Mark and Lori Berry
Missions • Global Missions • Local Missions • Short Term Missions • Conference
About Mark and Lori
Mark and Lori Berry lead the Lima New City team of the PCA’s Mission to the World. The team includes several short-term associates. Additional couples are preparing to join the team. They focus on three key areas: church planing, leadership training and mercy ministries. Their vision is to see “the city of Lima transformed through the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ”.
Three church plants are underway in the areas of Santa Anita, Amauta and Salamanica. Both Santa Anita and the Amauta plants were launched in partnership with an established PCA church and the Huaycan congregation. Mark Berry also planted the Salamanaca church plant. Initial results are encouraging. A core group is reaching out to their family and friends. A Saturday night cell group meeting is thriving and they are now looking for a building. A common thread of the team’s ministry is the training of both church planters and lay leaders for these congregations. In addition to these projects Mark is also promoting Evangelism Explosion training in cooperation with a Hispanic pastor from Lima.
Many opportunities for mercy ministries exist in Lima. Lori helps oversee a feeding/tutoring program in partnership with the Huaycan church. The eight children enrolled have extreme physical, emotional and spiritual needs. Lori also gives some direction to the three young ladies who assist in mercy ministries and social outreach to the community. Needless to say, raising a family also occupies Lori in her role as mother.
Mark and Lori have been blessed with five children. Emmett (8-26-97) is an outgoing boy who loves sports and music (drums). Anna (3-26-99) is shy, loves school, babies and helping. Taylor (10-12-00) is the most outgoing and extroverted of their daughters and seems sure of herself in all situations. And finally Abigail (6-27-02) is the only one born in Peru. She likes ice cream, dolls and playing with her siblings. Mark and Lori celebrated their tenth wedding anniversary on November 9, 2006. Outdoor activities rank high on their list of favorite activities.
CFC makes regular monthly contributions to their financial support. Mark quoted a passage from Lloyd-Jones commentary on Ephesians in a recent prayer letter as an exhortation for steadfast prayer- “…we do ask like Paul that you would pray for boldness in our preaching of the gospel in Lima…” This is something that we can do all.
Specific prayer requests include:
- A building to rent for the Salamanca group.
- Boldness and wisdom in Mark’s teaching and preaching ministry.
- Establishment of a comprehensive church planting partnership with the Huaycan session.
- Family health. Both Mark and Lori have been suffering from sinus infections and Emmett has had some stomach problems. They are approaching the winter season.
Latest Prayer Update
Dear Sisters at CFC,
Greetings to each of you in the precious name of the Lord Jesus Christ!
As we write we are making our final preparations to return to the US for our 3 month home ministry assignment (HMA). Our flight leaves Monday night November 23, really midnight November 24, and we are busy trying to wrap up loose ends here in Lima before we leave. Since we last wrote, we have experienced the Lord’s faithfulness and sustaining grace in new and deeper ways. Mark has had an especially heavy workload over the past few months, and as his load has increased, so has Lori’s with more things falling to her on the home front. As well our children are in the final push to finish their studies early at school (school year normally ends Dec. 14). But in the midst of the demands, His grace has been sufficient. We have a busy schedule on our HMA as well, as you will see below, so we would ask for your prayers that our faithful Lord will provide us with some needed rest along the way.
In October we enjoyed a wonderful visit from our friends at Grace Presbyterian Church in Washington, DC (Grace DC). They helped in the ministry in many practical ways, visiting universities to practice English with students, high schools to give their testimonies, conducting a VBS and medical clinic in a poor community called Manchay. Mark really enjoyed getting to translate for Dr. Eugene Lee who treated 79 patients, mostly
children over two days. The first week of November Mark attended the LEAD conference in Bogotá, Colombia with other leaders from Latin America working with Mission to the World. Three leaders from our church plant “Luz de Vida” accompanied Mark: Enrique Matamoros, Francisco Tarazona and fellow missionary Jim Ward. It was a great
time of learning with and from this group of almost 70 pastors and church leaders and encouraging one another in the work of church planting. It was especially motivating and challenging, as well as encouraging, to spend extensive time examining our preaching and ministries in light of the Cross and being reminded again that the message of Christ is the only message with power to build the Church and extend the
Kingdom of our God. Meanwhile our church, Light of Life Presbyterian Church (Luz de Vida), continues to grow in depth and number. Our greatest need is for leaders. We have very few. We have many young believers, but they need leadership. Mark meets each Friday with his leadership team, and they are growing as leaders, but all feel
stretched thin with their multiple responsibilities both within the church and in their jobs and families. But it is a joy to see them grow and see the church begin to respond to their leadership. These men will pick up the preaching load in Mark’s absence as well as many of his other pastoral responsibilities, so please pray that the Lord will use that time to grow them even more.
Please continue to pray for the Lord to raise up Spirit-filled leaders, both men and women. And pray for Mark, that the Lord would empower and gift him in his discipling and leading, both in the church as well as in his responsibilities in the mission.
Please pray also for Lori as she works with the women in the church towards the formation of a women’s ministry, as well as with her responsibilities with our five children.
We’d also ask that you continue to pray for the House of Glory girls’ home. I’ll have privilege of baptizing two of the girls and all three of their babies this coming Sunday as they join the church and publicly profess their faith in the Lord Jesus. It is a joy to see what the Lord is doing in these young girls’ lives. He is indeed the Redeemer.
Finally, below is our schedule so far for our HMA in the US. Would you also remember to pray for these many speaking and preaching opportunities that the Lord has given us? Pray that we would be a blessing to the churches and that the Lord would use us to strengthen them in their vision for the discipleship of the nations. Pray also that we would be mutually encouraged and strengthened, and renewed for our return our ministry in Peru.
Thank you so much for standing with us in prayer.
Visit http://www.mtwla.org/limanewcity/ for more information