July/August 2019 Newsletter

Prosperity really has nothing to do with money. Joseph as a slave in Potiphar’s house was prosperous. God's blessing was on his life as he fulfilled God's calling on his life. It is when we step outside of God's calling on our lives that we lose or true prosperity.

In the month of May we held a men's conference together with other pastors in the city. Our night speaker was a pastor from our city that I will just call David. David went to our Bible school after becoming a Christian and then worked full time as an evangelist under our ministry. He is a gifted evangelist. He got married after becoming a Christian to a dedicated Christian woman and had two children. As things happen, David had an invitation to minister in what appeared to be “greener fields”. In the next 15 years of his life we lost track of him and his family as they moved out of State. David and his family got sidetracked along the way. David never stopped preaching nor serving God but his wife and children did. A couple of years ago David came home a broken man san wife and children. The Lord has been good to him as he is now pastoring in the city of Tepic under our covering. His wife and children are back with him as they go though the hard process of restoration. David preached an excellent evangelistic message at the men's meeting and when he made an alter call at the close of the meeting almost every man in the building responded by coming forward for prayer. David came home with nothing in the physical sense but he is prospering in ministry once again.

Another school year has ended as we are coming up on twenty years of running a Christian school in a State where they don't exist. This year was our hardest year because of the small enrolment of students that we had. We ask you to pray with us that the Lord will open the door for a much larger enrolment (we need a minimum of 40 students). In March, though a church in the USA ,5 students now have scholarships for this next school year. This will help us to reach our enrolment goal in August.

On the home front, our youngest daughter Vanessa graduated from High School with a 9.9 average, (we are bragging) which is a 4.0 in the USA. She is going on to University and her goal is to study at least two years in the States. Her two older siblings both studied outside of Mexico. Foreign study permits are not as easily available as they used to be. Since Vanessa is not a US citizen we have to apply for her as a foreign student. Even though we started her application process in November we were not able to get her a visa for this school year so her first year in University will be done in Tepic.

Thank you for your prayers for the ministry and your financial support make you part of what is happing here in Mexico. We bless you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Philip, Lucy, & Vanessa Tolman

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A Tribute to my dad, John David Tolman

Dad is in his last stages of life as he struggles with the demons of Parkinson's disease and dementia. He is walking an uncharted path that could last days, months or years. Much of his life he followed an uncharted path. He used to be in charge of his decisions, but disease has now taken choices away from him. A physically frail version of him still exists but the man that I knew as Dad has left us.

He was born July 1^st 1932 (Canada Day) in Toronto, Canada to Siemon and Eveline Tolman, the second of four children. Dad met Mom, Mary Elizabeth Devins in High School in the town of Aurora just north of Toronto. Mom's parents were town doctors, her mom being one of the first woman doctors in Canada. Dad witnessed to Mom and she was saved when she was 17 years old. Four years later on April 4^th, 1953 they were married and remained so for the next 60 years.

The adventurer spirit in them, along with the calling of God on their lives led them to South Africa for two four year seasons between 1954 and 1962. Their three eldest children were born in South Africa. After returning to Canada, Dad and Mom worked, studied and raised 5 children while continuing his missions calling by promoting missions in various churches for the next 14 years. On June 30^th 1976 Dad and Mom started a new adventure along with their three youngest children. They moved to Guadalajara, Mexico where they would minister for more that 30 years as Bible teachers in the churches. My brother Stephen and myself still work under of the covering of Seedtime and Harvest Ministries, which was started by Dad and Mom.

Dad and Mom semi-retired in Tepic and lived next door to my wife Lucy and me for 12 years before Mom died in 2013. Months before Moms homecoming, Dad was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. Dad was never the same after Mom left and we all thought that he would follow soon after her in death. That was not the case, however and over these past 6+ years, I have been able to serve my Dad and to be with him in his time of solitude. I know that any one of his 5 children would have gladly done the same but I was chosen to be the caregiver. These last months have been especially hard as Dad is slipping away and it is frustrating that I cannot be part of the world that he know lives in. Gone are the conversations in the car as we drove together, the times of taking him out to eat or just sitting with him at home and talking. His body is still here as we bathe him, dress him and feed him every day, but that Dad I knew and loved in my own special way is gone.

He and Mom touched many lives, helped untold numbers of people and more than anything they taught me what living by faith is all about. Dad and I were at odds for many years but now I can truly say “Dad I love you and I miss you even though physically you are right beside me.”

