End of the Year Update 2024

As the year winds down, we take time to reflect on some of the highlights. We thank you for your friendship, prayers, financial support and encouragement. We’ll take a look back at 2024 through four lenses: our local ministry, regional ministry, national and international ministry and some family updates.

Local Ministry

We are entering our 16^th year of ministry in Los Angeles both through our church, Fuente LA, and our mission’s organization, World Impact.

Highlights of 2024

WINTER YOUTH CAMP: 

We sent our teens with and one of our leaders to an impactful retreat in the mountains. Chad also led two breakout sessions on trauma healing – one for the teens and one for the youth workers. 

Winter Youth Camp '24 - Gathering for our General Session

SHARING THE WORD: 

We started a new leadership training cohort to train people how to study the Bible and work on sermon preparation. This cohort created and shared three Sunday sermon series (which spanned over 35 weeks).

EASTER COMMUNITY OUTREACH / BAPTISMS: 

We had around 100 folks come to our four-day event at the park. Children learned about the meaning behind Easter as they played games, sang songs and created crafts. Back at our church, our children’s ministry put together a fun skit for all our guests. We celebrated the new life with baptisms and lots of yummy food. 

Children gather at our Bible Club for songs and skits after working on their crafts.

It's so fun gathering families together and having fun together in the park!

SERVE TEAMS: 

As we’ve built back our leadership structure since the pandemic one of the things we’ve looked at a little differently is how to release more ownership for the ministry we are doing without putting too much on just a few key people. That led us to create short-term serve teams who dreamed up, planned, organized and implemented events such as our:

• Mother’s Day Women’s Brunch Outreach
• Father’s Day Family Fun Day
• Thanksgiving Outreach
• Christmas Banquet

Group of women at Fuente's Mother's Day Brunch

A group took a short hike during the Family Fun Day

We handed out 50 turkeys and shared about 100 meals with those most in need.

Plans for 2025….

Please be in prayer for us as we:

• Launch an English Ministry.

• Expand as we begin using the building next to our church for “Exercise and Wellbeing” classes to help meet needs in our neighborhood and bridge into “relational and spiritual wellbeing” conversations with the unreached.

• Wait on direction (wisdom, finances, etc.) about purchasing the building we have used as our church home for the last 15 years or what next steps to take when it is put on the market. 

Regional Ministry

Chad is entering his second year as the Regional Senior Ministry Developer over the Western US at World Impact.

Highlights of 2024

DEEPENING: 

We have deepened our impact throughout Southern California through various events and trainings this year networking with over 100 churches and ministries. We have a monthly pastor’s breakfast where we network and equip leaders with various topics such as: how to identify and develop great leaders, making a difference in our city’s homelessness problem, taking care of yourself so you can continue to care for others and much more.

Empowering Los Angeles event at Biola University (above) and a Pastor’s Prayer Breakfast in Los Angeles (below). 

EXPANDING: 

We also have focused on expanding out ministry into Las Vegas, Fresno and San Diego. This is the first time World Impact has done anything in Nevada, and it has been exciting to begin to grow a network there. We have also been sharing on platforms like podcasts and leading webinars to connect everyone and continue to provide helpful content. 

Conferences we held in Las Vegas (above) and Fresno (below).

DEVELOPING: 

Our team is growing as we look to empower catalytic partners. These regional expansion efforts are made possible through the key relationships with leaders who are already doing great things in their respective cities. 

Pastor George shares his church planting strategy as we tour the neighborhood in North Las Vegas.

Pastor Mark (San Diego) and Chaplain Lalo (Rosarito) in a Mexican jail providing discipleship materials, Bibles, tamales and hygiene packets.

Pastor Jacob and some of the guys from his Inpatient Discipleship program (for those in addiction recovery and/or being released from prison) in Fresno.

Plans for 2025….

Please be in prayer for us as we:

• Look to hire another person for our team (let us know if you have any leads).

• Look to train and launch 30 new church plant teams in 2025.

• Begin exploring expansion opportunities into the Pacific NW and Arizona.

National/International Ministry

Beyond the Western Region, we have had an impact on several other areas this year through our leadership in the Spanish Ministry at World Impact.

