Hodgsons in Spain - Newsletter May 2025

Hodgsons Newsletter from Spain - May 2025

Back in 2009, I was serving on the team at Coventry Elim Church, having been ordained in the UK. In February of that year, I moved to Spain to serve on the mission field as an Elim missionary. It was there that I met Naomi, a leader at the Elim Church in Benalmádena.

After several mission trips to Barcelona, Alicante, and Madrid, I felt a strong calling to Spain, and God opened the door for me to make the move. Later, Naomi and I were married, and today we have two children—Melissa, who is 13, and George, who is 9.

We now pastor an international church called Encounter, located in La Cala de Mijas on the Costa del Sol in the province of Málaga. While Málaga is often associated with tourism and holidays, we are witnessing incredible spiritual transformation—people from all walks of life and nationalities are encountering Jesus.

preach Given the transient nature of this area, sustained church growth can be a challenge. However, we’ve come to embrace this reality. We focus on impacting lives while people are with us, and for those who are here long-term, our church offers a vibrant and supportive community.

In this newsletter, we want to share our heart for the people of Málaga and invite you to consider: What role could I play in seeing Spain impacted by the gospel?

God is doing something new in Spain.

At Encounter Church, we’ve launched a young adults group where people are exploring what the Christian faith means to them and how it shapes the way we live.

We’re also seeing growth in our American community, and in response, we’ve just started a new house group for them near Marbella.

Recently, with support from Elim Missions, Encounter Church was able to provide blankets, generators, and essential supplies to the region of Valencia, which was hit hardest by severe flooding. We’re incredibly proud of our team who dropped everything to help—cleaning out churches and serving those affected during this national emergency. A special thank you to Monty and the team for being such a blessing.

couple One of our church leaders, Nikki, was filming vox pops for a Christian TV channel when she met Roy, a retired Englishman. That encounter, along with several other divine appointments, led Roy to our church—he is now on a journey of faith. His story is just one of many we could share, where lives are being touched and transformed by God’s love. Here’s a photo of Roy with one of our members, Viv.

Meet the New National leadership team For Elim Spain.

We Need Your Support — and the Support of Your Church

Both Naomi and I serve as bivocational pastors, and as a family, we rely on the generous support of our mission partners — for whom we are deeply grateful.

We are currently seeking new sponsors who feel called to support our ministry in three key ways: