We are Jonathan and Elena Banegas. We just celebrated our 30th Marriage anniversary! We have three daughters, Judith, Noemi and Lidia. Judith and Noemi are already married and have two sons and a daughter, so we are also grandparents!
We serve in the country of Spain. A nation with less than 1-2% of evangelical believers (depending on the source where you find this information). Spain used to be considered Catholic but not anymore. An average of 10% attends regularly to the Catholic Church and most of them are old people. So, Spain, along with the rest of Europe, is no longer a Christian Country. Secularism is the main religion.
We serve in Spain with Young Life. A ministry we helped establish in 2007 in Catalonia and Spain. Our heart and passion have always been to work with youth because even though we know it is a challenging age, it is the time of life where you can make a deeper impact and transform the world.
So, we focus on working with non-church kids, going where they are and building relationships with them in order to earn the right to be heard. Kids are tired of religion but thirsty for significance and value. So, we approach them with no judgment but with a loving attitude. After several years of praying, building relationships and earning the right to be heard, the Lord has opened doors to work in different high schools, partner with City Halls and open a Youth Center.
We do that by recruiting and training key leaders, partnering with local churches, developing innovative ideas and strategies and trusting in the Lord for His blessing, provision and guidance. As the Spain country director, I supervise 4 main provinces in Spain (Catalonia, Madrid, Basque Country and Andalucía), 11 staff people leading their own areas with a total of 50-75 volunteer leaders that are reaching over 600 kids during the year. And we do that by going to the high schools or wherever kids are to do contact work, bring them to our YL Clubs in each area, take them to the different camps we organize during the year and involve them in discipleship programs so they can finally get connected with a local church, hopefully the same one as his/her YL Leader.
Collaborate
To fulfill this mission to which we have been called, we would like you to consider the opportunity to join our support team and be part of this adventure.
Missions is the feet of those who go, the knees of those who pray and the hands of those who give.