May/June 2019 Newsletter

   The longevity of a project or a ministry is based mainly on its ability to be constant. There are lots of things that we start that we do not continue doing. Sometimes it is because the project just didn´t get up and go. Sometimes it is because we get tired and we cannot continue on. One of the blessings of life is to be able to see a project run its course and impact peoples' lives.

This year was our 31^st year of holding our Easter week youth camp. There have seen lots of changes over the years and what we called normal has now become extreme. I remember 30 years ago, our second camp was held on an island just off land in the Pacific Ocean. There was no problem with anyone leaving the camp without permission but I still remember that the mosquitos and the No-See-Ums that ate us up.

This year we had 42 campers at our youth camp up in the mountains. Some things have not changed such as sleeping in tents, no electricity and cooking over open fires. Also God´s sovereign move on each camper that opens his or her heart has not changed. This year we made another change. Some of the couples in the church were saying that it was not fair that only unmarried youth could attend so we opened the last 3 days of camp up to everyone. The youth continued with their activities and we also had classes and activities for adults and children. All together we had over 80 people attend camp.

The week after Easter we held our annual 3-day children´s camp. At this camp we have different churches that work with us run the camp at our school facilities. This year a new church ran the camp and they did an excellent job. Almost 50 children between the ages of 6-13 years old attended. The comment of the children was that they couldn’t stop crying when the presence of God touched their lives. That alone is worth the whole effort.

We learn from our mistakes or at least we hope we do. Over 20 years ago I was offered a property to build a church on. It wasn’t very expensive but it was in the middle of nowhere and I didn’t take up the offer. Today that property has a large Catholic church built on it and it is in the centre of a very highly built up subdivision of the town of Xalisco where we have a church. As I look back I see that I lacked vision. 

A couple of months ago we were offered another property to build a church on in the middle of nowhere and we took up the offer. The new subdivision just outside of Tepic is programmed to build just over 9,000 homes in the next 5 years. Half of our State population lives in Metropolitan Tepic. The cost for the property was just under $12,000 and we have already had one church that sent us a $3,700 offering for the down payment. Our plan is in 4-5 years to start a building project, plant a pastor there and have him raise-up a new church. We have 4 churches that we have planted in the city of Tepic from our church and only one of them has its own building. They have it only because years ago we did exactly what we are doing this year. We purchased a property to build a church on. The only difference there was that we personally started that church.

Thank you for your prayers for the ministry and your financial support make you part of what is happing here in Mexico. We bless you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Philip, Lucy, & Vanessa Tolman

Camp Photos!

March/April 2019 Newsletter

 Life has its ups and its downs as we see it but God sees it in a different way. As we look at God's way, for those who are in Christ Jesus, life has its ups and its times of preparation for the good times, If there is no preparation, the good times will pull us down. There are times of action and there are times of preparation for action.

On the home front, the last two months have been times of preparation. In the month of January we were able to attend and be part of two missions conferences that were blessings to us as we hope we were a blessing to the churches. The churches here have continued with their regular activities (we have services or church activities seven days a week) as we work with our leadership team in their abilities to work with the church family. On February 14th we held a special dinner for the couples of our Xalisco church and had evangelist Ronnie Casillas here to speak to them.

For the following 10 days, Brother Ronnie ministered over 12 times in our different churches, blessing the people and praying for the sick and needy. The people were blessed through his ministry and we were blessed to have him stay in our home. We were able to fellowship with him and share our life experiences together.

Now that the month of March is here we are gearing up for our annual camps that are held over the Easter holidays. Here in Mexico they are held during Easter and are not just a Spring break. This year we are doing something different. Aside from our usual youth and children's camps we are also going to have a mini family camp for 3 days. We have never done this before but a number of the parents are envious that their children get to spend a week in God's presence and they don't. Actually they have never had this type of experience since the majority of our church members are first generation Christians. In our next newsletter we will be giving you a report of our experiences at these camps.

Life is full of stories, some sad and others joyful. Both are needed to give life a balance. This next month we will be celebrating the wedding of a young lady from our church. She was saved under our ministry when she was 15 years old, the only Christian in her family. In her late teens she left the church and got involved in what we call a “toxic” relationship that left her devastated. About 4 years ago (she was 24 by then) she returned to Christ and the church and made a 100% commitment to serve. We sent her to Bible School in Buenos Aires, Argentina where she spent 2 ½ years preparing for ministry. This last year she became part of our leadership and ministry team and is very active in the church. Once she gets married she will be leaving us. Her future husband is a fantastic Christian from another church and they will be attending and ministering there. We hate to see her go but this is where we understand that we are raising up Kingdom workers and not just church workers.

Thank you for your prayers for the ministry and your financial support make you part of what is happing here in Mexico. We bless you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.


