick in his essay in this magazine (page 4) points to the koinonia, the family atmosphere of the Lord’s Day, which expressed this gift more than any other, which brings me back to the whole reason for this excursion to Valles in the midst of our time in Tampico and Rioverde. On the Thursday evening (February 8th), Rev. Scott


Moore was asked to read a set of vows establishing the new Synod, that of Castillo Fuerte. We had discovered via conver- sations over lunch that any concerns we had about this ac- tion being one of division or disagreement to be unfounded. The goal of the separation was not theological, but mission- al. Each of the new Synods would be better equipped to do gospel work in their geographical domains. As Thursday turned into Friday we were again blessed with food, fel- lowship, and friendship. That day Rev. Justin Brickey com- pleted the establishment of the joint Synods by reading the same vows to the Eben-Ezer Synod. In the evening we were led in worship as we ate the Lord’s Supper together as Rev. Rob Patrick preached to us of the blessings of union with Christ. A lot more could be said of the actual business of the meeting, but I think highlighting once more the joy and peace we witnessed in the brotherly love of IPAR is worth our time. While I am sure they were on their best behavior with guests present, and there were a couple issues where even to this non-speaker’s ears sounded a bit contentious a thing that is true of IPAR which is true of the ARP Church of  ate together and laughed with the same men they had been tilting with moments before. We may not realize sometimes the effect we have on the


Lord’s people. That brotherly love of Bonclarken is an iden-  the mission in Mexico began nearly one hundred and forty years ago and IPAR has been its own entity for sixty. Much more could be said about our visit, but I want to close with this. As our trip came to an end on the Sabbath  Trinidad church mentioned before in Tampico. Led by Rev. Brickey who again spoke on the grace of our spiritual union with Christ we enjoyed our rest in food, fellowship, and fun at the seminary building. The hospitality of Rev. José Othoniel Juárez Báez and his family along with members of his church will long be in our hearts and minds a picture of what gospel friendship should look like. As I had the honor of humbly presenting God’s word on Sunday evening with a small, young, vibrant church plant and ate with a dear family that night all I can say to summarize this opportu- nity is to quote the following from Romans 12:10: Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another. I look forward to what God has in store for both IPAR and the ARP as we work together for the gospel and for our King.


Rev. Ben Glaser is pastor of Bethany ARP Church in Clover, SC and a member of Synod’s Inter-Church Relations Committee.


May/June 2024 23


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