November 2022, Alicante, Spain
Dear friend,
At the end of 2021 we had 3 prayer requests for the Lord:
- To provide a place for the ministry in Alicante to work more locally as well.
- To send people to serve with us in the ministry.
- For people we meet online and offline to come to saving faith.
Some of the things the Lord had in mind for the ministry and us in 2022:
January
- We found the perfect ministry place right in the middle of the Alicante city!
- The name of the place is BOAT: The Beginning of All Things.
February
- We shared our testimonies with the international students of Rio Vida Bible School.
- The Lord sent several people to help and serve with us in the ministry.
- We started to (re)furbish the new ministry place in Alicante with lots of help.
March
- The (re)furbishing in Alicante continued. Now there’s a library, a room for biblical counseling and studying, a studio to record video’s and music and a meeting room for gatherings and creative projects. What a blessing!
- The small group material ‘A life in 15 minutes – Searching God Finding God’ went in tryout phase and was used by churches in the US and EU.
- We gave a presentation at the Dutch church Het Anker in Benidorm, Spain.
April
- Dedication and opening at BOAT Alicante!
- Start of 3 week mission trip to the Netherlands.
May
- Mission trip to the Netherlands. We shared at churches, Bible Schools and house groups. And the Lord opened several doors to evangelize to unbelievers.
- Ingrid shared about New Age in the church in a radio interview with Groot Nieuws Radio NL (you can also find the interview on our Dutch You Tube channel).
- Our Dutch New Page Ministries You Tube channel was set up.
- Start of creative ministry days & gatherings at BOAT.
June
- We welcomed someone with severe trauma, who couldn’t find a place to stay, to come and stay with us for a while. She stayed with us for almost 3 months.
- Started designing prints for T-shirts to spark gospel centered conversations at the creative ministry at BOAT.
July
- We welcomed our first intern! Hennie served at the ministry for almost 1 month.
- We also welcomed a volunteer and ministry leader from the Netherlands.
- With a small team we went a couple of days to a New Age/transformational festival in the north of Spain to evangelize.
- A Dutch Christian website (CVandaag/CIP) started publishing some of Ingrid’s articles about how New Age creeps into the church.
- Start of Sunday gatherings at BOAT.
August
- The new version of the testimony video ‘A life in 15 minutes’ on You Tube is available now with English, Dutch, Spanish, French, German, Polish and Russian subtitles.
- The Lord sent many international visitors and missionaries to BOAT in the summer. From the Netherlands and the US, but also from Cuba and Nicaragua.
- Bo started working on a series of new video scripts, all concerning ‘from New Age to God’s Word’ topics.
- Our guest who arrived in June left at the end of August. It was a very challenging time but we also learned a lot and grew closer to the Lord.
September
- Ingrid received her ABC (Association of Biblical Counselors) certificate. She now is a registered Biblical counselor. In our faith based ministry she keeps doing her work based on donations though, like everything else we do in the ministry.
- Photo shoot of the new T-shirt designs (in tryout phase).
- Ingrid went for a short ministry trip to the Netherlands: to the Center for Pastoral Counseling of the Netherlands and Belgium, to our mission organization Werkers in de Wijngaard and for some other appointments concerning the ministry.
October
- Start of prayer meetings every other week at BOAT.
- In the meantime throughout the months we welcome people at BOAT who don’t know Jesus yet. We listen and talk to them, build relationships, share our faith and evangelize.
- We received some very encouraging messages: some people we prayed for came to saving faith in our Lord Jesus Christ! We answer their questions and help and encourage them where we can.
November
- Ingrid is now an official trainer at ABC (Association of Biblical Counselors).
- The Lord gave us another place to live and also serve, close to our brothers and sisters in El Campello. An amazing house and only a 21 minute tram ride to BOAT Alicante! Praise God! Monthly support isn’t up to speed yet, but we trust our heavenly Father to provide through His people.
Although it might seem different, 2022 wasn’t an easy year.
We praise God and are amazed at how He works through the ministry! Only through His grace we’re able to walk in the good works He prepared for us. Although it might seem different, 2022 was a challenging year. We learned a lot about spiritual warfare from very close. It also became clear to us that it’s not a given that someone else’s need is automatically our calling. And we had to take rest. Much more rest.
The Lord used all this to make us more aware of our specific calling and His will for us. And through the trials and tests we grew closer to Him. We also realize now on a deeper level that in everything, all the time, we totally depend on Him. We’re very grateful that He made us grow in Him.
2023:
Lord willing, in 2023 we will be focused on the core of the ministry: From New Age to God’s Word. To encourage and strengthen believers in their discernment, because NA teachings are so prevalent, even sometimes also in the church. We’re focused on equipping believers by using media like video to recognize these teachings and compare them to God’s Word. Biblical counseling and (online) outreach will always be at the core of our ministry as well.
At BOAT in Alicante we intend to start a Bible study, with help of others. Bible study and prayer meetings are essentials to have in place at BOAT. This way we have the opportunity to invite people we meet in the city to come and join. People that are lost and are in desperate need of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. BOAT will be, Lord willing, a place to pray together, study His word and have fellowship. That His will may be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
We are so grateful for God’s people, for their faithful prayers, encouragement, and sacrificial financial support. We are one in the Love for Truth, in Him,
Ingrid Bijl – Biblical counselor
Bo (Ingrid) van den Boogaard – creative ministry
N E W P A G E M I N I S T R I E S – F R O M N E W A G E T O G O D ’ S W O R D
Carrer Manuel Antón 13 – 4c, 03004 Alicante, Spain l +34 722 864 259 l newpageministries.org