“We celebrate this Spanish victory, but the most beautiful victory in those 10 years has been every person we have reached with the hope of Jesus, families being transformed, and many Spanish becoming Jesus followers,” shared Sherling after Spain’s victory.
Ten years ago, God sent a Nicaraguan family to that same city with no contacts and no roadmap, Missionary Ventures missionaries Eli and Sherling Sanchez, to a nation where less than 2% of the population identifies as Christian*. What’s happened since isn’t a story about what they’ve built. It’s a story about what God has done through them.
When the Sanchez family arrived in Madrid with a calling to plant a church in every Spanish community God opened to them, they had little more than conviction. Through MV’s support and training, that calling has taken root: churches planted in the north, south, and center of Spain, with a fourth now underway in Valencia on the Mediterranean coast.
Along the way, God has restored marriages, brought healing, and raised up a generation of disciples who serve without hesitation — what the Sanchez family calls “a DNA of service.” Today, MV-trained pastors and young couples are being equipped to plant the next wave of churches across the nation.
To date, three churches across northern, southern, and central Spain have been planted, along with another church plant underway in Valencia. Part of the ministry is training young couples in the Bible so they can grow as new church leaders, with the goal of planting a church in every region of Spain.
At their church in Madrid, Casa De Naciones Madrid, the body is growing from babies to new believers, coming together to celebrate the Lord — and a World Cup win.
From the nursery to discipling parents, they see the impact of what the church can do not only for new believers, but for a nation.
“We believe that we need a culture in our church that is already working for the church they need, as they will keep the legacy — our church is full of babies and young families,” Sherling shared.
Like Maria, a native Spaniard who was discipled, baptized, and is now a leader on fire for her people to be saved. She led a prayer for salvation for every Spanish family on the World Cup final game day at church.
Not long after, Spain celebrated a championship.
Yes, the Sanchezes and all of Casa De Naciones Madrid are celebrating the win, but even more so, they are praying for more hearts to be won to the Lord. They are all part of a different kind of work in Spain: one where God is writing a story that doesn’t end when the final whistle blows.
From Nicaragua to Madrid, the Sanchezes are just one part of why the MV Family goes from anywhere to everywhere, for the glory of God.
