SOS Ministries
The Chronicles of SOS25 Years in Latin America
A journey of faith, sacrifice, and the unstoppable advance of the Gospel — told through the lives of those who answered the call.
The Beginning
Open Doors
The Lord opened an unexpected door: teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) at a public college in Central Florida. Mike’s first students were Spanish-speaking, representing ten countries across Latin America.
Among them was Alex Lara — one of only 4 medical workers selected out of 400 applicants for a Georgetown University scholarship visa. Learning English was essential. Mike asked the college administrator to purchase Spanish/English Bibles for the students — and he agreed. With Bibles open and John 3:16 on the blackboard, Mike began teaching what it means to believe in the Son of God… at a public college. In God’s time, Alex believed that message. Becoming brothers in Christ, Mike began discipling him to be a pastor and teacher.
Latin America
El Salvador: The Pioneer Church Plant
After Alex graduated and returned home to El Salvador, he invited Mike and the SOS team to come. This is how and where SOS started pioneer church planting overseas — bringing the Gospel where there was none. La Esperanza (The Hope Center) was established as a base for reaching new communities.
This set a pattern that would multiply: Oscar Quiñones from Honduras was in the next class. Then Sanjeev from Nepal, Jaime from Colombia, Fola Oni from Nigeria… each one a student who came to faith, then became a door to a new nation.
God’s Faithfulness
Three Generations Come to Faith
Alex was the very first convert in his family. Then his mother. Then his wife Maira. Then his father. His two children, Geraldo and Yeimy, believed and were baptized. He said: “I was the first to believe in my family. Then my mother, then my wife Maira, and my father. My two children, Geraldo and Yeimy, believed and were baptized.”
Three generations of Alex’s family now worship together at La Esperanza — the church SOS pioneered in El Salvador. All because God sent a Salvadoran to a college in the U.S. to learn English from a Christian professor. Isn’t our God amazing?!
Latin America
Honduras: A New Region
In 2007, the Lord led SOS to a region of Honduras in desperate need of the Gospel. Today, church groups are meeting in many different communities throughout the region and corporately in our Hope Center — “La Esperanza 2.”
Latin America
Guatemala: A New Church Plant
Guatemala became SOS’s newest mission and church plant in Latin America. Led by Pastor Bladimir — a man with a zeal for the Lord and for people to come to Christ — SOS planted a church in a region that once had no solid Christian witness. Now people are coming to Christ and discovering the joy of their salvation.
A Beautiful, Personal Testimony
Alex Lara: In His Own Words
Here is Alex Lara — in his own words — giving the account of what happened when he heard the Gospel for the first time, and how it led him on an incredible journey with the Lord and SOS. This is a testament of what can happen when God saves just one man.
25 Years Later
The Degree of Love
Twenty-five years after that first ESL classroom, Alex reached out to Mike during a serious health crisis with words that carried the weight of a lifetime of brotherhood in Christ:
“Brother Mike, in the same way that God had you overcome the Taliban in the Middle East, the voodoo priests in West Africa, and the MS-13 gang in El Salvador, we pray that God will give you strength and healing so that you can overcome this poison and disease. God will raise you up. We are praying for you.”
As we represent family in Christ, we should treat each other well and speak words that build up and edify. The love and faith the Lord has given Alex for the body of Christ is priceless. I will never forget his resolve, his faith, and his encouragement to me when I was staring at death.
SOS Ministries
25th Anniversary Dinner
Indigenous leaders from around the world came face-to-face to celebrate
Alex Lara
Director of Latin Mission
from El Salvador
Gbenga Oni
Director of West African Mission
from Nigeria
History in Motion: A Special Evening
- Celebrating 25 years of God’s goodness
- Indigenous leaders brought a face-to-face update from the field
- Prayer for the ministry and those on the front lines
- Love offering to continue the mission
To be continued…
History Still in the Making
What began with a Bible opened in an ESL classroom has grown into churches across El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, West Africa, and the Middle East. God is not finished. His story continues — through ordinary people who say yes.
“He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion.” — Philippians 1:6