About Us

Oaxaca is unique. Oaxaca has the most unreached people in the Western Hemisphere. It is filled with isolated people groups who have their own dialect and often have never heard the gospel. Many times there are 1 or 2 Christians out of thousands of people in a village. Our goal is to minister to the material needs as a means of opening doors to minister to their spiritual needs.  In everything we do we are looking for the opportunity to demonstrate Christ and lead them to Him. 

The Team

Peter and Teresa Cawthon moved to Oaxaca in August of 1992. They have been a part of The Agape Force, Youth With A Mission, and finally CTEN. 23 of their 34 years of experience have been on the mission field in Mexico. 

Their vision has been the same, namely, to fulfill the great commission given in Matthew 28: 19-20. Peter and Teresa moved to Oaxaca, Mexico in August of 1992 and were later joined in 2004 by Michael and Charlsie Swadley (Peter & Teresa’s son-in-law and daughter). Teresa founded the Oaxaca Revival Spanish Lending Library in 2002. The Library is in 3 different communities and has empowered many people with good solid teaching that is otherwise unavailable to them. Peter's main ministry is church planting in unreached people groups. Working with Brad and Rebecca they utilize short-term mission trips in order to gain the trust of these many people groups. Our impact on the people of Oaxaca is growing at a rapid rate with the advent of more staff and our Oaxaca Resource Lending Library. Come see for yourself, it's only a 2 1/2 hour flight from Houston!

BIO Peter & Teresa Cawthon: Peter and Teresa foster the growth of the indigenous church in Mexico. They are also recent "empty nesters", having raised two children, Charlsie and Pete, on the mission field. Peter and Teresa Cawthon have 18 years experience as missionaries to Mexico. For the last 10 they have served in the state of Oaxaca. This state has a tighter cluster of people groups than anywhere else in the Americas. Many of the 150 people groups are unreached with the Gospel. They reached out to five villages that did not have a church and they are now helping establish a church in the last one. God has given them much fruit for their labors! Teresa’s parents were farmers in California, where she learned to drive on a tractor. Peter’s father was a Houston banker. “Both of us had a climactic encounter with Jesus Christ in our college years. We realized how much we had hurt Him and others by our lives. Our goal was to serve Him wherever He sent us.”  The Lord called Peter and Teresa to show the people of Oaxaca what He is really like, not what their traditional religion claims. Their prime strategy is to train indigenous pastors and leaders. Most pastors are farmers, poor and busy working. The Cawthons must go to them to teach them.  Peter and Teresa also host medical/dental and construction teams to serve the people of remote indigenous regions. This opens doors to areas that are otherwise closed to presenting the Gospel.  In 1992 Teresa had a vision of a library for Christians, with mobile capabilities for the villages. Eleven years after the vision, their living and dining rooms were full of books, bookshelves, a desk and computer. Their prayer for a suitable location for the library was answered and they are now able to provide the first lending library having Christian materials. Remote village churches, as well as churches in the local area can now get access to Christian materials to help them grow in knowledge. Home Church: Impact Ministries, Kerrville, TX

BIO Brad and Rebecca Hewitt  Brad and Rebecca have quite an interesting story as Brad is from Texas and Rebecca is from Australia. Distance means little when God brings two people together. They were married in April 2007 and have been living in Australia for the past year where Rebecca is a teacher and Brad works with youth for the Salvation Army. The Hewitts are excited about God calling them to be missionaries in Oaxaca, Mexico. Brad has been a missionary with CTEN for the past four years and previously spent a year working in Oaxaca with Peter and Teresa. He believes that the work to reach the unreached peoples around Oaxaca is very important in God’s eyes and is ready to be back serving there. Rebecca previously studied Spanish in Mexico through an exchange with her university and is excited about the big move to Mexico. Rebecca is eager to incorporate her teaching to minister to the children in the villages. Their vision for Oaxaca is to see a vibrant and growing church in each of the mountain villages around Oaxaca. What a joy it will be worshiping in heaven one day and to be able to look around and see faces from every people group in Oaxaca singing out.

Interns

By serving with the Cawthons in Oaxaca, Mexico our staff and interns have the opportunity to serve the unreached people of Oaxaca, Mexico while gaining hands-on experience and training. Oaxaca is filled with people groups who have never heard the gospel. Workers are needed to accomplish this goal.



Emily Malm. I lived Oaxaca in 2006. I have enjoyed serving in the villages, learning Spanish and helping orientate short-term teams.



Lauren Brown. I have taken several short-term trips to Oaxaca and in summer 2006 stayed to orientate teams and serve in whatever area needed in villages.