Highlights of 2024

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: 

As we reported at the start of the year, a team of 10 from our church was able to minister in the DR providing Trauma Healing Facilitator Training for 26 individuals from 12 different ministries and some other support. 

Spanish Trauma Healing Facilitator Training in La Vega, DR

MEXICO: 

Fabiola was able to attend a gathering for the church planting network that we are part of in Mexico and have a short visit with her family there. We continue to sow into that network as more churches are being planted in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. 

Pastors responding to a call during a church planting network conference in Mexico. 

DALLAS: 

Chad is the lead Spanish trainer for World Impact’s Trauma Healing program and has been working on building out a volunteer training team to facilitate the growing need. This required several trips to other cities, the primary destination being Dallas. Beyond helping 3 trainers grow and advance in their certification he was able to train another 20 in our Healing Groups.

Spanish Trauma Healing Facilitator Training in Dallas

Plans for 2025….

Please be in prayer for us as we:

• Lead trauma healing facilitator trainings in Mexicali (January) and Rosarito (April).

• Work to identify, train and release a team of Spanish speaking, trauma informed trainers that can begin to allow our reach to expand and keep up with demand.

• Potentially take a larger strategic and leadership role in growing the Spanish ministry reach (nationally and eventually internationally) at World Impact.

Wolyn Family Updates

Here are some updates on each one of us this year:

Beniah (10) is in 5th grade and brings so much joy and laughter to our home. He is good at sports and at home can beat all of us at two square. He continues to be an avid reader enjoying a variety of things from historical fiction to graphic novels. He also worked hard with Chad to plant and harvest some large watermelon this summer. 

Chad & Beniah with one of their delicious watermelon.

Justice (17) started driving this year and is a Senior in high school. He enjoyed his last year of football and is involved on the ministry team, in fact, he just wrote a drama script and put on a production for his school’s chapel.  He has been accepted into a couple universities already. He is planning on studying Christian Ministries and leaning heavily at choosing Biola University as his school. 

Justice played defensive end and running back.

Rebecca (19) is in her second year at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth studying Elementary Education and volunteering at her church there in the children’s ministry. She also has a focus in Spanish and will be studying for one month in Barcelona this summer. She has a job on campus and is involved in bringing attention and help to those that have suffered domestic abuse through her sorority.

Rebecca in her Sophomore dorm at TCU. Go Frogs!

Fabiola leads the prayer group at Justice’s high school and has been networking and growing that group of parents and grandparents. She also volunteers at Beniah’s school 1-2 times a week. She continues to meet with a lot of the women at church for counseling, mentorship and pastoral care as well as lead the children’s ministry. She teaches English classes and continues to be one of the most evangelistic people around, making friends and sharing Christ with virtually everyone we pass. 

Fabiola surrounded by part of the prayer team she leads.

Chad and Fabiola celebrated 20 years of marriage and found a fun walk along the beach that we both enjoyed a lot. He also was able to enjoy an overnight backpacking trip with Rebecca (her first) and discovered how fun pickleball can be. He thought it was fun to be able to see a few friends and family when he, Rebecca and Beniah travelled through Texas to drop off Rebecca at college. 

Chad & Fabiola enjoying time together on a beach walk.

Plans for 2025….

Please be in prayer for us:

• Quality family time…we are so thankful for seasons like Christmas where we are able to spend more time together. Pray that God will keep us and hold us as a family as we continue to grow and serve.

• Finances…with Rebecca at college and Justice headed that way we are more and more aware of the need to depend on God and ask for Him to provide. Please pray for all the needed funding to come through for college, ministry and personal needs (i.e. one of our cars probably won’t be with us much longer). 

Wishing you a Christ-filled Christmas and a blessed 2025!

Chad, Fabiola, Rebecca, Justice and Beniah Wolyn

Dominican Republic

Thank you for your prayers for our trip to the Dominican Republic.

Here are some highlights:

TRAUMA TRAINING

We had 35 individuals participate in the Healing Group portion of our training representing 14 different ministries (in attendance were pastors, ministry leaders, psychologists, psychiatrists, and teachers). We certified 16 people as healing group facilitators after a weeklong training. 

