š¶ Signal #3
š§ Where we are
Thereās something exciting about starting down a path when the path doesnāt even exist yet.
Iām taking my first steps as a missionary with Agape, and Central Arts Barcelona is also just beginning its journey. Samuel and I have decided not to show up with answers, but to listen: to try things, gather feedback, learn, adjust, and discover how we can truly care for Barcelonaās creative community.
And as we walk, the map is starting to take shape along three paths: discipleship, collective, and cultural tensions. From walking one on one with people, to building community, and from there stepping into realities that affect artists and non artists alike: precarity and, especially right now, Barcelonaās housing crisis.
Everything is still a sketch. But everything is in motion.
And thatās the most exciting part: paths are starting to appear where there used to be nothing but open ground.
ā°ļø Open trails
š AYC2026 Ā· Made for More
Valencia Ā· August 4 to 8
August started with a bang. And not because of the heat. Or maybe it was, just a different kind of heat ā¤ļøāš„
Since 2025, Iād been leading marketing for the European Adventist Youth Congress, aka AYC26, in Valencia. I also facilitated 2 workshops and, together with Girel Faria from Central Arts, designed the official T shirt and tote bag.
We also recorded M4+, the Congress podcast, which, by the way, is available across multiple platforms if you fancy a listen. Highly recommended! One of the conversations that stayed with me most was with Kari Clewett, a sexologist and Christian content creator. More than her answers, I was struck by the questions coming from a room packed with young people.
One thought stuck with me: if we donāt talk about sex at home or in our Christian communities, someone else will do it for us. Probably the Internet. It even made us stop, think, and put together a plan for how we want to talk about sexuality with our own kids.
In short: I saw God move in ways that no marketing strategy could ever manufacture.
But it wasnāt all confetti. Our goal was 4,000 registrations, and we didnāt get there. As the person responsible for marketing, I own my part in that. Honestly, not reaching the goal weighs heavily on me. Now itās time to sit down with the leadership team, get feedback, learn, and do better next time.
Impact: 3,500 young people from across Europe Ā· 21 baptisms Ā· 10 episodes of M4+ Ā· more than 1.2 million social media interactions at peak moments.
š Communities that multiply
Madrid Ā· August 25
After Valencia, it was time to listen.
I went to Madrid to spend time with Chisco and Jaz, leaders of Amistad Cristiana. I wanted to understand what sits behind a community that is growing and reaching people from very different cultures and walks of life.
The answer didnāt sound particularly sophisticated: discipleship, small groups, multiplying homes, intentionality, and a shared vision.
I came home hopeful.
Following Jesus in Europe today is complex. But complex doesnāt mean impossible.
Impact: from around 200 to 600 people since 2022 Ā· around 150 baptisms in the last year.
šŖŗ We built a NIU
Girona Ā· September 10 to 13
NIU means ānestā in Catalan, and it sounds like ānewā in English.
And that was exactly what we wanted to build: a place where artists and creatives could land, feel cared for, create, receive feedback, and regain their strength before taking flight again.
For four days there was creating, conversations, jam sessions, long dinners, nature, a geodesic dome and a kombucha tasting that somehow turned into the beginnings of a revolution for a better world.
Our intention was to design the conditions without controlling the outcome.
And then things started happening.
Creative blocks breaking. Songs appearing. Projects coming out of drawers. People who had never met before creating together.
I felt like we had prepared the ground, and then God grew things we could never have programmed.
Some people explained it better than we ever could:
āArtists are always looking, but theyāre not often truly seen with a gaze that understands and embraces them. I hadnāt felt so embraced in a very long time. It gave me wings.āTamar
āMy heart is overflowing. NIU has literally been an embrace from the Father.āEsther
āIām taking with me a sense of support, of not being alone. Iām taking God with me, or the little piece of Him that touched me during these days.āDĆ”maris
I saw God flow through NIU in an almost outrageous way.
And I have the feeling that weāve only placed the first branch of a much bigger NIU.
Impact: 38 participants Ā· more than 10 creative disciplines Ā· 9.47/10 average rating Ā· 100% of respondents would recommend the experience and would come back, definitely or probably Ā· stories of creative breakthroughs, care, and restoration.
šØ From the group to one on one
Barcelona Ā· September 29
And the scale got smaller again.
I took part in Artistas con PropĆ³sito (Artists with Purpose), a community that meets regularly at Barcelonaās DHub to explore art, creativity, and faith.
I shared Simon Sinekās Golden Circle, a tool Iāve used in almost 100 workshops with people and organizations to explore purpose, processes, and outcomes.
But the most interesting part happened afterwards.
Some conversations asked to be continued.
Impact: 14 artists and creatives Ā· new one on one mentoring relationships born from the gathering.
Somehow, this journey from 3,500 to 38, from 38 to 14, and from 14 to 1 explains pretty well where weāre heading.
šļø Routes ahead
š½ļø TAULABS
A collective needs places where people can meet.
On September 3, we had our first dinner with 11 people. We saw something there and decided to take it further.
On October 1, TAULABS is born: monthly dinners where a table also becomes a laboratory for exploring art, design, and creativity, with Jesus at the center and no fear of putting ideas on the table.
To talk, experiment, create, and ask questions about the things that are usually difficult to put into words.
We donāt know exactly what will come out of it.
Thatās Grace. Yes, with a capital G.
š Central Arts turns 10
Zurich and Bern Ā· October 23 to 25
While weāre breaking new ground in Barcelona, Central Arts is turning 10.
Weāll celebrate in Switzerland with a whole weekend mixing live music, collective creation, and film.
On Friday, Friends of Central Arts Live in Concert in Zurich, featuring Jake Isaac, Vocal Groove, and the Central Arts All Star Band.
On Saturday, Choir Room in Bern.
And on Sunday, back in Zurich, an exclusive screening of PACEM.
A good group of us will be traveling from Barcelona, and weāll also have the opportunity to present Central Arts Barcelona to the international community.
Registration is still open:
Information and registration for Central Artsā 10th anniversary
š„ Requests around the campfire
Here at Base Camp, thereās also plenty to be thankful for, and plenty we want to keep placing in Godās hands.
Weāre thankful for:
- Finding a place where I feel I belong within Agape, and being able to share this journey with Samuel Palacios.
- The Central Arts community that is beginning to take shape.
- Those of you who keep this adventure going through prayer, trust, and financial support.
Weāre praying for:
- Verso, as he starts his final year of preschool.
- Lago, as he begins spending a few hours at nursery.
- Meri, for everything this new season means emotionally, and that this change might also create more space for her and her own growth.
- My knees, so I can recover and get back to exercising.
- The holiness of Central Arts, for the one on one relationships, for the collective that is taking shape, and for wisdom as we step into tensions as complex as housing.
- And, above all, that art, creativity, and design might help others encounter the Universal Creative Director.
The tents around Base Camp are starting to look like a little village. A bit like AstĆ©rixās, just without the Romans. Yet.
Onwards. āŗļøš„
ā¤ļø waves from Base Camp:
Lago, Verso, Meri & Ćlvaro