Philip, Lucy and Vanessa Tolman

January/February 2019 Newsletter

Christmas is a joyful time in Mexico. The Mexican society has been taught some biblical principals and holidays such as Christmas and Easter are very important. In the churches we continue with these cultural customs since they give us an opportunity to share the gospel. During the month of December every church and every group in the church has to have their own “posada” (Christmas party). That makes life very lively when you have to participle in more than 12 parties in one month aside from the regular service schedule and workload. It also takes a little chunk out of the pocket book.

One of the main reasons that we try to keep this up is to keep Christ as the center focus of the season. In Mexico, as in other parts of the world the word, “Navidad” (Christmas) is rapidly being replaced by the phrase “Felices Fiestas” (Happy Holidays). What is a party without a person to celebrate, or what is Christmas without Christ? Soon we will find ourselves with holidays just to have holidays and parties just to party. We are a purpose driven church and our purpose is to exalt our Lord Jesus Christ. I have the church well taught, I don't want to hear anyone saying “Felices Fiestas” in the church and I think that they understand why.

One of our church anniversaries last year was very special in that we were able to see continuity in our ministry efforts here in Mexico. One of the families that grew up in the church we have in the town of Compostela came to minister in our anniversary service. Of the 3 children that were literally born in the church, one is now a pastor in another city and his 2 sisters are professionals that are strongly planted in their local congregations. Now their children are growing up in church with the start of a third generation. A church is made up of strong families.

And speaking of families, we had the opportunity to take a 3- day local trip with of our family and grandchildren the beginning of 2019. We were able to visit a part of Mexico that we had never visited before. I believe my first church is my family and through them I build the rest of the ministry. Up until now we have been blessed to have our 3 children to work with us and be part of what God has called us to do. Simri works with us in the business and ministers in a church in Tepic on the worship team. Damara, along with her husband Agustin pastor a church that is under the covering of our Mexican association. Vanessa is still at home with us as she finishes High School this year and looks to move on to college. Lucy and Philip are the ones who need to keep everything flowing. Dad is no longer able to make trips like these any more and we all share the load of making his life comfortable as possible.

Thank you for your prayers for the ministry and your financial support make you part of what is happing here in Mexico. We bless you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Philip, Lucy and Vanessa Tolman

November/December 2018 Newsletter

A church is a complicated place where we try to keep a balance between the spiritual and the physical sides of life. There is no limit to how much one persons soul is worth but the books have to balance to keep the bills paid. We minister to spiritual needs but we also need to help in the physical ones. Our goal is to get people to Heaven but they also need to be blessed in their daily walk. For God the church is a spiritual hospital while for the government it is a business. Walking the line down the middle is not easy.

Hurricane Relief: In the month of October Hurricane Willa hit the central coast of our State of Nayarit. As it came inland it quickly dropped from a category 5 to a 3. At our homestead we got the wind and rain but no real damage except for the tree limbs and bamboo that were blown down. We were all just thanking God that no major damage was done when the storm hung up on the Sierras 50 miles inland and flooded the rivers. Within 24 hours 180,000 people were flooded out of their homes. In the township of Tuxpan the water rose to 8 feet and everything was lost. Vehicles, electronics, beds and many other articles were destroyed with mud and water (see pictures). The members of our main church in Xalisco donated almost 2,000 lbs. of goods as well as taking hot meals to give out to the people in need. It was just a small token in comparison to the great need that continues to this day.

Women´s Congress: The 10th of November Lucy, along with other pastors in the city organized a one-day women´s conference. They programmed for an attendance of 120 women and over 140 attended. It was an activity that in previous years they had organized but because of health issues and other details there had not been a conference held for the last two years. The testimonies of the people that attended showed that they were blessed by the teachings and the fellowship. The 24 of November we are holding another conference, but this one is a marriage conference. Once again we are programming for between 50-60 couples to attend and both Philip and Lucy will be teaching at the conference.

A story: A growing church is full of stories. Some of them with happy endings while others have sad endings. At the beginning of the year Victor ((not his real name) came to visit one of our churches. His sister was attending and had invited him to come. After coming for some months he invited us to his home and told us the following story. Victor´s mom is a Christian and Victor had attended church since he was about 9 years old. By the time he was 14 he was ministering with the worship team of his small church. Before Victor turned 20 he started living with his girlfriend without getting married. The pastor told him that he could no longer minister in the church until he got married and made things right with God. Victor got mad at his pastor and at God and left the church. We fast-forward 10 years later to this year and we find a young man tattooed and battle scarred. Drugs, easy money, broken relationships had taken their toll. Victor´s new live-in companion, a young lady 18 years old ready to give birth to her second child had a sorry story of her own. Today Victor is married, attending church and struggling to turn his life around. Nothing is easy the second time around and each step is a struggle but as long as he keeps moving forward the victory can be won. There are a lot of Victors out in the world wanting to come home to the Father.