Participants shared about how impactful this training was and how they now feel equipped and empowered to help lead many more people in their church (or ministry area) through this Bible focused healing process. Many also mentioned how they received personal healing. 

We started the training at a ministry center in the poorest community of La Vega.

One of the teachers made this sign for the training (above). 

There were so many tiers to this trip. On one level, it was an opportunity for our family to go on a mission trip together. We have been on the mission field in Los Angeles for so long and visited Mexico so many times for ministry and family, but never been on a trip focused on mission like this. It was wonderful to see each one of our kids take risks, be part of the team and lean into their gifts and strengths. 

On another level, this was also a time for 5 others from our church to experience the mission field for the first time. Living in tight quarters, 10 of us sharing a bathroom, being pushed physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually created a lot of great opportunities for discipleship and relationship building. We definitely came back closer and stronger!  

Karen was in the very first healing group that I (Chad) led in Los Angeles (at our church) and has been helping lead dozens of groups online and in Los Angeles since. She helped co-facilitate the healing groups with me for the first 3 days.

Some of our youth helped with various things like dramas, taking pictures, admin tasks and babysitting the attendees’ children (and a kitten) during the training. 

We were 4-hours off our normal time and had a busy schedule. You have to take a nap whenever there is an opportunity.  

For the last half of the training, one of the pastors attending the group invited us to all meet at his church building as there was more space.

A couple of the participants sharing after one of the activities.

It was hilarious and powerful getting the attendees involved in some skits.

The testimony time during our "taking our pain to the cross" time was deeply moving. 

After spending time writing down some of our pain we burnt the papers.

It was a special treat to be able to connect with one of the ladies I had trained a couple years ago online from Santiago (DR). She leads healing groups along with her husband and is her ministries representative for the entire Caribbean region. We connected her with all the newly trained facilitators with the hopes there can be an even bigger growth and support network on the island. 

SHARING WITH CHURCHES

We were invited to share at two of the churches represented at the training. On Sunday, Pastor Wanderson invited us to minister at Nueva Vida. 

One lady came up to us after the ministry time and shared how glad she had come – the message was just what she needed. She then told us the reason she almost didn’t come to church was it was so cold in the morning. This struck us as we all woke up too hot in the 85 degree and 90% humidity…but it is their winter, so it was ‘cold’ (for them) compared to other times of the year. 

Pastor Fausto, a one-time player for the Dominican Republic volleyball team, and his wife Lourdes graciously hosted our team and allowed us to share a Word for their church on Wednesday night. 

YOUTH MINISTRY

One of the leaders we were able to spend time with is somebody our host, Travis, has been a spiritual father to for many years. Jose is a young man who is mentoring dozens of youth in the barrio. Our team loaded up on a school bus full of teens that Jose gathered and took a trip to a jungle mountain area in another province, Hermanas Mirabel, for a day youth outing at Travis’ camp/farm. 

The bus drove about 2 hours to this spot and then everyone had to get out and hike the last mile since the roads are not passable for vehicles like a bus. 

We enjoyed a day exploring a cave, hiking, and swimming in the river. Our youth had some great conversations with their youth, and we ended with a meal and a short devotional before a couple hours back to La Vega on the bus. 

Beniah was one of the first people to jump in the refreshing water.

We also participated in their youth group Bible study that Jose leads a few days later back at the ministry center. 

It was fun for us as parents seeing our son Justice wander off (within eyeshot) from time to time and hang out with locals on the street. 

SHARING THE GOSPEL AT THE PUBLIC SCHOOL

One of our team’s biggest highlights was spending the day at a public elementary school. This is one of several places we shared a drama about emotions (that tied in with our trauma training, but at a children’s level). It illustrated how God knows us and wants to be with us to help us through hard feelings and bring us to a better place. 

Each one of our team members shared a personal story about how God helped them through difficult emotions. 

Justice really enjoyed using his Spanish and being a mentor-friend that the elementary kids looked up to. 

Beniah was essentially ministering to his peers as an elementary aged student himself. His story about not being nice to other kids and then learning how to share may have been the most relatable for this audience. 

