Hebrews 11 is often referenced as the “Hall of Faith” because its chapter is filled with the recounting of memories of saints of old who willingly gave their lives in service to our Lord.  From time to time I encounter modern day saints who have clearly lived a life consistent with this great line of witnesses.

Meet Victor and Yolonda Ibagon.  Victor is a Colombian, who presently serves as the director of Fronteras Colombia.  Victor was born in Bogota and was eventually trained as an industrial engineer.  He then further specialized in both business consulting and theology.  He served as a business consultant for many developing economic projects.  His wife, Yolonda, was also born in Bogota and trained to be a nurse with specializations in both Worker’s Medicine and Medical Quality Control.

Both Victor and Yolonda met the Lord through Campus Crusade International while attending a university.  It was not long before they were called into full-time ministry with Fronteras Colombia, the Latin American branch of Frontiers.  In 1996 they began the process of establishing the first Latin American Frontiers’ sending base, a work that resulted in Colombians being sent out that same year into unengaged Islamic fields.  In the years that followed, they established similar bases in Argentina, Brazil, Guatemala, and other countries.  To date, there are 26 long-term workers from Colombia planting churches among Muslims in the 10/40 window with many more presently in a training process.

As a result of his vast experience, Victor now serves as President of the International Board for COMIBAM International.  This is a network of 16,000 Latin missionaries with a passion to reach the lost, especially in the 10/40 window.  This strategic group of Latinos has positioned themselves as the hub of missions’ activity in the world today.

Today Victor is bringing a strong focus upon the need to develop sustainable platforms for business-as-mission…platforms that can aid global mission workers toward establishing projects helpful for communities, helpful for generating sustainability, as well as helpful for providing platforms to present the gospel in culturally relative forms.

God is using Victor and Yolanda to provide much needed pastoral care to Latin missionaries worldwide, as well as to motivate the Colombian church to intercede for the work in unengaged Islamic contexts.  Their hearts are passionate for worldwide church-planting movements so that the nations can hear the beautiful message of the gospel and come to know the Lord.

The church and the missions movement is bigger than the United States.  We have partners around the globe, daily sacrificing so that the gospel goes forth in the power of the Holy Spirit.  May God richly bless our brothers and sisters in Christ as they serve faithfully until the Lord returns!  And may we be faithful in partnering with them for the sake of the gospel!