September 2026 Missions Update
(Note: This update was sent to our email list on September 8, 2026)
Hey everyone!
I know it’s a few days past the first of the month, but August in the Sun City was packed to the brim with ministry progress, administrative milestones, and family adventures! Summer is finally winding down, but God is continuing to build this work brick by brick.
To catch up on a couple of loose ends from our last update, I am officially two months out from my elbow surgery! While I'm still dealing with some soreness, I am completely out of the sling now and my therapist is very pleased with my recovery progress in my weekly physical therapy appointments. Additionally, our family finally finished the grueling process with the Texas Department of Public Safety to get all of our Texas state IDs squared away! With that hurdle crossed, we are now transitioning to applying for our US Passports and Mexican Missionary Visas so we can engage in more seamless, long-term ministry across the border in Ciudad Juarez.
Our Sunday evening home gatherings for Borderlands Family Baptist Church have continued to be a sweet time of worship, Scripture, and fellowship, though we did have to pause for a couple of weeks due to a brief bout of illness stemming from some heavy insomnia. On the administrative side, we are officially in the trenches setting up our state and federal legal non-profit statuses, and I’m preparing to launch a new, dedicated website for the church plant soon. To handle all this legal and missional legwork, we held our very first official business meeting as a church plant on August 31st.
Regarding the search for a second elder, after much prayer and counsel with his wife, our friend "JH" determined that God is calling his family to stay and continue their Hispanic outreach and church planting efforts in Arizona. Many of the same reasons we thought he might be called to join us here in the Chihuahuan Desert are why he feels compelled to stay in the Sonoran Desert. We fully support them and ask that you join us in praying both for their ministry in Arizona and that God will reveal the right man to serve as a co-elder here at Borderlands!
On August 16th, I was back in the pulpit at Iglesia Jezreel to continue our journey through Galatians, preaching on Galatians 3:19–22 in a message titled "Why the Law?" You can watch the full sermon replay on my YouTube channel here:
I also had the privilege of joining my friend Jerry on his YouTube channel (youtube.com/@TwitchyTheologian) on August 11th for a deep dive comparing Presbyterian Covenant Theology ("Classical" Covenant Theology) with 1689 Federalism ("Baptist" Covenant Theology). While it’s a bit more technical than a standard sermon or teaching content, it was a really fun conversation and (I believe) a demonstration of Christian unity between two brothers with stark theological differences linking arms in Christian Unity.
You can watch that video on Twitchy's channel, here:
To help promote content like this, I have launched a new public Facebook page to share short-form videos, teaching content, and updates on my writing projects—including my previous books (Sermons: A Preacher's Rookie Year and Letters from the Elder) and my upcoming project, that is tentatively titled The Biblical Underlay: Answers to Questions You Never Thought to Ask.
Writing that one is a lot of fun, because I'm exploring interesting case studies in how Biblical events affected extra-biblical history and vice-versa. I finished the rough draft first chapter (really, the introduction) in August, and you'd like to read the first chapter, reply to this email and I'll send you a PDF copy! If you'd like to follow my public facebook profile, you can find it at facebook.com/joshdavispreaching
(If you are interested in purchasing my books, you can visit my Amazon Author Page)
Outreach has also been happening right on our doorstep! Early in the month, Ivy put together small gift bags of chocolate-covered pretzels and brownies and went door-to-door to invite our neighbors to our Sunday home worship and dinner. Patricia and I loved the idea so much that we copied her a couple of weeks later with homemade cookies for other neighbors! Ivy also took Christine out for a fun "BTS Paint Night" at a local spot, enjoying K-Pop music, themed food, and painting.
With the new school year starting on August 24th, Christine officially enrolled in Liberty University Online Academy. It gives us the flexibility of homeschooling without the burden of building full curricula, and because of my role as a Southern Baptist pastor and church planter, we received a tuition discount.
Meanwhile, Ivy has applied to attend the spring semester at El Paso Community College (EPCC), and I have applied to Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary as a non-degree-seeking student to improve my skills as a Biblical Counselor.
Nathaniel is continuing his work with me, handling all of my video editing as well as us all continuing our Spanish studies.
There are a few specific ways we would like to ask you to pray with us:
Passports & Visas: Pray for smooth administrative processing as we secure our documentation for more consistent cross-border ministry in Ciudad Juarez.
Neighborhood Connections: Pray that the seeds planted through our neighborhood cookie/treat giveaways turn into gospel conversations and new families joining our home gatherings.
Legal Dealings: Pray for clarity and efficiency as we finalize our legal incorporation and prepare to launch the new church website.
(Note: Because of how hectic August was, I didn't get a chance to edit a photo dump video, but look out for a combined August/September video in our October update!)
If you would like to support the work we are doing here in El Paso and Juarez, you can set up a recurring gift through our Zeffy page below, and as don't forget to join our private Facebook group if you haven't already!
Every bit helps us continue reaching the Borderlands!
As always, blessings to you all. We love and appreciate each of you!
Josh Davis
Lead Planter, Founding Elder
Borderlands FBC
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