The Free Methodist Church currently has four churches in Spain. The first to be established was in the town of Rivas-Vaciamadrid, a suburb of the capital, Madrid in September 2006.
The Iglesia Emanuel in Lanzarote, Canary Islands (a dependency of Spain) formally affiliated with the Free Methodist Church in January 2007. Pastor Vito and Mari lead this congregation.
In November 2008, the Free Methodist Church in Spain was legally registered as La Iglesia Evangelica Metodista Libre. An independent church in Mazarrón, Spain connected with a Free Methodist church from Birmingham, England. This church is made up mainly of British ex-pats. Following an affiliation process, the Olive Branch Christian Fellowship joined the Free Methodist Church in December 2009. Pastor Ralph and Margaret lead this congregation. In December 2009 the church in Rivas sent several of its members to support a new church plant in Usera, Madrid. Usera is one of twenty-one districts of Madrid. Pastor Frank and Martina lead this new church plant. There are plans of establishing a learning center in the neighborhood of Usera that will provide services to nationals and immigrants. Also, in 2010 there are plans of starting a new church plant in San Martin de La Vega (Region of Madrid) and the city of Bilbao, located in the Basque Country.
Pray for:
- the Comunidad Cristiana Luz y Vida in Rivas is in the process of establishing small groups. They face challenges as they seek to reach their community with a more intentional and relational approach of evangelism. Rivas is a community that does not recognize their need for anyone or anything outside of themselves especially not God. The church is also in need of a larger meeting place.
- the Iglesia Emanuel in Lanzarote, Canary Islands, faces significant ministry challenges as they reach out to their community. The island is dependent on tourism and many are out of work because of the economic crisis. Many of the unemployed residents are having to move to the peninsula or neighboring islands to find jobs. This of course is adding great stress to families, especially children.
- the Olive Branch Christian Fellowship in Mazarrón is in need of a ministry center to accommodate the many British ex-pats that move into the area with plans of living out their retirement years in the sun. Pastor Ralph says, They need to hear the gospel, as many are in need of hope.
- the Comunidad Cristiana Esmirna in Usera, Madrid is reaching many families in need through a food bank ministry and family counseling. They are in need of a resources to distribute food and literature to help them grow spiritually. Many immigrants that have visited the church are out of work because of the economic crisis and also need help adapting to the new culture.
