IBCA Newsletter 06-2026
Dear supporter of IBC Alicante,
Now that spring is well underway, we would like to share an update on what God is doing at the International Baptist Church of Alicante (IBCA). In April 2026, we celebrated the church’s second anniversary and thanked God for His faithfulness over these first years.
Teaching & Worship
During the first months of the year, we continued studying the Book of Acts together. As a young church, it has been encouraging and practical to learn from the history of the early church and apply these lessons to our own journey.
At the same time, Olaf — now our third preacher — began a series on the letters of John, helping us understand how the apostle John calls believers to live in the light.
Leading up to Easter, we spent six weeks studying the final three chapters of the Gospel of Mark. This gave us a deeper understanding of the meaning and impact of Jesus’ death and resurrection.
We are also thankful for the new live worship team, which now leads worship once a month. Seeing the joy and encouragement this brings to both the church and the team itself, we are convinced God is using it for His glory and for strengthening the church.
We are also deeply grateful to the IBC Convention for supporting IBCA through the Church Plant Fund, and to IBC Bonn for applying for this support and faithfully helping us through the process. Through this support, IBCA was able to purchase audio equipment that improves singing, speaking, and recording quality. This is already serving the church in our worship gatherings and will also help us record and share teaching more effectively.
Training & Equipping through Aquila Institute
Another exciting development is the beginning of a One-Year Church Apprenticeship through Aquila Institute. This is a competency-based training program for emerging and developing church leaders.We are thankful and excited that Olaf and Ehsan will be starting this journey with us, with Arno and Matthias serving in the role of mentors.
Church Life
One of the great blessings of IBCA is getting to know people from many different cultures and faith backgrounds while worshipping the Lord together.
As an international church, IBCA is constantly changing and growing. Some people attend while exploring whether IBCA could become their church home, and we rejoice when they decide to stay. Others are only with us for a few weeks or months, yet they still become a meaningful blessing to the church. We pray IBCA has also been a blessing to them.
Church Development
During the first five months of 2026, we shared more clearly the Mission and Vision of IBCA and presented draft versions of our Constitution, Teaching Guidelines, and Operational Guidelines.
Our goal is to complete this process during the summer of 2026 by establishing a formal church structure with members, clear leadership and operational processes, and opportunities for everyone to participate and serve.
People
Since our last newsletter, we welcomed:
Ehsan from Torrevieja, originally from Iran
Lea, daughter of Jacek and Izabela (born in October)
Caroline from the USA
Mattias, son of Juan & Ari (born in January)
Timon from the Netherlands & Lucia from Spain
Alex & Carmen from Peru
Ingrid, originally from the Netherlands
Ingrid, originally from the Netherlands (yes, both sisters have the same name!)
Marija from Latvia
Samuel, son of Mauricio & Vicky (born in May)
We warmly welcome each of them. It is exciting to see new friends bringing fresh ideas, energy, and gifts to the church community, alongside the faithful service of those already involved.
We are also looking forward to welcoming two new couples later this year, arriving in July and September, both (originally) from the USA.
After 8–9 months together, we said goodbye to Illia & Maria as they returned to their home country. We are grateful for the time we shared and thankful to hear they have settled well back home.
Small Groups & Outreach
In addition to the Wednesday evening Life Group, a Friday morning Life Group has now started as well.
Meeting weekly has been a wonderful opportunity to grow in knowing the Lord and to encourage one another in living out our faith practically. It has also helped deepen friendships and build new relationships.
Our Men’s and Women’s Groups continue to meet monthly. By combining in-person and online meetings, we can reduce travel time while still supporting and encouraging one another to follow Jesus faithfully in daily life.
English Conversation Groups
The Beginner and Intermediate English Conversation Groups (ECG) have continued meeting weekly in blocks of 8–10 weeks. Participants have shown encouraging progress in their English fluency week by week.
We are now exploring ways to connect the ECGs with broader outreach activities during the second half of 2026.
Christianity Explored
In January, we also started an online course called Christianity Explored. This 8-session course helps people understand the core message of the Christian faith in a simple and accessible way.
This time, four of the five participants happened to be Dutch, which certainly triggered very direct and honest conversations; as you might expect from Dutch people 😉.
We plan to offer the course again because it provides an informal and engaging way for people to explore the Christian faith and rediscover the treasure of the Gospel.
Everyone is welcome!
Various & Prayer Requests
Thank God for every person who has attended or participated in IBCA - whether their visit was planned or unexpected. Pray that many more people will encounter Christ, grow in faith, and find their way to IBCA.
Thank God for our partner churches and supporters who continue to help through prayer, mentoring, financial giving, and practical support.
Thank God for everyone who participated in Christianity Explored. Pray that participants continue growing in faith and that future courses will help many more people discover the Gospel.
Thank God for His provision of meeting spaces. We are grateful to have used PIEBA’s building for almost two years. During the summer months, two sisters from the church have temporarily made their office in central Alicante available for IBCA gatherings after our use of PIEBA’s facilities ends. Please pray for wisdom and provision as we continue searching for a permanent location.
Pray for those in our church community who are facing challenges related to legal documents, affordable housing, and suitable employment in Alicante. Also pray for the outreach ministry Hope Route, which serves people without homes every two weeks.
Pray for wisdom, compassion, and willing hearts as we seek to reach students, retirees, migrants, refugees, and English speakers in Alicante with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
United in Christ,
Arno & Matthias