Mata Mamón is a small town in La Victoria, north of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. In the same area is the oldest, most overcrowded, and well-known prison in the Dominican Republic. It is no surprise that people tend to associate La Victoria with evil and crime.

However, this has not prevented church planter Antonia Valdez Polanco from going there to plant a church, enabled by the resources and tools provided by Multiplication Network Ministries (MNM). “God has blessed us in a fruitful way and we have seen His mercy in giving us the opportunity to share the Word with a group of new believers who witness in their community by the transformation of their lives,” Antonia shares.

Antonia is currently meeting with a group of 15 to 16 people. The services are held on Sunday mornings in a place that was provided by community leaders, an action Antonia sees as the hand of God at work.

This church planter affirms that the MNM trainings in evangelism and effective discipleship are the tools that have helped her the most to carry out the day-to-day work in the Mata Mamón community in which she has obtained these encouraging results. God has accomplished much in this community despite some difficulties they’ve encountered.

“The greatest difficulty has been spiritual opposition, because in the area where we are working, we have many people who believe in witchcraft and have been raised in this environment,” Antonia explains. These manifestations of witchcraft and idolatry of the locals have represented a constant struggle for them.

Despite this opposition from darkness, Antonia expresses her gratitude to the Lord for the trainings in church planting from MNM. She proclaims, “God is with us and has given us victory with people who have become new believers and who have abandoned that life.”

She emphasizes that the Lord called her to this ministry and has always been with her, giving her strength and growth in faith to continue regardless of the obstacles. Antonia shares, “The Holy Spirit has held us firm until today, for which we give thanks and glory to God.” Even when the obstacles are great, church planters like Antonia are equipped with the training and resources they need to press onward in planting more and stronger churches.