Torre del Mar Evangelical Church (TDMEC) is a special expression of churches working together. TDMEC was established some 25 years ago at the initiative of the Spanish Evangelical Church (IEE) who invited the Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI) to assist in establishing a place for Sunday worship for English-speaking people living in and around Málaga on the Costa del Sol in Southern Spain.
Two PCI ministers and their families served successively in Torre del Mar, Rev David McCarthy (1987-94), followed by Rev Adrian McLernon (1994-96), while at various times others from PCI have assisted in ministry for shorter periods.
First meeting in a room in the church flat, and later in a hall in the local Catholic Church, the multi-denominational congregation, whose members come from a wide variety of backgrounds, now meets each Sunday in the Hotel Torremar -just off the seafront in Torre del Mar.
More recently, a new Community Church has been planted that meets each Thursday at Livingstones Restaurant in Torrox Park, a residential area above Torrox Costa, approximately 10km East of Malaga and Torre del Mar [map & directions].
Before moving to Spain, Jacki Hartsmith Foyworked for fourteen years in IT, as a European Software Consultant with a large firm of consultant engineers in a multi-discipline environment, concerned primarily with providing project and management consultancy services to a range of blue chip companies involved in the petro-chemical industry. After hearing God’s call in a special way, she joined Torre del Mar church in 1994 as Church Secretary.
In 2000-01, Jacki attended Belfast Bible College. During this time, in discussions with PCI’s Board of Mission Overseas, she was encouraged to return to Spain and take up the leadership of Torre del Mar Church fellowship in Málaga. In 2003, she was commissioned for this special ministry, and in 2007 was ordained as Minister of the congregation by the Spanish Evangelical Church.
Torre del Mar Evangelical Church
Initially, Jacki spent time building up the congregation in Torre del Mar, devising outreach programmes, and midweek Bible studies, prayer meetings, discipleship and leadership education seminars. For nine years she served in a local radio ministry broadcasting a ‘Thought for the Day’ programme. The transcripts of these programmes were made into a book and distributed to sick people at the local hospitals and to shut-ins.
Torrox Park Community Church
Jacki’s God-given vision has been to develop a fresh expression of church for people who have had no previous experience of church attendance. The satellite church now meeting in Torrox Park is a pioneer in this field and is slowly growing with exciting developments each week as the core membership seeks to follow a strategy letting God lead them day-by-day in what they do.
Presently, the focus is on ‘Community’ and ‘Unity’ as the growing church family seeks to engage with people where they are, and to show them Christ’s love.
General Prayer Points
Our weekly Overseas Prayerline bulletin contains up-to-date information and prayer requests from our mission personnel and partners overseas.
