Mike and Terri McComb, along with their children, Jacob, Joshua, Katie, and James, minister with New Life Advance International (NLAI) among the Ixil (pronounced ee-sheel) people of Guatemala’s Central Highlands in an area known as the Ixil triangle.

The McCombs have been living in Nebaj since 1993. Their ministry began as an agricultural outreach designed to alleviate the war-torn condition of the area until the peace treaty was signed in 1996. In 1994, they began working with a local Ixil church leader who requested assistance in planting churches in a remote area 14 miles north of Nebaj. Since that year, the McCombs have assisted in the planting of 16 churches in various parts of the Ixil area and are continuing to plant more churches in villages that have never had a permanent Gospel witness. As the church-planting work hasprogressed, at least 125 other villages in the surrounding tribal areas have been identified that remain without a Gospel witness.

In 1998, the McCombs opened an interdenominational Bible Institute in Nebaj. The institute is currently training 80 church leaders from Nebaj and the surrounding villages in a three-year curriculum that includes Old and New Testament studies and studies in Practical Theology. The need for theological training in the area is great since most of the pastors have had very little formal education and almost no training in the Bible. The institute graduated its first 18 students in 2002 and will graduate many more as the training program continues.

The McCombs will continue to collaborate with Mayan church leaders in Nebaj in order develop leaders among other people groups of the Guatemalan Central Highlands who will pioneer new church-planting initiatives. Your prayers, love and support towards this ministry are vital to its ability to influence the lives of the people who live in these areas of Guatemala. Thank you for your interest and participation with the McCombs in this ministry to the Mayan people of Guatemala.