Stephanie shared about making the faith she learned at church growing up her own when she went to college. 

Margarita brought a sweet motherly feel and perspective to our time when she shared. 

We played games, did crafts to reenforce the lesson, and taught them a Bible verse. 

Everyone showing off their craft. This was the younger group. (We did a different activity with the older children.)

Above: Teaching the memory verse (in English below)

This girl (below) was the first to come up and share the verse by memory. Well done!

We also gave each one of them a copy of a book our missionary friend in the Philippines wrote about how to take care of our heart and allow it to be changed by God’s word. Each one of the 120 children were encouraged to take the book home and read it and share it with family members. Our hope is that this will provide deeper conversations for Travis and his team as they continue to sow into that school. 

Before we left, we had a special time praying for the principal of the school, encouraging her, and leaving donations of school supplies. 

AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM

Travis and his ministry Luchando por una Esperanza has an after school education program where we shared our drama and led a devotional time for all the teachers and volunteers. 

Although our team is all from Los Angeles, it was fun to share that our origins are from Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and the US. 

The mission of Luchando por una Esperanza is breaking down walls and creating bridges – it was wonderful to be able to meet so many different people from such diverse backgrounds. 

ENGLISH CLASS

Our youth enjoyed helping out with the English class. Practicing conversation (above) and a game of telephone (below). 

MEAL TIME

One of our team meals in between events. 

TRANSPORTATION

While it is common to see dozens of scooters and motorcycles swarming the streets, we traveled by truck (called guagua) most of the time, with half of us in the bed and the rest in the cab. That was fun for most of the team and the natural air conditioning was nice. Sometimes we traveled through sketchy, bumpy, muddy, dirt roads or passed close to oncoming traffic and even drove through a herd of cattle.  

We did use a large van and a school bus several times as well.

VISITING T.E.A.R.S.

Another ministry in the DR that our church supports is T.E.A.R.S. with the founder Rod Davis (pictured below in yellow shirt). Our team was able to tour their K-12 school and sports facilities, see their tilapia ponds, rabbits, and vegetable farm where they raise funds for their ministry and supply the community with affordable food. We also heard of their water purification ministry for the community and got an update on their church planting and leadership development efforts. 

DONATIONS

In the six months of preparation leading up to this trip we were able to raise the money and receive donations to allow us to take 9 suitcases at near full weight limit full of donations to bless the ministries there in the Dominican Republic. Thank you to all who contributed!

PRAYING FOR THE CITY

On the night of the first full day we drove up to a hill overlooking the city and looked down at the lights. Travis shared some background of the different needs, victories and struggles of the city and we then spent time interceding for the city. May God continue to change lives in La Vega, throughout the Dominican Republic and beyond!

Pictures of the area where we spent a lot of our week. (above and below) 

Beniah didn't mind picking up some of the bugs we saw...although he wasn't a fan of the spiders that were crawling around (bigger than his whole hand).

BEAUTIFUL BEACH

On the last day of our trip, we took a trip to Puerta Plata with Travis, his family and their key leadership team to enjoy the beach.

Justice really enjoyed his time hanging out and talking with Travis. Here they spent some time playing in the ocean with Travis' daughter, Naomi. 

SAYING GOOD-BYE

Everyone on our team bonded with Travis and Tatiana and their two kids Naomi and Nehemiah and our friend James. Rebecca gets her last hug in with Nehemiah before heading into the airport in Santiago. We were able to celebrate his 1st birthday with him during our trip. 

Fabiola, Karen, and Margarita take a picture with their new friend James (below). 

BACK TO LOS ANGELES

Our team was greeted at the airport around midnight by a few people from our church. Then the next morning we were able to share testimonies and highlights with the church. 

Thank you for praying and giving towards this trip as we look for ways to disciple, empower and encourage the church here in Los Angeles and throughout the world. 

We appreciate your continued prayers for our family, our church, the work we are doing with World Impact and for all the wonderful people we met in the Dominican Republic. 

God bless,

Chad, Fabiola, Rebecca, Justice and Beniah Wolyn