Thank you for your prayers for the ministry and your financial support make you part of what is happening here in Mexico. We bless you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.


Philip, Lucy and Vanessa Tolman

Newsletter September/October 2018

One learns from life experiences. Each experience that we have is a class of instruction. One of the classes that I have learned from my 38 years on the mission field is that each church has what I call a wave action. The church surges forward in numbers, activities and excitement and then it recesses. When the tide is coming in, each surge brings growth to the church but when the tide is going out the church declines. We cannot control the tide as it is a natural function of life but when the surge comes we can push a little harder and take advantage of it.

Our main church in the town of Xalisco is in the surge mode. In the last two months we have had a special move of the Holy Spirit in the services and an influx of new people coming out. On Sundays we have every space in the sanctuary filled and even on Wednesday night service we have ¾ of the auditorium filled. Through the years we have had this phenomena happen and we have taken advantage of it to plant new churches in Tepic instead of expanding our present building. This time around we will not be able to do that because most of the new people coming live in the neighborhoods around the church. It is a very satisfying experience watching people give their lives over to the Lord and be transformed.

Xecora School: We have had a very opposite experience with our Christian school than what is happening on some of the churches. We had a downturn in enrolment this year that made us take drastic measures. We don't know if this has to do with the economy or if it is a spiritual attack on this area of our ministry but the result was the following: Our Secondary school closed for one school year after 18 years of giving classes. We are hoping that this is only temporal and we won't be making any final decisions until the end of this school year. We were able to maintain the primary school functioning taking advantage of the new facilities that we have. Our teachers and principal are putting in an extra effort, with less pay to make this the best school year that we have ever had.

National Pastors' meeting: In the month of August each year we have our national one-day meeting for the pastors that work with us under our church covering. This year we had a change of leadership. Pastor Raul Arrellano stepped down as President and Pastor Carlos Hernandez from Tonala, Jalisco took over the leadership for the next couple of years. We have been able to establish a good group of Mexican pastors that have their own vision and calling from God. Each of them is working in the capacity that they have to minister to the people that the Lord Jesus has brought into their flocks. Our vision is not to build churches but to raise-up leaders that can carry on the work that we have started until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Thank you for your prayers for the ministry and your financial support make you part of what is happing here in Mexico. We bless you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Philip, Lucy, & Vanessa Tolman

Newsletter July/August 2018

Summer has arrived and with it a change to parts of our ministry. Our school is now on vacation. The rainy season has arrived that limits our outdoor activities and up keep and maintenance are the words for the day. Seasons also are part of our spiritual life. We love the springtime with it´s new life sprouting and freshness in the air. Autumn is a time of decline and death. It has it´s good points such as the brilliant colours and the cool frosty nights.

Xecora School Teachers 

Xecora School: The 6^th of July was the graduation exercise for our 2017-18 school year. We had 12 graduating students this year, which is both good and bad. It is good in that theses students will be leaving us to continue with their education. They will carry the values and the Word that we have implanted in their lives and we pray that this Word will take root and grow in them until they have been born again. The bad part is that we have to look for new students to take their place. It is not all that bad since once we have them we will have new lives into which we can implant the Word. Please pray with use that the Lord Jesus will fill our enrollment once again this coming school year.

We were also able to complete the concrete floor on the second floor of our new classroom and we have raised the walls about 3 feet. With the floor poured we no long have to worry about rainwater seeping through the ceiling and raining on our students in the classrooms.

Christian marriages working well make a church strong. We have been dedicating a lot of our counseling time in helping couples that are in the church but they have never been taught on how to make their marriage work. Now they are married for life (or that is their ideal) but things are just not going well. The first things that we teach them are the rules for fighting. There will be fights but fights without rules are destructive. After that we teach them that to love someone takes work and we show them what they have to do to make it work from the Bible.

Dad is doing really well lately.  We were able to get some of us together and celebrate his 86^th birthday. The year did not start out well for him but God has given us wisdom and has also placed incredible people around us to help. The years have taken their toll but we enjoy what we have left of Dad and most of the time he is still with us mentally as well as in body. Please keep him in your prayers, as Dad’s focus is still to go home with the Lord.

Thank you for your prayers for the ministry and your financial support make you part of what is happing here in Mexico. We bless you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Philip, Lucy and Vanessa Tolman