Update: Announcing My Resignation
Dear Friends and Supporters James and Carol Fehr,
On behalf of Avant Ministries, I would like to sincerely thank you for your faithful support of the ministry of James and Carol in Spain. James has served the Lord at the Malaga Media Center for over 19 years and had enabled the spread of the gospel across North Africa, Europe, and has touched lives around the world through his I.T. ministry.
James and Carol have decided to move on from Avant with his resignation effective September 30th. What does this mean for you as their supporter? We will automatically stop recurring Electronic Fund Transfers (EFTs) and automated credit card donations at the end of September with no need for you to call and cancel. If you would like to switch your contribution to the Malaga Media Center or another missionary you may do so by contacting our office at 1-866-812-8268 or email carol.schellenberg@avmi.org.
We are thankful to God for the ministry of James and Carol and wish them God's best as they continue to seek His will for their future. We also appreciate you for your investment in prayer and giving to make their ministry possible. May God bless you richly!
With sincere appreciation,
Mike Reimer
Executive Director
September 30th will be my last day with Avant.
Firstly I should say thank you to our financial and prayer partners, your contributions over the last 20 years have been most appreciated. A physical thank you to those who have donated in the last 18 months should be in the mail by the time your get this email.
This is a decision that has been stewing for a while time, we make it now because we feel led that it's time. I've finished two decades with Avant and we are starting a second decade of marriage. All our kids are out of diapers and speak in full sentences (not to brag, but they all swim on their own) and Carol desires to set full-time motherhood to one side and for us to enter into ministry together.
What's next? We aren't certain. Carol told me when we were dating that she would like to practice medicine in needy places a month per year: She's passionate about caring for people. We're passionate about pointing people to Jesus. Nevertheless, the first order of business is some breathing room. We are going to treat the rest of 2026 as a self-funded sabbatical as we explore what future ministry should look like.
We caught a train to Switzerland this summer.
Continue Supporting Malaga Media Center?
Malaga Media Center reaches North Africans for Jesus and we are sad to separate from some dear coworkers in the field. Should you desire to continue to give to this ministry I would like to suggest a one-time donation to the National Worker Fund or to my dear friend and current Director of Production, hailing from Mexico, Luis Juarez. Carol Schellenberg mentioned above can help you set it up.
Switzerland
I completely forgot to mention in any previous update that we were going to Switzerland to attend Avants biennial retreat for their missionaries (June 28 to July 4). We didn't plan to do any other vacation this summer so to make the outing special we decided to take the train from Malaga to Leysin, about 15 hours. We stopped in Barcelona for two nights to visit a former roommate of mine and his family. They have kids 6 months older than ours. The kids enjoyed playing together and being able to explore trains, but both Carol and I are glad we only took the train one way.
Arriving at Leysin.
At the retreat it was great to connect with missionaries from around Europe and hear stories of what's been going in their lives. Especially appreciated was the VBS program put together by the childcare workers. We have yet to hear of a church in our area making such an effort for kids in their neighbourhood. Jacobo is still spontaneously singing "The B-I-B-L-E, yes that's the book for me".
And we caught a cable car to the top of a mountain.
Sharing The Gospel
This year both Carol and I have tried to be extra intentional in trying to turn conversations into spiritual conversations. We've found that sometimes people really connect, and other times (frequently) it just goes nowhere. As a result I really appreciated that Ray Comfort posted his "Worst Interviews Ever" on YouTube. If you're not familiar with the name, Ray Comfort is a prolific online personality for evangelism, and his sermon "Hell's Best Kept Secret", which he's preached over 800 times, is a highly recommended listen even decades later.
I've tried using Matthew 22:1-14 (The Parable of the Wedding Feast in my Bible) as a base for sharing the gospel with people. When I dug into Matthew this year I thought this was a hard passage to apply. But recognising that no parable perfectly encapsulates the whole gospel I started using a line of questions pointing people to the fact that you dress for a wedding before it happens and that they probably don't have any clothes adequate for a royal/celestial wedding, that such clothing is expensive and that's why we need Jesus. Jesus paid for your celestial wedding clothes in his blood.
Like every gospel presentation, sometimes it hits, and other times it fizzles. But what I've seen is that it's easier for me to pull out a presentation that resonates with me than a presentation someone else came up with. Which means I have the conversation more often, which means I get to know where more people are at. And there are a lot of people who want to know Jesus. I wish space permitted testimonies, but for now pray for Carol as she shepherds an interested neighbour towards Jesus and Christian community.
Keep In Touch
My phone number has gotten tied up with Avants legal entity in Spain and I want to avoid fielding sales calls going forward. I have a new number, +34637906195 (it's registered with Signal, iMessage, RCS, Telegram and WhatsApp) and if email is more your speed you can reach me at jamiefehr@fastmail.es.
Thanks for reading.
