My Story
My name is Arturo Muñoz. My wife Nicole and I have served as missionaries in Mexico since 1999, and in the city of Puebla since 2001. We are sent out by Emmanuel Baptist Church in Longview, Texas.
I was born in Mexico City in 1974. God saved me at the age of eight in a Baptist church in Mexico, and I had the privilege of growing up in a Christian home. God called me to preach in 1992 and opened the doors for me to attend Oklahoma Baptist College under the direction of Dr. Jim Vineyard.
In the summer of 1997, at a youth camp, God put on my heart to go back to Mexico — specifically to the city of Puebla — and reach my own people for Christ.
I graduated in 1998. And in 1999, Nicole and I were married and left for Mexico right after our wedding. Our first stop was Iguala, Guerrero, where we helped a church while Nicole learned Spanish. We both taught in the Christian school and started a bus route.
In 2001, we moved to Puebla, a metropolitan area of more than 3 million people, and started Iglesia Cristiana Bautista.
My Wife, Nicole
Nicole was saved at the age of 15 in Southern California. At 17, while reading her Bible and praying, she asked God to show her a church that followed His Word — and two weeks later someone invited her to the only independent Baptist church in her area. She served in her home church, West Coast Baptist Church in Oceanside, California, and then attended Fairhaven Baptist College in Chesterton, Indiana, where she surrendered to be a missionary to Mexico. Today she leads our ladies’ and children’s ministries, and she oversees our church’s digital outreach.
Our Family
God has blessed us with seven children: Japheth, Rachel, Sarah, David and Hannah (twins), Ashley, and Caitlyn. All of them grew up on the mission field, and each one has served in our church in many ways — in music, Sunday School, the nursery, and soulwinning. Rachel is now married, and we are looking forward to our first grandchild.
The Ministry Today
After more than 25 years in Puebla, God has allowed us to plant 6 churches. Our church, Iglesia Cristiana Bautista, is a soul-winning, missions-minded church:
- Services on Sundays at 10:00 am, 11:00 am and 6:00 pm, and Thursdays at 7:00 pm
- Organized soul winning every Saturday morning
- A hospital ministry on Sunday nights, where we share food and the Gospel
- Instituto Bautista Fe, our Bible institute, with 27 graduates
- Faith Baptist Academy, our Christian school
- Comunidad Vida Nueva, a ministry for people fighting addictions
- Our church supports 45 missionaries
- More than 1 million gospel tracts distributed—including 16,000 that we give out every year during the Day of the Dead, and another 16,000 during the Battle of Puebla Parade
- A ladies’ conference, missions conference, and leadership conference every year
Our Vision
I believe the city of Puebla can be reached with the gospel. Many of our members travel more than an hour to come to church, so my burden is to keep training national pastors in our Bible institute and planting new churches across the city and surrounding towns — so that more and more people can hear the gospel close to home.
Thank you for praying for us. If you would like us to visit your church, please invite us.
— Arturo Muñoz, Missionary to Puebla, México