BMW'S HISTORY IN BARCELONA
In the early 1960s, BMW missionaries Harold and Esther Kregel began a tract and literature-printing ministry in Barcelona known as "Portavoz." Fascist dictator Francisco Franco was ruling Spain at that time, and the activities of the Kregels in printing and distributing evangelical literature were considered illegal. After Franco's death, religious freedom returned to Spain, and BMW's team expanded the printing ministry into a large bookstore in Barcelona (which was forced to close in 2004 for financial reasons). The team planted four churches (from the 70's to the 90's) in the greater Barcelona area. Those churches are now independent and none of those missionaries are now on our field. The Kenneys, who began a new church in Moiá, retired in 2006, and that church is being continued by their son under a different mission board.

CATALONIA (Northeastern autonomous region of Spain)
The Catalonian society is decidedly secular and humanist, and is a clear expression of postmodernism. It preaches tolerance of everything, but this leaves people morally disoriented. Their respect for all religions hides a deep spiritual hardness. They smile and commend one's faith and 'religion', but disdain the concept of a God and absolute truth. Only 0.7% claim to be saved, and in Catalonia alone there are 84 cities of more than 5000 people with no Christian church.

BMW'S SPAIN TEAM

	David and Lena Philbrick (in Catalonia, Spain, since 1997) are helping establish one of the existing churches in Barcelona city, partnering with national believers. They have a church plant project in Sant Cugat where they live, and are working toward involving their existing Spanish church in this to reproduce itself. They also opened up the new Advance Center in Sant Cugat where they teach English and run a small Christian family publisher for outreach.
	Dan and Amy Portugal arrived in the winter of 2007 as new members of the team in Sant Cugat.

For more information, contact the Philbricks or Portugals in Spain or Paul Seger at BMW's International Office.

A CHRISTIAN SCHOOL AS A CHURCH PLANTING TOOL?! YES!!!

Field: Sant Cugat, Spain
Workers: Dave & Lena Philbrick

As part of the church planting project in Sant Cugat, there's an immediate need for someone qualified and with vision to start a Christian school with a solid academic and spiritual program. The Christian school could:

• Be a very visible evangelistic tool, by accepting some unsaved students, as there is a huge demand for more private schools, especially ones that use English immersion as part of their curriculum.
• Make a huge impact by involvement in the community, through parenting classes, conferences, literature, and being a visible Christian presence.
• Be an aggressive training tool, by training national teens in a ministry mindset and practice.
• Meet the need of Christian families scattered in the greater Barcelona area who often feel isolated, with very little Christian input and fellowship.
• Meet an urgent need for more schooling options for foreign workers and Spanish believers who are desperate, as home schooling is not legal in Spain for most grades, and recently the public school has taken an extreme turn, educationally and morally, for the worse, being destructive on the family and Christian values.

This project will require a huge financial startup investment, especially for land and a building that will meet the strict government regulations for schools. The building/buildings could also be used for the new Sant Cugat church, the Advance Center (English teaching and Ebenezer Editions Christian publisher), English summer day camps for evangelism, housing for short term workers, youth activities/outreach, and field headquarters. Once the school is started, the government can completely subsidize the teacher salaries if we meet certain qualifications, as private schools are on huge demand.

For further information or for donations, contact Biblical Ministries Worldwide, or Dave & Lena Philbrick (davelenap@yahoo.com).

Spain Christian School (Word document)

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